Keep it pure!

This week’s topic is another tough one for me since I’m a bit of a purest. I like my mysteries to be more mystery than romance and my romance to be character driven then action oriented.

I’ll let you in on a not-so-secret secret. I’m not big on romance. Not in my reading, or my movies, or my real life. Don’t get me wrong! I would love my husband to surprise me with a trip or a night out, but I’m more for the adventure than the romance. I like the new experience, not the romantic feelings involved. Sorry, but feelings come and go based on the person and the experience.

So I enjoy my entertainment more character oriented. Is cross-genre a good thing? Yes, I think so. Because people aren’t just romantic or mysterious. They aren’t just good or evil. Even the villain is the hero of his or her own story, right?

Even though my mysteries don’t have much to do with romance (heck, I can’t write a scene with Cerri kissing her husband, Matt, without thinking it sounds dumb!), I don’t not read something because it crosses a genre line. I like all types of books and movies.

It all boils down to one simple fact. People are multi-facetted.

Blessings!
Nichole

Topic of the Week

Cross-genre blending. Is it a good idea?

I just love weres of all kinds, but the werewolf has to be my favorite.  Completely feral uncontrolled and powerful but still human.  I like to think they are the worst and best of the human race magnified to unimaginable levels.  And since wolfies are my favorite, I took my girls to watch New Moon Thanksgiving night.

About the only thing in Haleyville that didn't roll up the sidewalks was the Dixie Theatre.  After spending the day cooking and eating tons of good food, everyone scattered, my husband to the woods to deer hunt, my son to a Christmas auction.  This left a rare girls night out for my daughters and I.  One loves Edward, the other Jacob and so a "team" war ensued on the drive there.  Personally, I'm on team Jacob and not just for the werewolf in him. lol.  He's a nice guy, devoted and loving to Bella in a non obsessive way.  The more I read the series, the more I wish Bella's story had ended differently.  Anyway, the movie was well presented, even if I hate the way the series ended.  We had a great time, just me and my girls.  Hope you're holiday was a good one!
Be blessed,
Beth

Ware Oh Ware Are You Tonight...

I'm going to admit, when I read the topic of this week, I totally didn't think it said "shifter". Had to do a little double take on that one.

I'm a Ware Wolf girl. There is no shifter better, stronger, and yes... sexier than the good ole ware wolf. And I'm betting there is a corner of your gnarled little soul that thinks the same thing. The ware wolf breaks all taboos. He's all about instinct and primal desires. There is nothing that the ware wolf can't do. There is nothing that he WON'T do. And there is a little part of everyone that is envious.

As a society we have to follow the rules. They are there for a reason after all. The rules keep us and those around us safe. They are a system of control that lets everyone function with the maximum amount of freedom. But the ware wolf is all about no control. he allows all primal instincts to take over.

And it's result is madness.

Imagine for an instant, just an instant, that you can let loose. Allow all control and rigid societal rules to fly out the window. Imagine the freedom. The sweet, sweet freedom. But then... imagine how frightening it would be, to have no control. To allow your instincts to take over, allowing you to do something that you know is wrong. Even the ultimate wrong... murder. It's a horrible trade off.

I suppose that if you lived long enough, you could create a balance. Maximum freedom, minimum madness. I just don't think ware wolves would live long enough to strike that balance.

Heather

Moxyland: The world of Lauren Beukes

I've know Lauren Beukes for a while now. I first encountered her short fiction in Something Wicked magazine and often read her articles. She has recently had great success with a speculative fiction tale—Moxyland—in a South African setting, painting a rather grim, distopian view of Cape Town a few years from now. She has kindly spared me some time from her busy schedule to chat about her writing.

Where did the idea for Moxyland spring from?

The original short story which became the novel was inspired by the hush-hush underground Lucky Strike parties and how brands were finding more devious ways to connect to consumers and creating a generation of sponsor babies.

