2012 Snapshot of Australian SF

I've been interviewed as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian SF, where various bloggers publish various Aussie SF interviews over the course of several days. Here's my interview on Ian Mond's blog.

There are loads of great interviews to check out in this series - see the link round-up here: Snapshot 2012

Interview about SF and SFR

Aussie author Kylie Griffin has interviewed me on her blog, where I talk about some sci-fi influences and the slooooow (but hopefully ongoing) rise of SFR's popularity.

Check out Kylie's new book release Vengeance Born!

SFR: What is it and why is it good stuff?

Heidi Ruby Miller writes a column called Geek Girl Underground for Inveterate Media Junkies. Today she's blogging about the sci-fi romance genre: Set Your Phasers to Love. She asked me and some other authors about how we view the genre - and why it works for us!

Geek Girls

Heather Massey at the Galaxy Express asked a bunch of us what being a Geek Girl means. Find out how other geek girls became geek girls and what it's like being a geek girl today.

Heidi's Pick Six

I've done a quickie interview over at Heidi Ruby Miller's blog where I answer six questions: here. You'll notice I mostly didn't answer the writing questions. This is because my brain is still pretty much porridge these days and it's easier to talk abou food and cartoons.

Five former jobs

I'm featured in the Writers Gone Wild Blatant Promo Weekend.

Find out what five jobs I've had and never want to have again. A couple of them are even vaguely related to writing.

Another giveaway

Over the Edge interviewed me and is giving away two copies of Children of Scarabaeus. So, would I go forward or backward in time? (Duh!) Read all about it here.

Interview and Aussie giveaway at Kylie Griffin's blog

Today there's another Aussie giveaway of Children of Scarabaeus over at Kylie Griffin's blog, along with an interview with yours truly.

Don't forget these giveaways that are still running:

SciFiChick.com - win Children of Scarabaeus (closes 15 April)
Literary Escapism - win Children of Scarabaeus, Song of Scarabaeus, and a signed bookmark (closes 12 April)
Tez Says- win signed Children of Scarabaeus and Song of Scarabaeus (Aussies only, closes 14 April)
Reading Between the Wines - win one of two signed Children of Scarabaeus bookmarks (closes 22 April)

Another interview and giveaway

Crystal at Reading Between the Wines has interviewed me for her blog - check it out, and comment over there to go into the draw to win one of two signed Children of Scarabaeus bookmarks! Ends April 22. Crystal has included a couple of bits of artwork that I did from Song of Scarabaeus (portrait of Cat, and diagram of the Hoi Polloi).

Another giveaway! - interview at Scifichick

Scifichick.com has an interview with me and a Children of Scarabaeus giveaway: here

Don't forget to read the posts over the last few days for other links to giveaways, and for my mousemat giveaway too. Follow the blog link tours on the right for interviews and stuff.

Reviews, interviews and giveaways

The Qwillery has an interview with me along with a Children of Scarabaeus giveaway, where I talk about research and favorite characters.

Angieville has an interview too, and another Children of Scarabaeus giveaway, with a discussion of my book covers and how I met my writer hubby (MCP).

And don't forget my mousepad giveaway (posted below).

Some early reviews:
My Bookish Ways - 5 stars
Dirty Sexy Books - 4 stars
Angieville

One/two days to go

Tomorrow is sort of Children of Scarabaeus release day, except that due to the time zones it's really not until the day after. I can't wait! Meanwhile, here are the dates for my upcoming blog tour. I'll post actual links once each post is up.

29 March The Qwillery - interview
5 April Literary Escapism - interview and giveaway
7 April Reading Between the Wines - interview
11 April Kylie Griffin - guest blog and Aussie giveaway

Dates to come:
Tez Says - guest blog
SciFi Chick - interview
Angieville - interview and giveaway
Book Chick City guest blog - Women of Science Fiction Week 23-28 May

Interview - and WIN!

My Bookish Ways has a review of Song of Scarabaeus as well as an interview with yours truly and a giveaway. I'll send a signed copy of both books (Song and Children of Scarabaeus) to one winner - enter on that site (not here).

Jon Armstrong interviews... me

My first talking interview (yikes!) with Jon Armstrong, fellow Philip K Dick nominee - is up on his blog If You're Just Joining Us. Jon is doing a special series and interviewing all the nominees over the next few weeks.

Go on, laugh at my funny accent.

Who's Hans Gruber anyway?

AB Keuser, a formerly fellow Arizonan who has an interesting blog about her writing life, has interviewed me. Find out why I love Hans Gruber and why I almost didn't answer the phone when agent Kristin Nelson called to offer representation.

(Meanwhile, who would interrupt a feeding newborn to answer the phone? Um, me. That was two years later, and it was Kristin again, this time offering my husband representation.)

My first podcast - coming soon

Yarn author Jon Armstrong is doing a series of Podcast interviews with his fellow PKD Award nominees for his blog If You're Just Joining Us. This morning he interviewed me! I think I worked my way around the technology, recording my voice with my webcam while speaking on the phone, while he did the same at his end. He edits the two halves together so it sounds like we're in the same room. That's cheating, huh? He has an lurvly "radio voice" and put me at ease for my first ever voice interview.

Check out his other podcast interviews - some really interesting people in there from across the publishing industry. My interview will be up in a month or so.

On a list

When I made a trailer last year for Song of Scarabaeus, I found a huge selection of wonderful royalty-free music on Dano's website here, and used a piece in my trailer.

Dano read my book and must have loved it because he's put it on his Top 5 List of Best Debut Sci Fi Books! "I completely loved the depth and detail of the visionary scientific imagery."

http://www.danobuzz.com/top-5-list-of-best-debut-sci-fi-books-by-new-novel-writers/

Podcast review

From the homeland... Keith Stevenson reviews Song of Scarabaeus on Terra Incognita Speculative Fiction Podcast #022. The review begins at about 37:10.

We arrive in Melbourne 2 weeks late for WorldCon - a real shame but that's just the way things worked out. I attended the previous WorldCon that was held in Melbourne (1999) where the guest of honor was physicist and SF writer Gregory Benford, and the Special Guest was J. Michael Straczynski (creator and writer of Babylon 5).

Benford talked about how to identify buried nuclear waste so that people in the far future (hundreds of centuries from now) would know to avoid the site even if civilization had collapsed and people could no longer read or understand radioactive symbols. Sounds kind of dry, but I remember it was fascinating.

Straczynski took the stage after the screen displayed a montage from Babylon 5. The first thing he said was, "I made that." (Exactly how I felt when my finished book arrived in the mail!) He talked about how his spin-off show, Crusade, was cancelled after network producers started writing memos to him demanding more sex scenes.

Who's your favorite sci-fi hero or heroine?

Today I'm interviewed at Dark Faerie Tales. A copy of Song of Scarabaeus is up for grabs - to enter, go to the interview and name your favorite sci-fi hero or heroine.

As for my favorite... I'll take the easy way and pick the heroine of my favorite sci-fi movie, Aliens. Yes, Ellen Ripley is just the kind of kick-ass heroine that I didn't imitate in Song, but the movie itself is a superlative example of blending characters, action, story, special effects and worldbuilding, and even science (in terms of the aliens' life cycle).

Whenever I watch sci-fi movies from the 80s, I marvel at how amazingly realistic Aliens looks by comparison. Hard to believe it came out almost a quarter-century ago (1986).

Guest blog

Head over to Literary Escapism where I am guest blogging today. You can also win a copy of Song of Scarabaeus!