NetGalley!

Recently became a NetGalley member! Basically, through NetGalley, you apply to get an advance copy of a giant selection of upcoming books. It’s kind of like a combination between a lottery and a library — you may not always get approved, but if you do, you essentially get a free book well ahead of publication. Hopefully I’ll get approved for books soon.

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Inspirations for "By the Will of the Gods"

A friend of mine asked me what my inspirations for my SFF might be. I found that an interesting question to answer, as I feel what I generally like reading in SFF are not necessarily reflective of what I hope to accomplish when it comes to any one of the SFF stories I write, or even of my SFF writing in general.

“By the Will of the Gods” is a sci-fi murder mystery set in a world whose culture was not like any particular culture on Earth, while also reminiscent of several different Earth cultures. As such, although I drew from classic models in the mystery genre such as Chandler novels and Bogart films, I also was strongly influenced by mysteries from writers of Asian descent, such as the Feng Shui Detective series from Nury Vittachi, the Night Market series from Ed Lin, and the Singapore Noir book, edited by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan. When it comes to what specifically influenced the sci-fi in the story, I think Philip K. Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle” and Bruce Sterling’s Schismatrix series come to mind and maybe the most recent wave of hard sci-fi space opera writers, such as Aliette de Bodard, Charles Stross and Alastair Reynolds, but also anime such as Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell, as well as films such as Blade Runner. (The training montage in the novelette was influenced not only by the classic “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin,” but also my own experiences in martial arts.)

The universe in which “By the Will of the Gods” is set has slightly different influences than the story itself. I’m aiming for it to remind readers of Star Trek and Babylon 5, but also to some degree of Jorge Luis Borges, Philip K. Dick, Iain M. Banks, Dan Simmons, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Moorcock, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley and Jonathan Swift. The models I think of striving toward when it comes to my SFF writing in general will likely be Michael Chabon, Charles Dickens, Jorge Luis Borges, Raymond Chandler and Victor Hugo, with maybe some Neil Gaiman and maybe some Philip K. Dick. (I do have a special place in my heart for French authors such as Hugo, Flaubert and Balzac — it would be nice for me to review their work and see what techniques of theirs I might adopt now.)

That said, each of the SFF stories I have planned are meant to stand alone and have very distinctive voices. My next story, “That Idiot Show,” will be fantasy, and is inspired in large part by Kelly Link.

Giving thanks for "By the Will of the Gods"

There are a bunch of people I'd like to thank for reading my first sci-fi submission, given how clunky it was. Naturally, I'd like to first thank the editor of Analog, Trevor Quachri, for thinking it worthy of acceptance.

A bunch of old friends had some kind and constructive words to say — Constantine Mountrakis, Emma Salo, Joven Carandang, Leah Schnelbach and Ryan Phelan. Christophe Maso of the Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers group welcomed me into his home for hours to talk with me about my work. And while I didn't find the Critters Writers Workshop especially helpful, Rebecca Wilcox there was very nice, which was definitely appreciated given how often my submission got rejected.

Geoff Landis was very supportive and insightful, and it was always good to get approval from a major pro in the field. My old partner in crime, Lou Mazzella, had some great ideas that led to a scene that helped fix some major problems with the structure of the initial draft.

Tara North, no mean writer herself, probably provided the most analysis and most constructive criticism. The story probably owes the most to her, for which I thank her greatly.

And last but not least, I'm always going to thank my first reader, my beloved wife Sarah Fecht.

Writing guides for "By the Will of the Gods"

There are three guides I found invaluable for writing my sci-fi murder mystery:

1) Hallie Ephron and Sara Paretsky’s “Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel.” Really just gangbusters when it comes to investigating every aspect of writing a mystery.

2) Cory Doctorow and Karl Schroeder’s “The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Science Fiction.” It’s a real shame this book is out of print. Somewhat behind the times when it comes to the sci-fi market because it was published in 2000, but mostly everything in it having to do with writing science fiction holds up extraordinarily well.

3) Writer's Digest’s “Crafting Novels & Short Stories.” I much prefer it when writing guides offer concrete tips on how to approach the craft. This book is well-organized and lovingly devoted to making you a better writer of fiction.