Robyn and I were super thrilled to have the opportunity to interview bestselling author Hugh Howey for our May 2 episode of Tipsy Nerds Book Club. Hugh is the author of Wool, the 2011 self-published book that made Hugh a publishing sensation. Hugh parlayed his publishing success into the life of his dreams. He is currently living aboard his boat, Wayfinder, and is sailing around the world. We had a chance to catch up with Hugh while he was docked in Brisbane, Australia. This was a particularly tipsy episode! Check it out:
The drinks for this episode are both fun and delicious. Hugh's favorite cocktail is an Old Fashioned, so we created a new take on an old drink. You can check out the recipe for "Howey's Old Fashioned" on the Tipsy Nerds website. And inspired by the stratified existence of the dwellers of the silo, Robyn created the "Silo 17 Shooter", a super strong flaming cocktail! Drink at your own risk!
The "Howey Old Fashioned" in honor of Hugh Howey, author of Wool
The "Silo 17 Shooter", inspired by Wool by Hugh Howey
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Have you ever spent more than six months developing a world and characters for an epic fantasy story, only to have a new story idea come along and demand that you work on it?
PENuary’s daily writing has got my creative motor on overdrive and a shiny new story idea that is begging for me to pay attention to it. Like dreaming about it, daydreaming, researching, over-the-top obsessed, driving my family nuts talking about it constantly, I NEED TO WRITE THIS STORY!
So, the epic fantasy is on hold for the indefinite future. Hello, new Sci-Fi story.
And, the need to name lots of characters. Hence, a new poll.
Here’s a photo that is a good resemblance to the character I have in mind (without the flowers!). Her defining features are the freckles across her hose, bright blue eyes and amazingly thick, dark eyebrows.
This character is between 12-14 at the beginning of the story. She is smart, quirky and creative. She plays piano but is also a math genius. She lives in an apartment with her dad (a scientist and professor) and her dog. The setting for the story is a world inspired by our world at the beginning of the 20th century (from 1910-1920).
Photo by Cajo Gomes via Unsplash
What name do you think would be the best for this character?
H.A.L.F.: The Makers launched May 10 and wow! It's like overnight people have found this series!
There are multiple aspects to The Makers. Readers will follow new adventures of characters they loved (and hated!) from book 1, The Deep Beneath. But there are also lots of new characters - and worlds - to discover.
In this trailer, I focus your attention on the aliens of The Makers. Think you know all there is to know about those bulbous-headed, little grey aliens?
Think again!
And alien abductions may be the least of our worries ...
Did you enjoy the trailer? Does it make you curious? You can learn more about The Makers on its dedicated web page here. And you can purchase the book in the format of your choice here.
For the first time ever, and only for 5 days, my award-winning book H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath (H.A.L.F. #1), is FREE on Amazon! If you haven't yet picked up a copy of H.A.L.F. (#1) but you've wanted to try it out, Now's the time! H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath is free from 5/6-5/10/16, only on Amazon. Here are the links: Amazon Amazon U.K Amazon CA And if you want to pre-order H.A.L.F. #2 - The Makers - you can do that here. And to learn more about the special pre-order offer that I've got going on (including an exclusive full-color book that you can't buy in stores), clickhere.
Here's a tidbit of a teaser for my upcoming release, The Makers (H.A.L.F. #2). I'll let the meme speak for itself and (hopefully) pique your curiosity about what it means.
Do you love Giveaways, Swag & Bonus Content?
I have such a fun package of goodies for people who Preorder The Makers!
The first 25 who Preorder will receive the audiobook version of The Deep Beneath, my award-winning first book in the H.A.L.F. series
Everyone who preorders the eBook is automatically entered into a giveaway to win an AUTOGRAPHED Hardcover copy of The Makers + Exclusive swag. (NOTE: This part of the giveaway open ONLY TO U.S. mailing address.
