Acclaimed Israeli author Amos Oz has been named winner of the 2013 Franz Kafka Prize in Prague, Czech Republic. The prize, awarded by the Franz Kafka Society, is given in recognition of an author’s entire body of work and honors those whose “work addresses readers regardless of their origin, nationality, and culture, like the work by Franz Kafka.” Winners receive $10,000.

Born Amos Klausner, he changed his surname to “Oz”—meaning strength in Hebrew—after his mother committed suicide. In 1963, he graduated from Hebrew University after studying philosophy and Hebrew literature.

After publishing articles in his kibbutz’s newsletter and the newspaper Davar, Oz published his first book in 1965, a collection of short stories entitled Where the Jackals Howl. Since then, Oz has published 18 novels and numerous non-fiction articles and essays. His most popular works include the novels The Black Box and My Michael along with his memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness. He has also published multiple works of non-fiction on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

His latest novel, Between Friends, was published in English earlier this year.

The Kafka Prize was first awarded in 2001 and has been awarded annually since. It is seen as an indicator for future Nobel Prize winners: the 2004 and 2005 Kafka Prize laureates, Elfriede Jelinek and Harold Pinter, went on to win the Nobel later those same years. Other past winners of the Kafka Prize include Philip Roth, Haruki Murakami, and John Banville, all of whom are considered perennial candidates for the Nobel.

Oz, whose other awards include the Goethe Prize and the Prince of Asturias Award in Literature, has been a possible Nobel Prize contender before, even being the favored candidate back in 2009. Could the Franz Kafka Prize have given Oz the stepping-stone he needs to finally win the Nobel?

To date, only one Israeli has been awarded the Nobel Prize: novelist S.Y. Agnon, who won it in 1966 in a joint award with Jewish German poet and playwright Nelly Sachs. Other notable Jewish Nobel Prize laureates include Saul Bellow, Imre Kertesz, and I.B. Singer. Could Oz, like Jelinek and Pinter, win the award in the same year he won the Kafka Prize? The Nobel Prize in Literature is slated to be announced early in October.

Oz is already expecting an exciting October, though. The Franz Kafka Society released a statement saying Oz has agreed to come to Prague with his wife for a ceremony in October to receive the prize.

Image credit: Blaues Sofa via Flickr

The article Amos Oz Wins 2013 Franz Kafka Prize appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Well-known contemporary Japanese author and likely Nobel Prize candidate Haruki Murakami, will release a new book this April, according to his publisher. It will be his first book in three years since his mammoth 1Q84, which was originally released as a trilogy in Japan.

Details are scarce about the plot, but considering Murakami reuses the same themes in all his books, (to the point where the New York Times Book Review put together a “Haruki Murakami Bingo”) basic plot points can be pieced together. The main character will most likely be middle aged, enjoy drinking beer, feel alienated and lonely, and have an interest in old records. Cats will also make an appearance, as will teenage girls. Despite recycling similar themes and plots, Murakami has a large fanbase–1Q84 sold millions of copies worldwide.

It has been suggested that Murakami’s new work could be an expansion of the 1Q84 series. Murakami has said, “A fourth volume featuring an older ‘Tengo’ may come out…who knows.” Tengo starred as the male lead in the book. “What I can say now is there are stories before (volume 1) and after (volume 3).”

It is unclear if Murakami aims to write a new book or simply a few short stories, something he has done before. The title story in his collection Blind Woman, Sleeping Willow focuses on the protagonist of his novel, Norwegian Wood, several years after the events of that book.

It is highly likely that this upcoming book will be much shorter than 1Q84, given that the trilogy took him five years to pen.

Murakami’s varied influences may help explain his popularity with western readers compared to other Japanese authors. He spends his time reading writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Carver, Philip K. Dick, and Truman Capote, and also translated their works into Japanese. Most recently, during the composition of this current work, he translated Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. 

Although no translation has been commissioned yet, Murakami’s popularity makes it almost certain that one will appear eventually. However, fans who cannot read Japanese will probably have to wait two or three years to read it, the average time it takes translators to bring his works into English. In the meantime, bored readers can read through Murakami’s long list of other books: ten novels, three short story collections, two non-fiction works, and two out-of-print novellas (the first two stories he ever wrote). His most well-known works include Norwegian Wood, Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

Image Courtesy : Haruki Murakami

The article New Haruki Murakami Novel Announced appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

He is one of the most polarizing figures in world literature. No photographs of him have been published since the fifties. He is the textbook example of postmodernism, famous for his large, dense, and (according to some people) unapproachable tomes. He is Thomas Pynchon: one of America’s leading men of letters, one of the most secretive novelists the world over, a perennial Nobel Prize in Literature candidate, and according to leading book critic and editor Ron Charles, his next book will apparently soon be arriving at bookstores. Charles tweeted that two sources at Penguin Press, Pynchon’s publishing house, had confirmed the news. If it is true, no release date has been set yet.

