07-03-09: One Book With Alan Cheuse : Writing the Textbook
There's money to be made writing textbooks. But it's not easy money by any means. This week on Three Books With Alan Cheuse, we're talking about one, that is, 'Literature: Craft & Voice, Volume 1: Fiction,' and about the process of writing a textbook.
You can afford to cut back to one book with Alan Cheuse when that book is a 700-page version of, as he describes it, "an issue of Harper's Magazine." Ever want to know how you go about getting into this lucrative business? I think dedication of the sort that one very rarely finds outside of religious orders is called for. Cheuse confided in me that he spent five and half years working on the three books he and I will be talking about, one at a time — and that was a very short timeline! You can hear us chat about the planning and events that went into that timeline by following the link to this MP3 audio file.
07-02-09: SF in SF Panel from June 20, 2009 — Pat Murphy, Lisa Goldstein, and Michaela Roessner Hosted by Rick Kleffel : Transformative Literature
I was fortunate enough to be asked to host the most recent meeting at SF in SF, and found myself sitting at the head of the class with Pat Murphy, Lisa Goldstein and Michaela Roessner, talking about their writing, all of which, it seemed to me, attempted to "transform" the world we know into something more interesting.
After all, all of the stories start out in what looks pretty much like our world and in our times. And yet, though subtle and unsubtle introductions of elements of the fantastic, this vision of our world is transformed — into something considerably more interesting to read. We had a great time talking about how each of them managed this, and got some keen looks into the crafting of the individual pieces, which offer a wide variety of approaches. You can write the folks at SF in SF if you like what you hear in the discussion from the link to the MP3 audio file.
07-01-09: Agony Column Podcast New Report : Michaela Roessner Interviewed at SF in SF on June 20, 2009
"...the hassidic carp, and the Kenyan tuna with the Koran on its scales are actually documented, whether they're real or not, they're news stories ... you can look them up online..." — Michaela Roessner
Michaela Roessner's story, "The Fishes Speak," was for me a perfect summary of what I love about SF in SF. Here's a story that's slated for PS Publishing's wonderful 'PostScripts' anthology, but that to my mind could just as easily have found publication in McSweeney's, The New Yorker, or any other mainstream literary magazine. The boundaries of genre have fallen aside.
From the get-go, "The Fishes Speak" is an unusual story, and I really wanted to talk to Roessner about her choice of the second person. Moreover, as you hear the story, you can tell that she did a boatload of research, and when I asked her about this she gave me an answer I've heard from many a writer; "I'm a research junkie." You can hear our conversation by following the link to this MP3 audio file.
Rick kleffel and Pat Murphy
06-30-09: Agony Column Podcast New Report : Pat Murphy Interviewed at SF in SF on June 20, 2009
"It is not just what is on the page that determines whether it is a science fiction story or not" — Pat Murphy
Before I pressed "record," Pat Murphy wondered what we were going to talk about. After all, I'd interviewed her quite recently — a year ago! Well, a lot can happen in a year, especially when Klutz books keeps you busy and your newest novel proves to be a success.
One of my favorite aspects of SF in SF is the joy of my on-the-spot interviews. It’s not just the writer who is on the spot; it's me as well, since I try to key my questions off the readings. Murphy's story was a poignant tale of taking care of one's aging parents with a lovely sense-of-wonder spin. She works in the lowest keys, keeping readers grounded while she mines the fantastic right out from under their feet. You can hear us discuss her story and her techniques by following this link to the MP3 audio file.
China Miéville
06-29-09: A 2009 Interview with China Miéville
"I don’t think crime is a realist
genre at all" — China Miéville
I believe that I said in one of the article I wrote about 'The City & The City' that for this book, you're best advised to go in cold. That said, there's been so much talk about the book, I suspect that many readers already have a pretty good grasp of what the deal is, and probably won’t be upset by haring China talk about what he intended in detail. I really like talking to China, who is sort of a contrarian in all matters literary. Yes, we talked about his latest book, but we also talked about his many projects in the mix as well. There are a lot of them, and readers will want to hear the man himself explain them in his oh-so-mellifluous voice. Here's the link to the MP3 audio file for you to do so.
New to the Agony Column
02-09-10: Commentary : Douglas Clegg Returns to 'Neverland' : Is 1980's Horror Returning from the Grave?
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2009 Interview with David Drake, Part 2 / Complete : "I didn't have governor ... that is ... anything, endgame, was me killing somebody.""
02-08-10: Commentary : David Louis Edelman Completes Jump 225 : 'Geosynchron'
02-05-10: Commentary : DC Pierson is 'The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To' : The Insomnia Vibe
Agony Column Podcast News Report : Three Books with Alan Cheuse: Too Much Money, Dominick Dunne; The Privileges, Jonathan Dee; Adam Haslett, Union Atlantic; The Forty Rules of Love, Elif Shafak; Wild Child, T. C. Boyle
02-04-10: Commentary : David Grann and 'The Devil and Sherlock Holmes' : An Obsession with Obsession
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2010 Interview with Josh Sundquist : "It was a really amazing testament to the power of small-town America and to the power of organized religion at its best."
02-03-10: Commentary : James Rollins Unleashes 'The Altar of Eden' : Monsters at the Zoo
02-01-10: Commentary : 'He Walked Among Us' : Cassandra, John Titor and Norman Spinrad
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2010 Interview with Charlie Huston : "The prospect of things becoming deeply unhinged seemed very, very immediate"
01-29-10: Commentary : Henghis Hapthorn Meets 'Hespira' : Matthew Hughes Devolves the Universe
01-27-10: Commentary : Glen Cook Walks the 'Shadowline' : Every Old (Science Fiction) Thing is New (Space Opera) Again
Agony Column Podcast News Report : An Interview with Jeff Carlson at SF in SF on January 16, 2010 : "The bad guys never consider themselves the bad guys..."
01-19-10: Commentary : Gene Wolfe Moves into 'The Sorcerer's House' : Magical Surrealism
Agony Column Podcast News Report : Three Books with Alan Cheuse : Don Delillo: 'Point Omega,' Robert Stone: 'Fun With Problems,' Douglas Preston: 'Impact'
01-18-10: Commentary : George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois Bring On 'Warriors' : An Anthology Waiting to Happen
