E. E. Knight is a relative newcomer, even though, like most authors, he’s been writing for a LoOoOng time. I was most intrigued by how his path through a series of publishing house nightmares led to a mass market deal.  As a veteran of publishing house nightmares myself (see the Cautionary Tales Part 1 page link nearby and the link in the post immediately below), I applaud those authors who are not deterred by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Since he finally shepherded Way of the Wolf into a mass market deal in 2003, he’s released seven novelsContinue readingAuthor Interview Series #36 – E. E. Knight

Elizabeth Bear won the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Short Story for her story “Tideline,” which is about a sentient robotic battle tank and its relationship with a human child.  I didn’t get the chance to meet Elizabeth Bear at World Con this year, but I was pleased that at least someone I voted for actually won. “Tideline” also won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial award for Best Short Story.  She also took home the John W. Campbell award for Best New Writer in 2005.  So it seems that while she hasn’t been neck deep in the industry for all thatContinue readingAuthor Interview Series #35 – Elizabeth Bear

We’re approaching the end of a long string of authors whom I met at World Con in August. This week we meet Francis Hamit, a gentleman and a scholar who’s just released his novel The Shenandoah Spy. As a history buff myself, I can certainly appreciate a great story set in a meticulously researched milieu. The history of spying is a fascinating topic that goes back millennia, and the American Civil War has been underrepresented in espionage fiction, overshadowed in recent decades by the Cold War and then the War on Terrorism. His new book certainly sounds like something outContinue readingAuthor Interview Series #34 – Francis Hamit

As a perfect horror-ific bracket around Halloween to accompany Ramsey Campbell’s interview last week, I bring you Carrie Vaughn. One of the cool things about SF/F/H fandom is that one can meet the most unexpected people at a con … and still not know who they are.  At the Omaha Science Fiction Festival last July, I met Carrie Vaughn briefly, when everyone is moving from panel to panel, but at the time, I had no idea who she was.  Dummy me. Then, at World Con in August, I attended the Weird Tales magazine party, and here was the same womanContinue readingAuthor Interview Series #33 – Carrie Vaughn