Entitled The Bleeding Edge, details are scarce, which is not too surprising considering Pynchon’s reclusive nature. It could be another labyrinthine, doorstop-sized novel like two of Pynchon’s most acclaimed books, Gravity’s Rainbow (winner of the 1974 National Book Award) and Mason and Dixon or it could be a beach read, like his latest book, Inherent Vice.

The term ‘bleeding edge’ is usually used when talking about new technology whose use could be risky or unreliable and cause companies great expenses. It is unclear if this is what Pynchon means with the title, but his books have a history of being concerned with mathematics and technology, so it is not too unlikely a guess.

Pynchon, following the tradition of J.D. Salinger, is a notoriously reclusive novelist. Details about his life are scarce. He was raised on Long Island, where he attended Oyster Bay High School, graduating at age 16. He attended Cornell University, where he studied Electrical Engineering before taking a few years off to join the navy. Upon his reentry into the school, he switched to English and enrolled in a class taught by Vladimir Nabokov of Lolita fame. After graduation, he took a job as a technical writer at Boeing while writing his first novel, V. He soon quit his job in the early 60’s and immersed himself in the hippie culture of California, whereupon the public’s knowledge of Pynchon ends.

Inherent Vice is also due for a movie adaption, sources say. Director Paul Thomas Anderson, famous for directing movies such as ‘There Will Be Blood’ and most recently ‘The Master’, has expressed interest in directing a film adaption of the novel. Principal shooting will take place this year, and IMDB gives the movie a tentative 2014 release date. The book was met with mixed reviews, but given Anderson’s past experiences with filmmaking, it could become one of the greatest movies of the decade.

Image Courtesy : Intrepidteacher

The article Rumor: New Thomas Pynchon Novel? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Washington, U.S.A.  – You don’t have to be outdoors to have a fun summer. In fact, some of the most gratifying and enriching activities might happen within the four walls of one of our country’s 123,000 public libraries.

It’s easy to see why. Libraries offer an easy, accessible and low cost way to read books and magazines, watch videos and learn about new worlds in several languages, and enjoy a wide range of cultural events such as concerts and art exhibitions.

To receive all the benefits of a public library, you need a library card, which you can get for free at your local branch. So if you’re thinking of what to do this summer, consider these four reasons why you should visit a public library. You might be surprised!

1) Digital books. Libraries have adapted to changes in technology, and today many offer e-books which you can borrow for a certain time free of charge. You can check out e-books the same way as you do regular books, except you need an electronic device (e-reader). Some libraries even lend out e-book readers—check with your local library to see if an electronic reader is available for use. Besides print and digital books, you can also download audio books, music and videos at some libraries. Since many libraries have their own websites, you can access many of their services online from the comfort of your home.

2) Information in many languages. Generally speaking, public libraries have books in several languages. Be sure to check out the vast collections of books, magazines and music in languages other than English for adults and children. Some libraries even offer language classes or tutors for students which is especially useful for those who plan to attend summer school. You can also find books and CDs to improve English speaking and writing skills. Who would’ve thought that libraries could be a great place to learn another language!

3) Programs and events for the whole family. You don’t have to read a book to experience art and culture at your library. Many public libraries sponsor and organize different types of programs and cultural events, such as concerts, and photography and film exhibitions. Lots of libraries offer special summer programs for people of all ages, including computer classes, storytelling for children, fun and educational games, as well has reading activities, and more.

4) Specialized resources. For many people, the Internet is not a luxury but a necessity. Public libraries often have a computer room for people who do not have computers or Internet access at home –  or for those who just want to browse the web in a relaxed atmosphere where they can concentrate. Libraries also have highly skilled professionals that can help you find what you’re looking for or recommend books and resources for practically anything—including the answer to the question “how long does summer last?”

The article Don’t Waste Your Time, This Summer Visit Your Local Library appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Greenville, U.S.A.  – Emerald House Publishing today announced the release of a new children’s book, Abraham’s Journey: A Celebration of the American Dream. Written and illustrated to restore faith in the American dream, the book tells the story of a young boy, who through his faith, imagination and entrepreneurial spirit, sets out to achieve the American dream.

Taking place during the Great Recession, the story begins with Abraham learning that his Mother and Father had recently lost their jobs. With Christmas not far away, and his parents unable to buy gifts for him and his sister, Abraham desperately wants to save Christmas for his family; however, the reality is he too, has no money. But dreams can come true … where there’s a will and a way!