**For every 100 copies Preordered by release date (May 10), I'll add another signed hardcover + swag to the prize package :-D
An exclusive and exciting bonus book that is only available to people who preorder
A second exclusive book that includes lost chapters with the author's commentary
But you have to play to win! In order to claim your exclusive preorder package, follow these instructions:
Forward your receipt or Email the Screenshot or otherwise send proof of your purchase to this email: TheMakersBook@gmail.com
BOOSH! That's it. You will receive an email with links to download your digital content.
NOTE: If you were one of the first 25 to order, you'll receive a gifted copy of The Deep Beneath directly from Audible to the email address you mailed the receipt from
NOTE: When the Preorder period is over, the giveaway ends and winner(s) of the signed hardcover will be notified by email & asked to provide their U.S. mailing address
You can learn more about the book including the description & early reader reviews by visiting this page.
Welcome to Writer Chat Wednesday! Continuing with Steampunk week, I chat today with Jason G. Anderson, author of Gears of Wonderland, a wonderfully fun steampunk tale set in Wonderland. Jason is an imaginative storyteller and I'm so psyched that he took a moment to visit with me. Come back Friday for my review of Gears of Wonderland.
Natalie
Wright (NW): When and how did you become interested in Steampunk? For anyone
interested in reading books in the Steampunk genre, can you recommend some good
ones that you enjoyed?
JASON
ANDERSON (JA): My initial interest in steampunk came purely from
the visual aspect. The Victorian-but-not clothing, the strange machines, the
bizarre city scenes with airships and other unusual elements in the picture,
etc. Then I read (and watched) various steampunk, or steampunk inspired,
stories, and became hooked.
One book I whole-heartedly recommend is by indie-author SM Reine. It’s a
novella I read over Christmas, titled “The 19 Dragons”. As the name suggests,
the story focuses on 19 dragons, but they all live in a unique steampunk world
that depends on them remaining alive for it to exist. Which isn’t good when
someone starts killing the dragons one by one! The story itself is crafted in a
very unusual way, as it switches viewpoint to each of the dragons in turn to
tell the tale. I loved it, and highly recommend it to everyone remotely interested
in the steampunk genre.
NW: What
inspired you to write Gears of Wonderland?
JA: Back in October 2010 I was getting ready to take part in NaNoWriMo,
planning out the story I was going to write (totally unrelated to Wonderland or
steampunk). Then I saw the SyFy version of Alice, and immediately got struck by
the idea of a Wonderland that had aged and changed along with our world. I
tried to ignore it, and focus on my original story idea, but the thought just
wouldn’t get out of my head. So I began developing the idea further, and it was
the story I wrote for NaNoWriMo.
The two core ideas I had was the Knave of Hearts taking over Wonderland,
and that the land had gone down the steampunk route (since the original stories
were written in the Victorian period). Everything else came later. The final
published version isn’t too different to what I had at the end of NaNoWriMo. I
reworked parts of the first quarter of the story, and added a few extra scenes
throughout the rest, but it didn’t end up changing much at all.
Actually, I lie. The first draft of Gears didn’t have the White Rabbit
in the story at all. That was a real head-slap moment for me when I realized –
how can you have a story about Wonderland that doesn’t have the White Rabbit?
So he got worked into the story during the revision.
Another thing that changed was the title. My original working title was
Wonderland in Darkness, but I figured it was rather uninspiring, and didn’t
convey the steampunk aspect. So I changed it to the current title as I approached
the end of the first draft.
NW: Laura,
James' girlfriend, is such a -- difficult -- woman. I was happy when James,
early on, had an opportunity to get a break from her! Is the Laura character
based on any real life girlfriend(s)?
JA: “Difficult” is one word to describe her! No, Laura isn’t based on
anyone I know. Some nasty people have claimed that I must be writing about my
wife, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I wanted the opening scenes
of the novel, with James’s boss and Laura, to show how submissive James was at
this point in his life. He was unwilling to fight for the things he wanted, or
even consider ‘rocking the boat’, no matter how bad their demands became.
Wonderland becomes a chance for him to leave those habits (mostly) behind, and
grow in confidence.
NW: Will you
write a sequel to Gears of Wonderland?