But when I started writing the novel, it veered into neo-apartheid, cool advances in bio-tech, graffiti culture, AIDS, the art scene, virtual lives, alternate-reality gaming, soccer, the schism of poverty, corporate interference in government, apartheid’s insidious Special Branch police unit and their double-agent askaris, Wouter Basson’s dodgy medical experiments and issues of identity. Basically, I took everything I’m interested in and squeezed it in wherever I could.

Was it difficult finding a publisher for such obvious speculative fiction in South Africa?

I was very lucky, although it had a rocky start. A maverick young publisher Michelle Matthews wanted to start a new cult contemporary lit imprint for Struik and had already laid claim to Moxyland when the imprint fell through.

So, I took the manuscript to Jacana, who publish the most interesting books in South Africa: smart, playful, experimental fiction and hard-hitting non-fiction. The publishing director, Maggie Davey read the manuscript on the plane on the way to the Frankfurt Book Fair and by the time she landed, I had a book deal!

Tell us more about this deal with Angry Robot.

My agent was shopping the book around to literary imprints (we had some awesome rejection letters) when my friend and author Sarah Lotz got wind of HarperCollins’ new SF/F and WTF imprint about to launch. We contacted Angry Robot and they got back to us in record time and Moxyland became one of their launch titles. They’re an amazing, passionate bunch. Great to work with and excellent drinking companions.

How was the Moxyland ebook with its soundtrack received?

It was the first time anyone had released an ebook with an embedded soundtrack (and player) so there was a lot of great publicity. I’m hugely indebted to Electric Bookworks who figured out how to do it and to African Dope for helping me put together an official future-sound-of-Cape-Town soundtrack with their exceptionally talented artists.

Who was your favourite character in Moxyland, and why?

I had the most fun with Toby. He’s such a charismatic, amoral dodgy bastard, like the spirit of Long Street personified.

What is it about a South African setting that appeals to you and what do you think will appeal to foreign readers?

That old adage, write what you know? I know Cape Town, maybe better than a lot of people because journalism has given me an all-access pass from six-star guest houses frequented by topshelf politicos through to the the most desperate poverty and violence-stricken areas in the townships.

South Africa is a remarkable place, especially considering all we’ve come through. We like to live like our history never happened, but those roots are deep and treacherous and they’re still gonna trip us up for years to come. It’s an inspiring (and often devastating) place to live, with the mash of culture and identity.

We’re a country in the process of becoming. Becoming quite what, I don’t know, but I hope to hell it’s not Moxyland. I think foreign readers will find the strangeness appeals, the uncomfortable mix of first world and third world. It’s a place we haven’t seen represented that often in science fiction (District 9 aside).

Do you think local publishers will be more receptive to genre fiction any time soon?

I really don’t know. There’s a proven dedicated market for genre fiction, so I’d like to hope there will be. It depends on how open-minded publishers are and if it makes good business sense. But considering the top sellers of the moment are all high fantasy (Twilight, Harry Potter, Dan Brown), there’s certainly the possibility.

Useful links:
www.moxyland.com
www.angryrobotbooks.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Beukes
twitter: @laurenbeukes

My favorite shifters are ...

unpublished!

Let me explain. I don't really read shifters. In fact, I can't think of a book or story I've read that features them. Well, I do like the story about the woman who was turned to a hawk by night and her lover who was a dog by day. They were able to be together only for a few moments during sunset and sunrise.

Anyway, if we aren't counting the shift of my sweet daughter into an angst-filled teenager, then my favorite is a yet-unpublished work that a woman in my local writer's group is working on. Her mythical race is immortal and manages to have thoughts and opinions on the various times they find themselves. Maybe it's because I know the author, or maybe it's my love of history, but those are the shifters I find myself enjoying the most.

I hope she gets them published. I wish her all the luck in that respect!

Blessings!

Nichole

Topic of the Week

What's your favorite kind of shifter?