“Our mission with Abraham’s Journey is to inspire today’s youth, by instilling in them the values, principles and virtues necessary to achieve the American dream,” says co-author Robert Basmadjian. “As we make preparations to celebrate Independence Day, I am reminded of the freedoms and principles that our forefathers fought so valiantly to secure and protect. Through their courage, perseverance and sacrifice, they laid down the foundation for the ‘American dream’ and a better way of life for their children. It is this same spirit that inspired us to write Abraham’s Journey.”

According to co-author Kathleen Basmadjian, Abraham’s Journey was written to teach children about the importance of self-reliance and personal responsibility and their role in achieving the American dream. “Today, our children face tremendous hardship and adversity, threatening the American dream’s very existence. Unless we as parents, educators and community leaders teach our children and grandchildren about this unique American ideal, the American dream could be lost forever. Through the eyes of Abraham, we hope to provide children and young teens with an imaginative and inspirational story that will help them to celebrate their very own American dream journey.”

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg , civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., and famed pilot Amelia Earhart all make appearances in the pages of Abraham’s Journey: A Celebration of the American Dream.

About the Authors

Husband and wife authors Robert and Kathleen Basmadjian currently live in New Jersey. Robert holds a Masters in communications from William Patterson College and Kathleen has a PhD in biology from The Catholic University of America.

Image Courtesy of  spirit of america / Shutterstock.com

The article Do You Still Believe in The American Dream? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Miami, U.S.A. - On May 15th, 2012 in Mexico City, Mexican author and recipient of countless awards Carlos Fuentes died. Fuentes was one of the foremost representatives of the Latin American literary “boom.” When his novel La region mas transparente was first published on April 7th, 1958, public and critics alike established they had encountered a work that would leave an indelible impression in Mexican and world literature.

Carlos Fuentes wrote it all and said it all. He brought his readers into his narrative world even as he charted it. With the passing of time, the topography of this map—known as “La edad del tiempo” (The Age of Time)—changed, and its boundaries expanded until the inclusion of his last novel Federico en su balcon, soon to be published by his editorial house Alfaguara.

Carlos Fuentes’s work was not solely narrative; his oeuvre includes essays as well. In May of this year, Taurus will publish El siglo que despierta, a series of conversations between Carlos Fuentes and Ricardo Lagos; and in June, Alfaguara will publish Personas, an “inventory” of figures relevant to Mexico and the world—and to Fuentes himself.

Carlos Fuentes was born in 1928. A renowned intellectual and one of the foremost exponents of Mexican narrative, his vast body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, and essays. He was the recipient of numerous awards, among them: The Miguel de Cervantes Prize, 1987; the Ruben Dario Cultural Independence Order, granted by the Sandinista Government, 1988; the Instituto Italo-Americano Prize for Gringo viejo, 1989; the Principe de Asturias Award of Spain, 1994; Italy’s Cavour Award, 1994;

UNESCO’s Picasso Medal, France, 1994; France’s Legion of Honor Award, 2003; the Roger Caillois Award, 2003; the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language Prize for En esto creo, 2004; the Cristobal Gabarron Foundation’s International Literature Prize, 2011, and the Formentor Literature Prize, 2011.

Image Courtesy of  MDCarchives (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

The article Carlos Fuentes, One of Mexico’s Most Renowned Writers, Dies appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Boston, U.S.A. - In the two-way mirror that often is a reflection of life or art, another trend is forming. The worlds of literature and Hollywood are colliding again, this time with a focus on cryonics, the science intended to reanimate people after death and freezing.

The debut novel from Bruce E. Spitzer, Extra Innings , about baseball great Ted Williams returning to life through cryonics, was published last month by Bear Hill Media. Extra Innings was featured recently in Sports Illustrated Magazine and ranked in the top 25 on the Amazon Kindle bestseller list for sports fiction.

A cryonics movie, Freezing People is Easy, is in pre-production in Hollywood and will shoot in the fall, reportedly starring Paul Rudd, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson and Christopher Walken.

Inspired by Bob Nelson’s memoir We Froze the First Man and an episode of Chicago Public Media and Public Radio International’s This American Life, Freezing People is the story of Nelson’s first cryonics attempts in the 1960s. Errol Morris will direct. Producers include Steven Zaillian and Garrett Basch of Film Rites. Toronto-based Entertainment One announced that it will distribute the picture worldwide.

TV got into the act last winter when Larry King announced on CNN that he wanted to be cryonically preserved. Can reality TV be far behind?

