Rootless, rudderless, opponent-less but not friendless.
Not anymore.
science fiction
The Fantastic Next Door: John Paul Catton on Writing Other Cultures
BELINDA: Tell us about Voice of the Sword. JOHN: Voice of the Sword is Book One of the “Sword, Mirror, Jewel” trilogy, starring Japanese-American teenager Reiko Furukawa Bergman, based on updated characters and stories from Japanese mythology, legend and folklore. It’s for an age range for twelve upwards, and I call it Science Fantasy, not … Read more
Floating Cities & Microchips: LJ Higgins on the Science in Sci-Fi
BELINDA: Tell us about the science in the Dreamer Trilogy, Secrets of Aurora, and Skywatchers. LJ: In the Dreamer Trilogy everyone has a microchip implanted in their wrists which holds their personal and banking information. When it’s partnered with a Wristcuff (Device worn around the implant area) the wearer is promised pleasant dreams, better health … Read more
A Commentary on Humanity: Russell Nohelty on Non-Human Characters
Russell Nohelty’s Invasion is a sci-fi coming-of-age story about a boy (Johny) meeting a girl (Debra) in the midst of an alien invasion. And the kicker? Debra’s not human. BELINDA: Tell us about Debra. RUSSELL: Debra is an alien that has spent her entire life on Earth. Her parents came to Earth to start a … Read more
Risking her life: Sue Parritt on Strong Female Characters
Sue Parritt is an Australian science fiction author. Her first trilogy tells the tale of a futuristic Australia ravaged by climate change, and racial oppression.
BELINDA: Tell us about Sannah, what makes her strong?
SUE: Sensuous, emotional and dramatic, Sannah, 39, a descendant of Environmental Refugees from the drowned Pacific Islands, is the Storyteller for Village 10. Storytellers–one for each Brown Zone village–are trained to deliver a distorted version of history to ensure compliance and reinforce White superiority. An articulate speaker, Sannah employs both voice and body to weave a spell around her audience. She also plays the role of ‘lover’ to many White men, to gain information useful to the Women’s Line, an undercover group that assists political prisoners on the run to flee the country and find sanctuary in egalitarian Aotearoa. Intelligent and savvy, Sannah knows what it takes to survive in an oppressive apartheid society ruled by tyrannical troopers, but willingly risks her life to ensure clandestine truth-telling continues. In twenty-fourth century Australia, she is a third-class citizen, but despite her low status, she believes in the power to effect change. This, plus the determination to engage in seditious activities whatever the consequences, makes and keeps her strong.
On starcats, worldbuilding and cinematic storytelling
This is a reposting of an interview I conducted as part of the launch of Leonie Roger’s second book, Frontier Resistance, and has been edited to reflect the growing list of Leonie’s published works. Starcats are the kind of animals that we all would have nagged our parents to get for Christmas. Fortunately for our parents, starcats … Read more
A world-building template for when you're on the go
Patricia C. Wrede’s Fantasy World-building questions are great, and the World-building Leviathan is equally awesome, but there are times when they just don’t hit the spot. Like, when you’re halfway (or more) into your novel and you need to sort out what a battle mage can do that an illusionist can’t.
Sure, you can jot down a few notes and whack them into a notebook, but if, like me, you can’t stand the thought of not being organised, something a little more structured is in order.
Normally, I’d turn to Scrivener, but, until the iPad version comes out, it doesn’t work so well on-the-go. Yes, you can sync your files to an external folder and edit them on the iPad (which works great for writing), but whatever file structure you’ve created in Scrivener is lost, and when I’m world-building I need folders, and not just any folders, but nested folders and lots of them.
And so, I set out to make myself a template in which I could make random notes, while still being organised, and that I could use just as easily from my laptop as my iPad.
Revising Hero and the Pantser's Beat Sheet
Just after Christmas, I finished the first draft of Hero and since the New Year I’ve been hard at work on the second draft. Dan Wells’s 7-point plot system (aka the Pantser’s Beat Sheet) has been incredibly helpful during the revision process – particularly the layering process (explained in part 5 of Dan Wells’s lecture, available on YouTube) – and it too has undergone a revision.
Meet Hero
Meet Hero, the star of Hero-Fink, a novel set in the far distant future, on a far distant world. Hero Regan is special, and not in a way she likes. She hears voices, the kind of voices that other people can’t hear. Ever since she can remember, she’s been forced to take meds and prodded … Read more
John Crichton – mad, bad and dangerous to know
More anti-hero than hero, Crichton makes the all-star list more for his journey from squeaky clean good guy to interstellar, slightly insane, bad boy than any other trait.