My newest novel, The Red: First Light, is a very near-future military thriller that got me thinking again about the challenges of writing near-future fiction. The result is a blog post, up today over at Book View Café:
This fear of early obsolescence or “aging out†makes the near future a scary place to set a novel. What’s the lifespan of a book going to be when the associated history is changing even as the novel is written?
I had the good fortune this spring to visit Japan. My husband’s grandparents emigrated from Kumamoto prefecture in southern Japan. Ron and I had long intended to visit the region, but we kept putting off the trip year after year for the usual reasons of time and money and language issues. Neither of us speaks any Japanese. But last fall it occurred to us “If not now, when?” So we sat down with our daughter (who does speak a little Japanese) and son-in-law and booked our flight to Fukuoka, which is a large city just a short train-ride away from Kumamoto. We chose to go the week that the University of Hawaii takes spring break in the hope that our son could come along too. As it turned out, my son couldn’t make it, but our timing was exquisite, because we stepped off the plane to find ourselves at the peak of cherry blossom season. We couldn’t have planned it better if we’d tried. Actually, if we’d tried, I’m sure we wouldn’t have done nearly so well, because the season was predicted to peak a week later.
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This is a post from last spring, but I’m going to pin it up here at the top of the blog for a few days in light of the present widespread discussion regarding those of us who like to post a list of our award-eligible work.
I started writing this post last fall, and then got distracted. I was inspired to return to it by the thoughtful comments of one my most supportive readers, addressing the relationship between business and art. I’ll be blunt and say that throughout my career I have seen money as a measure of my success and, having never made much money, I’ve never seen myself as a success. I’ve been criticized for this. More than once I’ve been assured that “success” in writing can be defined in many other ways, that I shouldn’t beat myself up over it, that my art will live on. But I remain skeptical. (more…)
It’s been a tragic, crazy week. Not for me personally — life has gone on here in my island sanctuary much as usual — but like the rest of the US and many other parts of the world I’ve watched the surreal unfolding of events in Boston and the tragedy in Texas, and it’s still April 20th of course, a notorious day in itself. Let’s hope it passes quietly.
As I mentioned earlier in the month, I was privileged to guest blog over at the website of Charles Stross. Charlie has many active and interesting commenters, and if you’re not already following his blog, you might want to start. Here are links to my posts, if you’re interested:
Nathan, at Fantasy Review Barn, posts a detailed and positive review of my “scoundrel-lit” novel The Dread Hammer:
Smoke is the core of the story, a wonderful flawed character. His love for Ketty is pure but it may be the only thing about him that is. A perfect killer with atrocities tied to him, he is feared by all. Alone among the Bidden he is unloved by the people, and shows them no love in return. If not for Ketty he may not have any cares in the world, yet hears the prayers of many in trouble and often answers them. Intriguing and hard to pin down is our Smoke, but a whole lot of fun to read about.
I have the great good fortune of guest-blogging this week over at Charlie’s Diary, the blog of top SF writer Charles Stross.
Not long ago, Charlie did a blog post on why he doesn’t self-publish. I asked if he’d be okay with me doing a counter post on why I do self-publish and he thought it was a good idea. Follow this link to view the post, and if you’re not already following Charlie’s blog, check out the fascinating array of topics he covers.
Keith Brook of Infinity Plus asks me some questions on the new novel, along with my take on this new world of publishing, and a few other things. Here’s a snippet. Visit Keith’s site to read the whole thing.
Snapshots: Linda Nagata interviewed
What’s recently or soon out?
In any other month, the big news would be the publication of my short story, “Through Your Eyes,†in the March/April double issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction. It’s a near-future story with a theme focused on technology and civil rights, and it’s the first story I’ve ever had in Asimov’s…
Every time I see an article on the invisibility of women writing SF, I get an image of me as the donkey in Shrek, jumping up and down behind the crowd, yelling “read me!”
Not very dignified, I know.
Did you know I have a new science fiction novel out?
😉
The June issue of Analog is now available. It includes my Nanotech Succession short story “Out In The Dark”–the second story featuring Zeke Choy.
The original story in this sequence was “Nahiku West,” first published in the October 2012 issue of Analog and now available in the ebook Two Stories. The sequence explores the early life of Zeke Choy, a minor character in my novel The Bohr Maker.
The ebook version of Analog is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
My newest science fiction novel, The Red: First Light, is now available in a print edition. Find it at:
The Red: First Light is a near-future thriller, with a boots-on-the-ground military theme. Click here to read a sample online.
Here’s the back cover copy:
“There Needs To Be A War Going On Somewhere”
Lieutenant James Shelley commands a high-tech squad of soldiers in a rural district within the African Sahel. They hunt insurgents each night on a harrowing patrol, guided by three simple goals: protect civilians, kill the enemy, and stay alive—because in a for-profit war manufactured by the defense industry there can be no cause worth dying for. To keep his soldiers safe, Shelley uses every high-tech asset available to him—but his best weapon is a flawless sense of imminent danger…as if God is with him, whispering warnings in his ear. (Hazard Notice: contains military grade profanity.)
If you read the book, if you like the book, please consider spreading the word. Recommend it on your favorite social media, consider writing a blog post, or review it at Amazon. Most books are sold through personal recommendations — word of mouth. So if you like The Red: First Light I’d really appreciate it if you could help get the word out. Thank you!
Here are links to ebook vendors — and thanks again!