Unlike Freezing People, which looks back at the beginnings of cryonics, Spitzer’s Extra Innings looks forward, featuring Ted Williams reanimated in 2092. In real life he was cryonically preserved after death in 2002. In his imagined return, Williams plays again for the Red Sox, bats against a robot “Botwinder” pitcher that he abhors pilot’s jets for the Marines, and struggles in a future world beset by global warming and flooding.

“The narrative resonates with the consequences of the major issues we face in our world today—the steroids debate in sports, global warming, corporate greed, technology run rampant, and the moral ambiguity of war,” says Spitzer. “It’s a societal and personal journey. Flawed in his first life, Williams must decide in the second, what’s more important: the chance to win his first World Series or the chance to be a better man?”

Extra Innings, adds Spitzer, is not only about science, baseball, redemption, and the quest for meaning in this life and the next, it’s humorous as well. “Similar to what we’re likely to see in Freezing People, you can’t help but poke a little fun at the idea of returning to life after being frozen.”

The article Baseball Great Ted Williams Lives on in Extra Innings appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

MIAMI BEACH,U.S.A. – In his latest book, Jesus on Homosexuality (http://www.jesusonhomosexuality.com), author and researcher Michael Wood claims that for 1,900 years, Christian scholars missed an essential fact about Jesus’ teachings. He states that Jesus repeatedly taught about a well-established group of commandments called Justices, a group of commandments that established what was required for eternal life and what would matter on Judgment Day but, tellingly, did not include the prohibition on homosexuality.

If Wood is correct, Jesus’ entire salvation message was based upon this well-defined group of commands that didn’t include the prohibition on homosexuality. In other words, Jesus specifically taught that homosexuality was irrelevant to salvation and judgment.

“Christianity originally began as a sect within Judaism, at a time when their law was divided into Justices and Jobs,” explained Wood. “The second-century writings of Justin Martyr show that when the Gentiles dominated the Faith in the second century, they brought with them the false assumption that the law was divided into morality and ritual. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

The Justices covered philanthropy and ethics while the Jobs addressed ritual observances and sexual taboos. The division was based on the precept, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” For example, the command not to rape was a Justice and the prohibition on homosexuality was a Job.

Wood pointed out that Jesus, Paul and James all used the precept, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Now we know that they used this precept to reference a well-established group of commandments — the Justices,” he said. “Each, in his own particular way, used the precept to explain that the Justices alone are the Christian law.”

Wood previously uncovered and wrote about new findings regarding the Bible’s book of Romans and the Dead Sea Scrolls. “Jesus on Homosexuality” (Tubi Publishing, LLC, April 2012) is the result of 10 years of research, and Wood includes numerous footnotes citing historical writings and other scholarly material to document the 1,900-year-old error.

One of the Biblical examples that Wood uses to support his claim that Jesus repeatedly presented the Justices as the entirety of the Law is Jesus’ response to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-19. “In Jesus’ response he cited only ethical commandments and then quoted, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’– the precept designating the Justices,” Wood said.

“In other words, Jesus stated that only the Justices matter. Every Job — every religious requirement — was excluded. That deliberate exclusion was a clear statement of Jesus’ position on ritual (such as the prohibition on eating shellfish and wearing garments made of two cloths) and sexual taboos (such as the prohibition on homosexuality and having sex with your wife during her menstrual cycle). The discovery of the Justices and Jobs finally reveals Jesus’ original message.”

The 56-page ebook can be downloaded free of charge at http://www.JesusOnHomosexuality.com. Wood encourages readers to copy and distribute the book, provided it is copied in full without any editing or modification. “I wrote the book to kick-start a much-needed conversation. It’s time for the conversation to begin,” Wood said.

About the Author

Michael Wood designed REDOC-II – one of the only unbreakable codes in existence today. Wood then turned his cryptanalytic attention to finding a way to solving the problem of managing the physical infrastructure of the Internet. He designed an artificial intelligent system which instructed a computer how to decode the information flowing through its network wires. The computer then used artificial intelligence to assemble the deciphered information into a real-time map of the worldwide physical infrastructure.

Wood also applied his cryptanalytic skills to monitor the real-time level of human parasympathetic activity by decoding subtle changes in heart rate measurements.

Wood then turned his cryptanalytic skills to finding patterns in first-century Jewish language, culture, and law. After ten years of dedicated effort, this eventually led to the discovery of the Justices and Jobs in the writings of the Apostle Paul.

The article ‘Jesus on Homosexuality’ by Michael Wood appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Hollywood, U.S.A. – Brenda Novak masterfully infuses suspense, mystery and romance into her bestselling novels, but it’s her real-life passions and endeavors that make for the best page-turners.

