Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Inside The Writer's Mind: A Sarah Gailey Exclusive

Jayna Bosse's Interview with SF/F/H Author Sarah Gailey

Photo © Raj Anand 2017

With her constant award nominations and her high ranking in the finals of the Hugo and Campbell awards, author Sarah Gailey is definitely an author to keep an eye on. With pieces such as River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow, it behooves all Sci-Fi readers to keep an eye on her! To get an inside look into her world, we’ve asked Sarah Galy a few questions to get to know her a little bit better and explore what prompted such influential pieces in the literary world.

JB: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

SG: I would tell my younger writing self to listen more than she talks, but to never think that she is required to go along with anything that doesn't feel right in her career.

On a more granular level, I would tell her to read critiques as though they're required edits. While not every critique is valid, looking at one's work as though one absolutely MUST address every critique is a great way to reexamine authorial assumptions, and my work has always become stronger as a result.

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Autumnal Musings and Goodbyes

Jack 2006 – 2017
Early in the morning of October 9, my wife and I had to say goodbye to our dog, Jack, who had been suffering from a cancerous tumor. Despite the fact he was a 120+ lb dog, he's always been my little guy, happy to be anywhere, as long as he was at my side. In years past, that was often on the hiking trail. In recent years, it was more often on the carpet alongside my writing desk. It's bizarre and sad working from home now without him here anymore, but I'm glad he's not suffering anymore, at least.

The science fiction and fantasy community also suffered a loss this October with the passing of author ElizaBeth Gilligan. I met Beth last year at a convention, and she was kind enough to invite me to join her local writers group. As part of that group, she provided invaluable feedback on my work-in-progress, The Beasts of Qaza, and I had the pleasure of reading her work-in-progress, a sprawling fantasy novel about a tribe of women wylf soldiers. She and her husband were also gracious enough to give me advice on being a parent and a writer. I regret that Beth didn't get a chance to meet my daughter after she was born, and my sympathies go out to her husband and the rest of her family. Beth was a kind and wonderful person, and she'll be missed.