JA: That is my current plan. I didn’t set out to write a series originally,
but I had a lot of fun working with the characters as I was revising the book
into its final form that I’d like to go back to the setting. A few people have
also asked about a sequel, so it seems to have struck a chord with a few
readers at least.
I have a few ideas floating around in my mind on what the sequel could
be about (the fallout from what happened at the end of the novel, and Kara’s
search for her mother), but nothing solid yet. I’ve got to survive my current
WIP first!
NW: Why did
you choose to self-publish? And are you interested in pursuing a traditional
publishing contract?
JA: To be honest, I decided to self-publish because I couldn’t imagine
being a traditionally published author!
I’ve always been a fan of having full control over whatever I create.
Back when I went to university, I wrote software for Apple computers that I
sold online as “shareware” (basically you download the program to try it out
first, and if you like it you buy it from the author). More recently, I wrote
several small roleplay gaming supplements, that I sold as PDF.
When the urge to write novels became too large to
ignore, being an indie author didn’t seem much different to what I’d done
before. That’s not to say that I’d never accept a traditional publishing
contract. But they would have to offer me much better than their “standard”
terms to entice me. And whatever they offered would have to not screw over my
current readers (unlike a current indie-turned-traditional author that my wife
was a fan of, who signed a deal that blocks sales of their current & future
books outside of the US).
NW: You live
in Tasmania, which is so far away from so many places! Have you always lived
there? And does your environment inspire your writing at all?
JA: We’re not that far away from the rest of the world :)
Yep, I was born in Tasmania, although at the opposite end of the state
(Devonport). I moved to Hobart, the state capital, to attend university. After
I graduated I managed to find a job down here, so I stayed. I also met my
future wife at university, which was another reason not to move back to my
parents place!
I don’t really know that I could say the environment has inspired my
writing that much. I guess because Tasmania doesn’t have the level of
development, or the large cities, that other places have, I tend to think more in
terms of open spaces and green surrounds (which featured in Gears). I can’t say
that it’s helped with my post-apocalyptic short stories though :)
NW: Will you
write more books in the Steampunk genre? And/or what other genres do you write
in?
JA: Other than the sequel to Gears, I’m not sure if I’ll write more in the
steampunk genre, at least in the near-future. While it’s not the wisest idea to
spread yourself over different genres, the next few ideas I have for books are
in the sci-fi and urban fantasy genres. Plus I have my Atomic Wasteland series
of short stories, which are all set in a post-apocalyptic world.
It all depends how strong the idea for the story is when it comes time
for me to start a new book I guess!
NW: What are
you working on now? Can we look forward to any new titles from you soon?
JA: I’m currently working on a sci-fi thriller titled “On Ice”. It’s about
a group of scientists who are studying the polar region of an uninhabited alien
planet. They become cut off from the main base of the (planet-wide) expedition,
and have to deal with a situation that goes from bad to worse very quickly. As
people start dying, they begin to realize that there may be a reason the planet
is uninhabited!
The novel in part is inspired by my own work. I work in the Antarctic
science field (as an assistant, not a scientist), and wanted to write about
something that was ice-related. Setting it in modern-day Antarctica didn’t
appeal, but putting it in the future did. I’ve been able to talk with a few
people who have spent time “in the field”, to get a feel of what it’s like to
work in that sort of environment. Hopefully I won’t mess up too much of what
they told me! :)
I’m frantically working on the book now, and hope to have it out
sometime in April.
Thanks Jason for stopping by. I'm looking forward to reading On Ice and hope you'll stop back then to chat about it.
Bio: Jason G. Anderson lives in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia with his wife and several cats. During the day, he helps Antarctic scientists manage the vast quantities of data they collect. At night, he dreams of other worlds and realities much different to our own. His writing interests include sci-fi, urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic and steampunk.
As e-books flourish, self-publishing is exploding and some writers are pumping out a new e-book ever 2-3 months (some even faster).
I’m going to tell you why you’ll probably never see me deliver 4-6 books
to the reader in a year.
My brain works on what I
call the “Saturate and Distill” method.
Maybe all the beer I drank in college influenced my brain cells to act
like a liquor still or maybe I was just "Born this Way."
