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“The genre can go many, many more places than it has gone,” said Jemisin. “Fantasy’s job is kind of to look back, just as science fiction’s job is to look forward. But fantasy doesn’t always just have to look back to one spot, or to one time. There’s so much rich, fascinating, interesting, really cool history that we haven’t touched in the genre: countries whose mythology is elaborate and fascinating, cultures whose stories we just haven’t even tried to retell.”

Read the rest of the article at Salon.com. While you’re at it, don’t forget to read Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (US | UK | ANZ) – or, if you’ve already done that, The Kingdom of Gods (US | UK | ANZ), which just last month concluded the acclaimed Inheritance Trilogy.

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To start launch week on a real high note and to keep you going for just a few days longer, we asked Jim Butcher himself a few questions about his biggest creation…

Did you always know Harry’s grizzly fate (thinking of his ghostly nature by Ghost Story) or do his adventures evolve for you organically as you write?

Oh, I knew from the get-go that I was going to kill him at some point — and then make him solve his own murder. That’s just how the universe seems to treat the poor guy. : ) There are some story events that are fixed in my mind — mostly the large-scale stuff, such as the war with the Red Court, the rise of the Fomor, and the oncoming events of the story’s endgame. The fluid organic things tend to be very personal matters — Dresden’s friends, his family, and especially his romantic relationships.

Do you sometimes find yourself slipping into the Harry Dresden character when say at the supermarket? What would he buy?!

Nah, I’m not Harry Dresden and not much like him, except maybe when he’s screwing up somehow. : ) Getting into character is something that happens after several minutes at the keyboard, and it doesn’t really intrude on the rest of my life.

Dresden buys bachelor chow — things you can prepare by popping in the oven for a few minutes, or maybe by boiling a little water — and which are not too expensive. He’s never really had an expansive budget. : )

Who is your favourite minor character and why?

Butters, I think. He was supposed to be a one-off character when I first designed him, a kind of wacky ME that provided a little color and humor while I was dishing out some grisly details about a murder. But I liked the guy so much, I had to give him a job, and now he’s become part of the regular cast. Butters is such a contrast of clueless and spooky-smart, and while he’s never going to be a studly hero, he’s never going to leave a friend in the lurch, either. I just like the guy.

What’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked about the Dresden Files series?

“How do I get in touch with the real White Council?”

Followed closely by a statement: “I’m from the real White Council, and we aren’t pleased with what you’re doing.”

Finally, could you give us one little-known fact about Harry and his world?

Harry loves horses! He doesn’t get to ride much anymore, but when he was living with Ebenezar on his farm in the Ozarks, they went riding all the time. Granted, given his size, it might be fair to say that horses don’t like him nearly as much as he likes them, but I wouldn’t want to be presumptuous about the opinions of Equine-Americans.

Thanks Jim!

Jim Butcher’s all-new Dresden Files novel is out this week (27th July). If you haven’t already met Harry Dresden, check out our quick rereads to the rest of the series below:

STORM FRONT
FOOL MOON
GRAVE PERIL
SUMMER KNIGHT
DEATH MASKS
BLOOD RITES
DEAD BEAT
PROVEN GUILTY
WHITE NIGHT
SMALL FAVOUR
TURN COAT
CHANGES

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THE KEY TO CREATION

If that doesn’t sound extremely cool, we don’t know what does. If you’re itching for some exciting swords-and-sails action, then rejoice because the first two books in the trilogy – THE EDGE OF THE WORLD and THE MAP OF ALL THINGS - are readily available in mass market paperback. So if you like your sea monsters, quite frankly you’ve got no excuse.

To mark the completion of the TERRA INCOGNITA trilogy, we asked cover artist Lee Gibbons a few questions about the wonderful illustrations he came up with for the books.

Can you tell us a little about the way you approached illustrating the TERRA INCOGNITA series? Were there any particular influences that you drew upon?

When I was first commissioned to produce these illustrations, Peter Cotton the designer had already decided on the layout he wanted: two elements separated by the type. It was always planned to have a scene at the bottom of the page and a close up of a piece of shiny navigational equipment at the top, linked by the map in the background.