Throughout the month of May in honor of Mother’s Day, thousands of concerned individuals will become part of her story by participating in her annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research, which takes place at BrendaNovak.com and benefits the cure-focused work of the Diabetes Research Institute. A heroine in her own right, Novak manages to raise five kids and have a successful career and marriage, all while battling her son’s type 1 diabetes for the past 10 years and raising $1.3 million to help find a cure.

“I owe so much to my readers and other literary fans who support this effort every year, and to my colleagues who donate their time and more to help find a cure for my son, Thad, and millions of others,” said Novak, a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author who has penned more than 40 books.  Her latest small town contemporary romance series will debut in September 2012.

But it’s her role as a mother that drives her success with the auction.  Thad, 15, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 5. “I have a reason to believe that the Diabetes Research Institute is on the right path to a cure,” said Novak, who traveled to Miami with her husband, Ted, to tour the DRI’s state-of-the-art facility. “I will do everything I can to make sure that it happens as soon as possible,” she said.

Attracting more than 5,000 bidders throughout the country and beyond, the auction boasts an array of one-of-a-kind items due to Novak’s close connections in the literary world, such as lunches and private meetings with prominent authors like Steve Berry, Barry Eisler , Eloisa James and Janet Evonovich.

Famed romance novelist Nicholas Sparks has even donated his entire backlist, including 17 autographed books.  As always, the auction has a variety of must-have gadgets like Nook tablets, Kindles and iPads, plus world-class getaways, jewelry, popular theme baskets and more. The bidding starts at $2 for all items; participants can literally end up with bargains beyond their dreams!

“It’s truly remarkable what Brenda has been able to accomplish with her Online Auction in just eight years,” said Robert A. Pearlman , president and CEO of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation. “Her dedication is inspiring.”

To participate in Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes Research, which benefits the cure-focused work of the Diabetes Research Institute, go to BrendaNovak.com to register, view items and bid. The auction closes on May 31, 2012.

The article Author Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes Research appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Literature enthusiasts arrived in Brooklyn, New York on September 18 for the annual Brooklyn Book Festival. Presented by Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz, along with the Brooklyn Borough President’s Literary Council and Brooklyn Tourism, the day long outdoor event showcased a wide spectrum of current literary talents.

The Brooklyn Book Festival took place at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Over 200 authors were involved in the festival, making it the biggest literature festival in New York City. Famous authors that attended the day long festival included multi award winning author Joyce Carol Oates.

Writer of “The Garden of Earthly Delights” and “What I Live For”, Oates was on hand at the Brooklyn Book Festival as one of the most celebrated authors in recent history. Jhumpa Lahiri is a Pulitzer Prize winning author who was also in attendance. She is famous for having penned books such as “Interpreter of Maladies” and “Unaccustomed Earth.”

Lahiri is a Brooklyn resident and received the annual BoBi award at the festival. This award is designed for “an author whose body of work exemplifies or speaks to the spirit of Brooklyn and has had a broad impact on the field of literature.” Other authors who were seen throughout the festival included Jennifer Egan, Walter Mosley, Craig Thompson and Jacqueline Woodson.

The 2011 Brooklyn Book Festival had dozens of literary events that were free for the public. These events happened throughout the downtown Brooklyn area, including a Main Stage at the festival as well as in the Borough Hall Courtroom and St. Francis Auditorium.

Authors showcased their work through public readings and discussions were held as well. In a discussion called “Drawn From History,” authors John Sayles, Esmeralda Santiago, and Terese Svoboda came together to discuss how they create characters for their stories that are based in historically significant times.

There was a discussion entitled “Comics Writ Large and Small,” in which comic book authors talked about how comic strips and graphic novels have evolved over time. “The Poetry of Loss” was another event that brought people together to discuss how poetry can be helpful and how it can have an impact on a person dealing with emotions associated with loss.

Poets Mary Jo Bang and Kevin Young were among those who were in attendance for this event. One of the most popular events throughout the festival was the discussion called “Apocalypse Now, and Then What?” A long line gathered at the Borough Hall Courtroom to listen to authors Tananarive Due, Patrick Somerville, and Colson Whitehead come together to talk about how their literary characters deal with an apocalypse.

The outdoor festival drew crowds of literary enthusiasts to downtown Brooklyn, where over 100 vendors were stationed for the day. Publishing companies were on hand selling their latest novels. Many authors were also in attendance at these tables, readily signing books for those who purchased their work.

