Author Interview: Spencer Ellsworth

Today I am interviewing Spencer Ellsworth, author of the new science-fiction novel, A Red Peace, first book in the Starfire trilogy.

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DJ: Hey Spencer Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Spencer Ellsworth: Hi DJ!

I’m a lifelong science fiction and fantasy writer. It started when I read The Hobbit at the age of six. I currently work for a tribal college in the Pacific Northwest, and have previously worked in the publishing industry, along with stints in wilderness survival and special education.

The most interesting thing I’ve ever done was probably when I lived off crayfish and rattlesnakes for three days.

DJ: What is A Red Peace about?

Spencer: A galactic empire falls, the Resistance sweeps into power, and their first order is “kill all the humans.”

I like to think of it as a kind of Russian Revolution—or pick your other idealistic-revolution-gone-wrong—in space. Our main characters are a smuggler who helps some humans on the run, and a soldier dealing with internal conflict over his orders.

We’ve been trained by Star Wars to identify with a plucky rebellion, often forgetting that such plucky rebellions usually become demagogues clamping down on free speech.

DJ: What were some of your influences A Red Peace and the series?

Spencer: On the respectable end, I’ve always loved how Octavia Butler could write a serious social critique with all the high energy and pace of a pulp novel. My favorite novel of all time is Wild Seed. Every time I reread it I just get pulled in and totally caught up and I find new dimensions to the ending. 

On the less respectable end, I will consume any Star Wars or Transformers comic book. I tend to like my cheesy sci-fi franchises a lot more in comic book form. I love a big planet-eating robot or weird insectoid creature, limited only by the artist’s imagination.

Author Interview: Margaret Killjoy

Today I am interviewing Margaret Killjoy, author of the new fantasy novella, The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion.

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DJ: Hey Margaret! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Margaret Killjoy: Sure! I’m a writer, which I guess is obvious. I’m also a weirdo punk anarchist transwoman and all sorts of other descriptors. I used to self-publish everything I did out of DIY ethos, but more recently I’ve moved into traditional publishing.

DJ: What is The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion about?

Margaret: It’s about Danielle Cain, a punk wanderer in search of a home and in search of answers about her best friend’s suicide. She goes to visit Freedom, Iowa, a squatted town run by anarchists, and discovers they’ve summoned a three-antlered, blood red deer to protect the town. And that hasn’t gone so well.

DJ: What were some of your influences for The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion?

Margaret: Most immediately, I’d probably point to the personal zines put out by people with lives like my protagonists and my own. I can think of the book I Wish There Was Something I Could Quit by Aaron Cometbus and the zine series No Gods, No Mattress by Enola Dismay off the top of my head. And there’s nothing I can write about squatters and punks that doesn’t, on some level, hearken back to reading the books Elsewhere and Never Never by Will Shetterly when I was a kid. They’re about punk rock magic in a way I’d never seen before, a way that really opened my eyes to the beauty one can find in desolate spaces.

Author Interview: Chris Sharp

Today I am interviewing Chris Sharp, author of the new fantasy novel, Cold Counsel.

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DJ: Hey Chris! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Chris Sharp: I don’t think there are too many readers who are familiar with me yet. I’m a middle-aged dreamer with a propensity for long-winded storytelling, a fierce resistance to adulthood, and an optimist’s belief in magic.

Grew up in Alexandria, VA making home movies and playing RPGs with my friends. Went to college, moved to Brooklyn, and worked in film and commercial production for 16 years—often with those same friends—while writing books at night.

Now I’m in MA, with a wife and kid; writing as much as I can and trying to get as many of these stories out of my craw in some form or another.

The first book I wrote was a 270,000-word dark fantasy epic about schizophrenia, a mythological world next door, and Jungian Archetypes of dream. It lives in a dark box. My first published book was a contemporary fantasy YA crossover that has a sequel coming soon.

Right now I’m writing a screenplay. 

DJ: What is Cold Counsel about?

Chris: My editor, the brilliant Jen Gunnels, described it as “Conan the Barbarian as written by Tolkien while on a cocaine and petroleum bender,” which may give a keener insight into the tone than what you’ll get on the cover.

At heart, it’s a simple coming of age tale about a boy, his aunt, and his ax.

The boy is the last troll to survive the genocide of his race, his aunt is the masked reincarnation of an ancient goddess consumed by anger, and the ax is a possessed relic from the storied age of giants.

There are no humans or easy heroes to hold to, but I hope you’ll find yourself rooting for a loveable band of bloodthirsty killers, and wishing for more at the story’s close.

It’s fast, furious fun for the whole family, if the family isn’t afraid of harsh language, brutal violence, and reveling in the fodder of nightmares.

Author Interview: Seanan McGuire

Today I am interviewing Seanan McGuire, author of the new urban fantasy novel, Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day.

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DJ: Hey Seanan! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Seanan McGuire: I’m an American fantasy and science fiction author, living in the Pacific Northwest with a large collection of creepy dolls, My Little Ponies, and comic books. I do not get nearly enough sleep.

DJ: What is Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day about?

Seanan: Time. Sisters and debts and the need to stay when sometimes you really want to go, but most of all, time. It’s a ghost story and a love story and a story about the price we pay to stay ourselves.

DJ: What were some of your influences for Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day?

Seanan: The poetry of Martha Keller. We were fortunate enough to be able to reprint one of her poems at the front of the book.

DJ: Could you briefly tell us a little about your main characters? Do they have any cool quirks or habits, or any reason why readers with sympathize with them?

Seanan: I don’t understand this question.

Book Review: The Jewel and Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde

The Jewel and Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde

Publisher: Tor.com

Publication Date: May 3, 2016

Edition: ebook, 96 pages

Genre: Novella, Fantasy

Rating: 3/5

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“an epic fantasy, in miniature”… to a certain extent.

Book Review: The Emperor’s Railroad (Dreaming Cities #1) by Guy Haley

The Emperor’s Railroad (Dreaming Cities #1) by Guy Haley

Publisher: Tor.com

Publication Date: April 19, 2016

Edition: ebook, 176 pages

Genre: Novella, Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic, Zombie

Rating: 3.5/5

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Fantastic history to this world.

Book Review: Sunset Mantle by Alter S. Reiss

Sunset Mantle by Alter S. Reiss

Publisher: Tor.com

Publication Date: September 1, 2015

Edition: Paperback, 192 pages

Genre: Fantasy, Novella

Rating: 3.5/5

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A tale of a legendary warrior.