Two things I had to bear in mind from the brief were that this had to appeal to both the UK and US markets and also to downplay the fantasy elements in the maritime scene, instead emphasising exploration and adventure. To this end, I drew on the influence of Victorian maritime paintings, which I have always had a soft spot for.

By the time we arrived at book two things had got a bit free and easy as regards the fantasy content! I was keen to have the map background continue across the three covers, but have to admit that with the type in place you would be hard pressed to notice that on the final printed covers.

Do you do research before embarking on a brief and if so what form might this take?

This varies from cover to cover. A historical novel set during the dark ages say will need extensive research before I even start to sketch out the rough ideas. There is obviously a lot more freedom with a fantasy subject but we wanted to show an advance in ship building technology between books one and two so it was worth looking at late medieval ship design. Of course it’s good to have a credible starting point to work from, but the important thing is that you end up with a good fantasy cover.

Now you’ve done the covers for all three TERRA INCOGNITA books, do you have a favourite? And if so, for what reason?

Technically, I was very pleased with the way THE KEY TO CREATION turned out, but THE MAP OF ALL THINGS was the first all-out monster on the rampage illustration that I have been allowed to do in the last 15 years!  It also allowed me to get away from the computer to do some sculpting and miniature photography for the sea serpent, which made for a nice change.

Kevin J. Anderson himself is a big fan of the artwork you’ve produced for his series, calling you ‘exceptionally talented’ – how satisfying is it to have authors praising the artwork you’ve created for their books?

A book’s cover design and illustration has to go through a lot of stages of approval before it finally goes to print.  This can result in drastic changes from the original concept to the final printed version.This often means that the the finished artwork can be a long way from what you (and sometimes the author) had in mind when you first read the manuscript.

This can be  especially true for science fiction and fantasy, where there can be an enormous gap between the visual interpretation of a book and the vision in in the author’s head. So when an author gets in touch  with such high praise it’s extremely satisfying! The great thing about this series was being able to discuss specific design elements of the covers with Kevin which is very rare but incredibly useful for the artist.

You’ve worked on fantasy cover art for many years now. What do you enjoy about working with genre titles that you might not get with more mainstream books?

When I started reading science fiction in my teens the cover art had a huge impact on me.  I would often buy a book on the strength of the cover alone even if it  frequently bore no relation to the contents! At the same time the magazine ‘Science Fiction Monthly’ was released, featuring A3 size reproductions of cover art by the likes of Chris Foss and Bruce Pennington. On the strength of this I decided if I couldn’t get a job in the film industry as a special effects man, I would learn how to use an airbrush and become a science fiction cover artist.

Even after all this time there’s still some of that fan-boy enthusiasm for fantasy and science fiction. Having said that, once a job has got past the first concept sketches (my favourite part of the process) the actual work of producing the finished digital illustration is pretty much the same for fantasy as it is for a thriller.

Many thanks for talking to us, Lee!

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Why are you so dark?!
The most interesting stories for me are those featuring characters either in extreme peril, or whose lives are in turmoil. The peril might be of a spiritual or psychological nature, or it could be someone threatened by a great big monster, and Echo City features characters in both situations (and sometimes at the same time!). I like creating characters, making myself and hopefully readers empathise with them … and then challenging them with some of the most dreadful trials. That’s dark. But in truth, I see light and hope in everything I write, however dark it may be perceived. Echo City is no exception.

What were your early influences in terms of books/tv/films?
Doctor Who terrified me when I was young (genuine behind-the-sofa moments), as well as a series called Children of the Stones (anyone remember that?). I consumed the Adventure series of novels by Willard Price, and then when I was ten my mother gave me a copy of James Herbert’s The Rats. Say no more.

What are your current influences?
Writers I enjoy include Dan Simmons, China Mieville, Iain Banks (and ‘M’), Shirley Jackson, Cormac McCarthy, John Connolly, Poppy Z. Brite, Neil Gaiman, Dennis Lehane … countless others. I love movies, and I also think some of the TV series being produced in the USA are masterful.