There were tables set up for literary magazines and university presses as well. Writing competitions in fiction and poetry were among those that were being promoted and attracted crowds of aspiring writers. The Brooklyn Book Festival was a sure highlight in the literary world and brought together authors and readers to share their love for reading and writing.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/10822958@N08/

The article Book Festival Arrives in Brooklyn appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

French author Aliette de Bodard has established herself as one of fantasy’s rising stars. She is the author of the genre-crossing Obsidian and Blood series, which follows Acatl, the Aztec High Priest of the Dead, as he investigates supernatural crimes in pre-Columbian Mexico. The series currently has two books: Servant of the Underworld (Angry Robot, 2010) and Harbinger of the Storm (Angry Robot, 2011). A third book, Master of the House of Darts, will be released by Angry Robot in October of this year.

In addition to her novel-length works, de Bodard has also published short fiction in such publications as Azimov’s, Interzone, Realms of Fantasy, and The Year’s Best Science Fiction.

De Bodard was kind enough to answer the Toonari Post’s questions via email.

Toonari Post: When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?

Aliette de Bodard: It depends… I started writing when I was eight, but I didn’t have much organisation or drive at the time. I guess the starting point was my deciding I wanted to publish a novel: I was sixteen at the time and living in London, and I found a book by Orson Scott Card about “How to Write Fantasy and Science Fiction”, which explained the nuts and bolts of craft. I immediately started working on a novel (I still remember cutting out my own index cards). I didn’t ever finish that novel, because the hard disk it was on was fried on the move back to Paris–which taught me a very important lesson on the value of backups–but I never looked back after that.

TP: Could you describe your journey from aspiring writer to published author?

AdB: I have the inconvenience of not living in an English-speaking part of the world, so for a while I was struggling to find like-minded people. I finally joined up an online crit group at Hatrack, and started writing short fiction, which I religiously submitted to Writers of the Future every quarter. For a few years, I skipped between crit groups, trying to find one that would work for me–I finally joined OWW, which provided a big breakthrough in terms of craft: I could crit the numerous stories posted there on my free time, which enabled me to gain a much better understanding of the things that worked and didn’t work for me, and I could get fast feedback on a piece.

I kept submitting (and collecting rejections, which I pinned to the wall behind the dining room table where I worked), and I finally got two big breakthroughs at nearly the same time: first, Jetse de Vries told me he was buying my short story “Deer Flight” for Interzone; and, about a month after that, I got a call from Writers of the Future telling me I’d placed second in my quarter.

TP: What made you decide to write about the Aztecs?

AdB: I had had exposure to the myths and legends of many cultures when I was young, but somehow I’d managed to always skip the Aztecs: the first I heard of them was through my Spanish courses. At the time, the consensus was that of the conquistadores: that the Aztecs were a barbaric, bloodthirsty people. I twigged on pretty early that the conquistadores were not very nice people, and it made me wonder what they’d managed to distort in their reports on the Aztecs. And, sure enough, it only took a little bit of digging to find out about a fascinating civilisation, who was way ahead of Europe in lots of ways (gender equality, medicine, astrology), and whose empire managed to span the entire length of Mexico (no mean feat considering their armies were basically on foot and had to cross mountains and deserts). And I thought it was a real shame that this entire culture had been basically reduced to bloodthirsty villains. I don’t personally agree with human sacrifice, but I can see why they would have thought it was necessary given their belief system (and God knows the Middle Ages that their raft of practices I personally find unsavory, such as torture–something which actually shocked the Aztecs, as they couldn’t understand why something as sacred as pain and blood would be so casually used). So I decided to write stories set in that milieu, partly as a way to explore the culture, and also partly seeking to do my bit to redress the balance (though I’m aware it’s going to take more than a few books to change perceptions, but I can at least try).

TP: How did you find your agent? Do you have any advice for writers who are struggling with the dreaded query letter?

AdB: I found my agent through a series of weird coincidences. Basically, we met at World Fantasy in Calgary, in 2008, through a friend we had in common; but it’s likely nothing would have come of it if my plane back to Heathrow hadn’t been canceled, leaving my agent, me and Marc Gascoigne (who was editing for Angry Robot) stuck in the same hotel lobby with nothing much to do. They both coaxed me into pitching Servant of the Underworld to them; and, after the first moment of panic, I managed to condense my query letter into something short and punchy–and that’s how I ultimately got both my agent and my editor.

I have struggled with the query letter myself, and I think a lot of the problems I had was trying to summarise the entire book in two paragraphs, which is just impossible. I found that it helped me to think of the query letter as a short introductory paragraph setting out why you’re contacting this particular agent, the book title and word number, two or three short paragraphs of book summary, and a paragraph about the relevant bits of your experience as an author (mention previous publications, and other credits if they are relevant to the book). The main problem I had was with the book summary, and I solved it by thinking of it, not as a summary, but as that little blurb you put at the back of the book to make readers want to pick it. I got books from the library and studied the blurbs for a while, and I saw that they were focusing on one aspect of the book and one cool character, and that was about all they had space for. That’s how I wrote my own summary.

