A Conversation With Paul Di Filippo
An interview with Trent Walters
On shaping narratives:
"I used to plot things out in much more detail than I do now. Of course, I was never someone like Poul Anderson
or Hal Clement who created immense binders of background info and character sheets for their projects. But I
still used to have step-by-step breakdowns for plots. Now I'm much more looser and organic. I usually know
beginnings and endings (mostly), and a few select key high points in between. But the passage from step stone
to stepstone is Brownian motion."
A Conversation With Douglas Lain
An interview with Trent Walters
On focus or goal of your writing:
"My goal as I set out was to be a writer and that was all. It was only through the pursuit of this practice that
any other goal formulated itself, and that goal is constantly morphing. Lately I've actually been more interested
in developing a consistent aesthetic or artistic stance beyond a vague surrealism."
A Conversation With Howard Andrew Jones
An interview with Steven H Silver
On partners:
"It is clear with all of these characters that they are stronger together than apart, and I definitely worked to show this with Dabir and Asim. Once
they learn to trust each other and work together in this book, they are greater than the sum of their parts.
I guess Asim came first, but only by a few seconds, because as soon as I could hear his voice, I knew he was
talking about the adventures he had with his scholarly friend."
A Conversation With Dan Abnett
An interview with Nathan Brazil
On which characters has been the most satisfying to write:
"I'd probably have to say some of the characters in the Gaunt's Ghosts or Inquisitor
series I write for Black Library. The first has run to thirteen books so far, the second six,
and you really begin to get to know characters when you've been writing them that long. It's like
working with good friends."
A Conversation With Alexei Panshin
An interview with D. Douglas Fratz
On the evolution of science fiction:
"SF may have been called 'science fiction' in the 50s and 60s, but by then science-beyond-science
was no longer being invoked in stories as the name of the transcendent wonders and marvels which distinguish
SF from mundane fiction. At least, that's what Hugo Gernsback -- the inventor of the name 'science
fiction' -- declared in 1963.
I think the changeover point came in the middle 40s. By 1947, Robert A. Heinlein was suggesting 'speculative
fiction' as an alternate name for SF. And by 1954, Forrest J Ackerman was calling SF 'sci-fi,' the popular name
it's currently best known by."
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A Conversation With John Berlyne, Tim Powers, Peter Crowther and Dirk Berger
An interview with Sandy Auden
John Berlyne's Powers: Secret Histories is so much more than just a bibliography of Tim Powers' stories -- it's
a unique insight into the writing life of one of the most respected fantasy authors around. The project has been a
huge undertaking for Berlyne, taking nearly a decade to complete, and here he is joined by the book's artist Dirk
Berger, the publisher Pete Crowther and Tim Powers himself to discuss how the book came into being, the problems
with designing it, the artwork, the bodies buried in the garden and spilling beer.
A Conversation With Diamond Star author Catherine Asaro, and Hayim Ani of Point Valid
An interview with Charles E. Gannon
Diamond Star the CD might well have been given the subtitle: "Musical Energy
Erupting from a Fusion of Two Creative Minds." Energy, creativity, imagination, and drive
are the obvious keynotes when interviewing award-winning author Catherine Asaro (who also
happens to be a physicist and dancer) and Hayim Ani (whose promise at age 17 had already
resulted in the production of a prior CD with the band Point Valid). Their differences
in background and experiences emerge not as a collision of styles, but as a harmony of
complimentary visions that allowed them to bring a unique blend of diversity and
common-mindedness to their project.
A Conversation With Philip José Farmer (1918-2009)
An interview with Dave Truesdale
The following interview took place at Minicon 10, Minneapolis, MN, April 19, 1975 -- in the
hotel bar. Its first and only publication appeared in Tangent #2, May, 1975. Interviewers
were Dave Truesdale, Jerry Rauth, and Paul McGuire.
Some few months before this interview, Phil Farmer had written Venus on the Half-Shell
as by one of Kurt Vonnegut's characters, Kilgore Trout. It was all the rage in the fan
and semi-pro magazine press back then as fans and authors alike spilled a lot of ink
trying to guess who Kilgore Trout really was.
A Conversation With Michael A. Burstein
An interview with Steven H Silver
On Isaac Asimov as an inspiration:
"I could write a whole article about Isaac Asimov. Come to think of it, I have, for the fanzine Mimosa, and
it's available on my website. It would be far too long to reproduce here. But the short version is that Asimov,
being as prolific and open about his life as he was, gave the rest of us a blueprint to follow if we wanted to do so."
A Conversation With Terry Brooks
An interview with Sandy Auden
On helping to generate ideas:
"I tell everybody that when I'm stuck and I'm looking for ideas or even when I just want ideas to come, the best thing
is to either take a long dive where your mind is freed up and you can just let it go; or get in a situation where's
there's water -- showers are great. I get lots of ideas in the shower. It's amazing. In there it's like a white-noise
state and your mind just suddenly releases and you begin to follow all these possibilities in your head. It's real
magic! Although sometimes nothing happens and you have to try again later."
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