Some writers say where they live influences their writing. Does your location influence your books?
Absolutely. Place is so important … Echo City itself is one of my novel’s main characters. A couple of minutes’ running in any direction from where I live takes me out into the countryside. I spend a lot of time walking, cycling, and running the locals woods, hills and mountains, and I think my love of nature and the wild is obvious in most of my writing. I can’t imagine living without it … and that idea is also explored in Echo City. Lots of my characters live without seeing anything green. And perhaps it drives them mad.

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In this second instalment, Paolo talks about the practicalities of writing, why he became an author and what the future may hold in terms of his own work.

Perhaps unusually, you share your workspace with another writer – how do you use each other as sounding boards and for help with all the issues that crop up during the writing of a novel?

I think we alternately inspire each other, and get on each other’s nerves, but one of the benefits of having another writer around is that when you get stymied, you can go out for a walk together, and talk over the book, and sometimes that process of talking out loud gets you through the confusion.  I was just recently down in Mexico with another group of writers on a sort of writer’s retreat, and it was quite inspiring. Just being surrounded by a bunch of other people who are cranking out their books and who aggressively focused on building something out of nothing is hugely inspiring. Over two weeks I wrote an astounding number of words, and part of it at least had to do with being around so many other people who were working on books, and for whom there was no question that they were going to make up a story, and that their stories would be read, and that they weren’t crazy to be doing it.  It’s hard for me to have faith in my stories as I work on them. Hard to believe they should be written. Hard to believe that they’re worthwhile. Hard to believe that they aren’t stupid.  Being surrounded by other writers ameliorates that, for me, at least.

Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer, and what would you be doing if you were not?

I didn’t know that I wanted to be a writer, actually. Not for a long time. I only started writing as a hobby, to avoid thinking about my day job.  I was doing web development work, and I hated it.  Writing was an escape.  And then it became an obsession. And then it became the thing that I kept quitting my day-job to do.  It sort of took over my life over time, but when I was in college and starting out into the world, I thought I was going to work in business, or maybe banking, or technology, or maybe…. Let’s face it, I was pretty confused.  At this point, I think the thing that interests me most is economics and how it interacts with sustainability, and the thing I enjoy the most is gardening.  Can I have a job that puts those two together? Maybe with some international travel to round it out?

Both of your books are SF novels (or ‘Biopunk’ as you call it) – do you ever see yourself writing in other genres, such as fantasy?

Actually, I don’t call it biopunk. That’s a moniker that’s been applied to some of my stories, along with “dystopian” and “post-apocalyptic.” None of which quite feel like a perfect fit, exactly. I don’t really think of my stories as categories at all, really.  At one time, when I was asked, I thought I rather liked the term  “Agripunk” for stories like The Calorie Man and The Windup Girl, because while bioengineering is central, the thing that I care about is the interaction between genetic engineering, food, intellectual property and big agricultural corporations.  Ultimately, though, when I think about the kind of science fiction I write, I think of it more as fear fantasies, or “if this goes on,” stories. 

Interestingly, as far as writing fantasy goes, yes, I am thinking about writing some.  I recently wrote a novella called “The Alchemist,” which was an attempt to talk about some economics and sustainability questions (those again!) using fantasy tropes. It was fun, and I think there’s more that I can do with the world, so I expect I’ll be revisiting it, in longer form. 

Many thanks again to Paolo for his time!

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Paolo kindly took some time out from his busy schedule to answer a few questions about his writing.

In this first part, Paolo discusses the inspiration behind THE WINDUP GIRL and the concern he feels about a possible future where fossil fuels have run out.

What was the original inspiration for THE WINDUP GIRL? What was the spark that made you think I have to tell this story?

Honestly, it wasn’t just one thing. I originally wrote a short story that was set in Bangkok but it was so hairy and convoluted that it didn’t work.  A friend of mine commented that if felt so packed with ideas that is was a bit of a dwarf star, and she suggested that I was actually working on a novel. At the time, I was horrified, because I’d had four novels rejected previously, and was pretty determined to only write short stories, ever after.  So I took the most interesting aspect of the world and wrote a different story (one that really was a short story) called “The Calorie Man.” That story utilized some of the ideas about peak oil and agribusiness and GMOs that I was interested in, and that was that. Later, I was looking to write another story, and I’d always found the character of Tan Hock Seng interesting from that original short story, and so I went and wrote  a piece of his back story, and that became “Yellow Card Man.”