TP: Do you have a particular routine for writing? For example, do you set aside a specific time to do it? Do you aim to write a certain number of words/pages per day?

AdB: I wish I had a routine, but the sad fact is that with the day job and the irregular evenings, I don’t have much of one. I basically slot writing into the empty spaces of my schedule. I tried aiming for a certain number of words or pages, but it didn’t work for me, because I can be so irregular. I prefer to set aside, say, 1-2 hours during which I do nothing but write, and accept that sometimes I’ll have 500 words at the end of it, and sometimes 100 words–and sometimes negative words, because I’ve been editing and had to excise an entire section…

TP: Do you do anything special to get yourself in the mood to write, such as listening to a particular kind of music?

AdB: I do have music I listen to, which helps me maintain the mood across the various computers I write on. What I usually do is brew a teapot full of tea (or a herbal brew if it’s too late in the evening), and bring it to my writing desk. I then answer a few emails and browse forums for a bit; and then I start writing by turning the music on.

For music, I mostly go for singer-songwriters such as Vienna Teng, Dar Williams, Girlyman (my new favourite), or for ambiant mood pieces such as traditional Asian songs. I used to listen to last.fm to get my songs, but we got a home stereo with way better sound, so now I tend to put a CD on the stereo and listen to that. It has the advantage of giving me a break when I get up to change the CD.

TP: Given the prominence of human sacrifice in Aztec culture, some readers may find it odd that Acatl never sacrifices anyone as part of his duties as High Priest of the Dead. Could you explain why you chose to omit human sacrifice from the cult of Mictlantecuhtli?

AdB: I did it for a couple reasons. The first was that I was a very green writer when I started writing Servant of the Underworld, and I took one look at the possibility of writing a scene with an actual human sacrifice–and just didn’t think I could pull it off in a way that wouldn’t be corny.

The other one was a basic sympathy problem: the Aztec civilisation is already fairly brutal and fairly distant from our current society, and I didn’t want to add to that distance by having an utterly unsympathetic main character (and I was already running into enough trouble with the animal sacrifices, which put some people off). Acatl was the reader’s only viewpoint in the society, and so he had to create some reasonable empathy with the reader, since I wasn’t going to be able to use someone else as a counterpoint in the narration. I had already given him a sense of duty and a distaste for political manoeuvering, but he remained fairly distant as a narrator, and I thought having him offer human sacrifices in the name of his god would break the fragile balance of empathy I was trying to achieve. So I decided that I was going to skip the human sacrifice part from the clergy of Mictlantecuhtli, but also that it would be disingenuous to remove it from the society. I tried to include some of it in Servant of the Underworld, but I think I was more successful in integrating human sacrifice in both Harbinger of the Storm and the forthcoming Master of the House of Darts.

It’s been three years since that first draft now, and I feel more confident that I could pull this off and still draw the reader into the story, but still… it would be a very difficult juggling act, since the main explanation I could offer would be religious belief, and a lot of people in the US either find religion repulsive, or follow a religion that categorically forbids human sacrifice as an aberration.

TP: What are your influences as a writer?

AdB: Every book I read! More seriously, in genre, I’m very much influenced by Patricia McKillip (I love her style, and her evocation of magic as something mysterious and deadly, not as a system that can ever be mastered and fully understood), Ursula Le Guin (who always has such lovely wordbuilding, and very efficiently manages to question what we think of as the fundamentals of genre and society, such as gender, or political systems, or religions), and I’m indebted to Roger Zelazny for the flamboyant use of style and mythology in his books such as Lord of Light.

Out of genre, I got a lot from mysteries: I love Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael for so accurately nailing the mindset of the Middle Ages, and for presenting a character for whom faith is the centre of the universe; I read Elizabeth George for her depiction of the devastation left by a murder and her fine psychological studies of characters; and I probably wouldn’t have written [the Obsidian and Blood series] if not for Christian Jacq and his books set in ancient Egypt, and Robert Van Gulik and his Judge Dee mysteries.

TP: Could you give us a taste of what will happen in Master of the House of Darts?

AdB: Ha! Master of the House of Darts is, basically, the consequences of what happened at the end of Harbinger of the Storm. (trying not to spoil the end of the second book here…) The main characters made an important decision at the end of that book, but they didn’t pause too much to consider what it would do to the Fifth World. There were also a number of unsolved conflicts, particularly between Teomitl and Tizoc-tzin, that will take centre-stage in this book; and Acatl is in for a number of surprises from people he took for granted.