But for whatever reason,
I take in loads of information, then let it tumble around inside my head for a
while. When the info is sufficiently distilled, I get inspired and puke up
stuff onto the page. In this stage I’m
working fast and furious, trying to get it all down. I try not to think or second-guess or
question myself. I try to shut my conscious
self down and allow all that stuff I learned to mix with my own life
experiences, the collective unconscious, my own unconscious self and maybe even
what some call divine inspiration. Mix
well and out comes a story.
In the first go round I’m
just looking to get a beginning middle and end.
A lot of what happens in this first draft will be cut. Some of it is dialogue
that I, the writer, need to hear but you, the reader, would get bored and
thrown off track if I leave it in. Or
maybe its just wrong turns the characters take.
That’s cool, the characters need to figure out who they are and what
they’re about. But you, the reader, don’t
want to read what sometimes reads back like someone’s diary.
The first draft, the
beautiful period of imagination and discovery, is only the beginning. Some writers have said that the first draft
is about figuring out what the book is about.
You write a first draft, put it away for a while, then pull it out and
read it through. And hopefully you have
that “Aha” moment when you say, “So that’s
what it’s all about!”
Cover art for "Emily's House" Coming Late Fall, 2011
I have re-worked,
revised and re-written “Emily’s House” for a year now! Granted, it’s my first novel and since I
didn’t have much of a clue what I was doing when I started, my editing process
was at times a re-write process.
But man, what a
difference it makes. The “Emily’s House”
I just turned over to the editor bears little resemblance to the “Emily’s
House” it was last August at the end of the first draft phase.
The other reason that I’m
not going to promise readers a new book every three months is because my books
tend to require a lot of research. Why?
Because I create new
takes on existing mythologies. In
“Emily’s House,” my starting point was pre-Christian Celtic mythology. But my early research revealed the
tantalizing fact that the Celts originated east of modern-day Europe and they
were influenced by Vedic traditions out of India.
Add a little Celtic
mythology with some Buddhist philosophy, stir in some Vedic thought, and
voila! A new mythology is born, one that
feels familiar but is not exactly like anything else.
Screech! This past week I’m like a car factory
re-tooling for a new model. My brain has
to dump faeries and torcs and enchanted wells and particle colliders. Now I’m streaming “Ancient Aliens” on Netflix
and reading about the 1947 crash in Roswell and about alien abductions. I’m filling up on alien mythology now as my
brain sifts and filters and distills it, creating its own alien mythology.
In my current work in progress, “H.A.L.F.”, the main character Erika Holt will meet up with Tex, an
alien-human hybrid who is traipsing through the desert trying to escape from
the U.S. government facility where he was created. What starts as Friday night good times in the
desert for Erika and her friends, Ian and Kyle, ends up being a nightmare of
three teens and a hybrid against the might of the U.S. government.
I’m a huge sci-fi fan and
thought I already knew a lot about alien mythology. I was wrong.
As I began reading articles and books, I realized there was a whole lot
more to the alien mythology than I realized.
Then I began watching episode after episode of “Ancient Aliens”
streaming on Netflix and I realized that not only must Giorgio Tsoukalos be an alien because there’s no other
explanation for how he can get his hair to do that, but that this alien
mythology thing is expanding so much, it is in fact replacing Judeo-Christian
religion for a lot of people. Ancient
alien theorists have replaced God the Creator with Alien the Creator. This is BIG mythology being made right now,
today.
What is coming out of
this research are twists and turns I didn’t initially see coming for
“H.A.L.F.” And what started out as one
book I now see as three because the alien mythology and government conspiracy
theory are just too big – and too much fun – for only one book!
Time to get back to
writing. I’m excited to get “H.A.L.F.”
into your hands so you can meet Erika and Tex and their nemesis, Commander
Sturgis, a bad-ass military scientist with a chip on her shoulder and something
to prove.
Have you had an encounter
with a UFO? Anything strange ever happen
to you that you can’t explain?
And if you haven’t had an
encounter but enjoy alien sci-fi stories and movies, why do you think we can’t
get enough of aliens?