Around that time, I was getting nominated for a lot of awards, and I think “The Calorie Man” had just won the Theodore Sturgeon Award, and my ego started getting back in the game. I started thinking that maybe if I wrote a new novel, that it might have a chance of selling… so I started working on a novel based in the world of “The Fluted Girl,” another short story of mine.  But as I was starting to work on it, I ended up having a conversation with Maureen McHugh about the project, and she gave me this disappointed look and said something along the lines of “I think you’ve probably figured out everything you need to learn from that story.”  Which sort of rocked me back. But I ended up thinking about what she was saying, and in some ways, she was right. I didn’t have much new to say about The Fluted Girl, and meanwhile, I still had that big gnarly dwarf star of a novel sitting around, staring at me.

So in end, I think the reason I wrote the Windup Girl was at least partially because it was the most ambitious and difficult thing that I could attempt. And it was complex enough that if Maureen ever asked me what I was working on again, I wouldn’t automatically earn her contempt.  Of course, then the book turned out to be even more challenging than I’d originally thought.  It had a lot of characters and storylines, it was set in a culture that I needed to learn a lot about, and the mechanics of the world were fanciful enough that I wasn’t sure readers would be able to accept it at novel length.  In the end, it took me about three years to write, not including the couple years before where I’d been working out the world and writing short stories set there.  So, that’s one part, at least. It helped that it seemed like it was a relevant story, and that it had something relevant to say about agribusiness, and energy and maybe economic colonialism.  When I look back on it though, and think about how difficult it was to write it, I have no idea why I finished it. Pure stubbornness?  I liked the characters quite a lot. Every flawed one of them. But I do remember that after I finished the book, that I had no faith that it would sell, and I felt embarrassed that I was going to try to inflict it on the world.

Both THE WINDUP GIRL and SHIP BREAKER are set in the near future where fossil fuels have run out – what is it that inspires and excites you about such settings?

I wouldn’t say it excites me; I’d say that it worries me. It feels like we’re on the cusp of a series of major shifts in the way our world works, whether that’s a loss of cheap and easily portable energy or global warming, and that raises a lot of question marks about what our future will really look like.  I tend to focus on worst case scenarios — the ones where we just keep using the last of our oil to drive our kids to their football games, instead of using it to build our next generation of energy infrastructure. But it’s not because I like those scenarios or those worlds. Frankly, the settings in my stories depress the hell out of me. But I don’t really see major trend lines pushing us in some other, more positive or sustainable direction, so it feels untruthful to me, if I write about anything other than depleted and broken futures.

Look out for Part 2 of the interview later this week!

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“We put two very recognizable characters in an almost nostalgic science fiction world, so respecting the internal lives of the characters was important. That real unapologetic embrace of sentiment is what makes the book work.”

Only part of the interview appears in the magazine. The rest (as informative, as entertaining) appears courtesy of Rose Fox at Genreville, where among other things Daniel & Ty discuss how to manage the joint writing of such an enormous project.

LEVIATHAN WAKES (called “relentlessly entertaining” by Kirkus) goes on sale June 17.

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“The characters and world in THE DRAGON’S PATH, for instance, are supposed to remind you of other characters you already know, so that by the time you meet them, you already have a little bit of a relationship with them. I want this to be a book you can fall into effortlessly.”

Daniel Abraham’s forthcoming novel is just one of many topics touched upon in a fascinating interview with Aidan Moher of A Dribble of Ink. He discusses, among much else, the value of pseudonyms, why fantasy is a safe place to explore exoticism, gender roles and writing from a woman’s perspective, and what makes a good story — any story — good.

“There is something at the base of genre – and it’s commercial and accessible and low-class and embarrassing – that brings people to what we do, and I think writers turn away from that at our peril.”

THE DRAGON’S PATH will be published by Orbit April 7, 2011.

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We’ll be posting a video response to some of your questions later in the week.

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