TP: How do you go about making the past accessible for readers who might not have much historical knowledge?

AdB: Making the past accessible boils down to two things for me: one, making the mindset accessible, and two, getting the details right; The mindset is pretty much vital, but it has to be explained enough. I can tell you that someone I know took a job at a bank manager, and you’d guess they did that because they liked finance and/or wanted a high-paying job; but I tell you that my main character wants to die as a human sacrifice, and I’m going to have to do much more explaining so that you don’t get the wrong idea. It’s the gulf between our Western mindset today and the mindset of an unfamiliar culture in the past.

The second things is details: once again, I can tell you that me and my friends went for Chinese food, and you’ll probably be able to fill in the gaps. If I say that my main character had a typical Mexica meal without telling you what, you have few ways of guessing. So I have to fill in the gaps: tell you what he ate, what it tasted like: I could also do it for me and my friends, and it would reveal things about our characters; but here’s it’s a far more basic need. I have to tell you so you can imagine it. And the more details I give you about the food, about the houses, about the rhythm of daily life, the more real the setting is going to feel to you. There is an upper limit, though, beyond which anything I tell you is just infodumping, but the reader tolerance to details can be fairly high.

It’s also very easy to get details wrong or slip into the wrong mindset (i.e. back into the 21st Century): a writer friend and I once had a good laugh over the fact that his main character in a medieval fantasy had just had donuts–I surmised he must have been hungry at the time.

TP: In addition to your historical fantasy, you’ve also tried your hand at alternate history in the form of your Xuya universe. Could you briefly describe Xuya, as well as your inspiration for it?

AdB: Xuya is what I think of as my sandbox of cultures: it’s what would have happened in North America if the Europeans hadn’t arrived first. The basic premise is that Chinese ships land in America in 1411 (this would have been technologically possible, because Chinese ships were much more advanced than European ships of the same time period; it just didn’t happen because various factors caused China to all but close its borders and fall back into hardcore Confucianism). Because the Chinese were more interested in prestige than in conquest, I imagined that as when they met the Mesoamerican Empires, they would prefer trade to conquest. And, because China already has a foothold in America (and brought gunpowder and smallpox ahead of schedule), the Spanish find it much harder to land at the end of the 15th Century.

This leads to a tripartite North America: you have a Chinese colony in the West (but with far more rights given to the Native Americans), the northern tip of the Mexica Dominion (the Aztecs) in the South, and the much diminished and much impoverished United States. This is the setting for the modern stories; I also took this forward into space, and imagined civilisations centred around Minds, artificial intelligences incubated in human wombs.

TP: On your website, you say that you’ve written novels set in the Xuya universe. Do you have any plans to publish them?

AdB: I do have plans! My SF thriller set in the Xuya universe, Foreign Ghosts, is undergoing revisions at the moment, and I’m brainstorming a few sequel ideas. Then it’s going out on submission, and we’ll see what happens.

TP: There are all kinds of stories now about authors finding success by self publishing on the Kindle. What made you decide to go with a traditional publisher? What are your thoughts on the future of the publishing industry? Do you think self publishing will be the way of the future, or will there always be a place for traditional publishers?

AdB: I’m not really in a position to know, I confess (I live in a country where Kindle access is fairly limited). I wanted to have a physical book, and one that would be sold in major bookstores, which pretty much ruled out self-publishing (and, at the time I was writing, self-publishing was just taking off, and the Kindle was barely out).

I think there will always be a place for traditional publishers, both as gatekeepers, and as people doing the work authors don’t want to do. It’s a bit like agenting: I could negotiate my own contracts, but I don’t have the will, the time or the competences to do so. Similarly, I was listening to Michael J. Sullivan at the Nebulas weekend, and he was saying that doing the covers, editing and proofreading his work had been very much time-consuming–and I totally believe him, because I’ve seen how much work went into friends putting up even a simple short story on the Kindle. I have a dayjob; and I admit I just don’t have the energy to do all of this.

TP: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

AdB: Believe in yourself, and keep writing. And beware of rules: you have to know and understand why they exist, but after you do that, you must allow yourself to break them. Otherwise you’re just limiting yourself.

TP: What’s next for Aliette de Bodard?

AdB: Several things are in the pipeline: I have a novella I hope to finish one day, and then I’ll move to editing the Xuya novel, Foreign Ghosts, as well as planning its sequels. Then we’ll see; I reckon that should keep me busy for a bit.

To learn more about Aliette de Bodard, check out her website . You may also follow her on Twitter or ‘like’ her fan page on Facebook.

The article Aliette de Bodard, One of the Rising Stars of Fantasy Fiction appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.