Today, I have another wonderful Brain to Books Cyber Convention author
feature. Remember, this great event for authors and readers alike is coming to
Goodreads this April, on the 8th, 9th and 10th.
Be sure to check out all the
details and pertinent links for the event here:
Now on with the main event, our Brain
to Books author feature.
Today I have a great interview with YA science fiction author Belinda Crawford.
Interview with Belinda Crawford
Why don’t you begin by sharing a little about
yourself.
The first thing you should know is that I'm a
geek, I get excited about things like Star Wars, computers and Mass Effect 4
(the best sci-fi roleplaying game ever). I'm also completely nuts
about horses, which means I also get excited about saddles, bridles and,
of course, the equines themselves.
I'm not one of those people who always knew they
wanted to be an author, in fact when I was a kid, my mum despaired of me ever
reading up a book, let alone writing one. Luckily for me, she bought me a bunch
of horse magazines. Being the horse-mad kid I was, I gobbled them up, and the
rest is history.
Now, I live in rural Victoria, surrounded by
horses, books, writing implements of various shades of digital and analog, and
a small herd of cats.
Could you tell us a bit about your latest
book?
Hero is a science
fiction adventure set far into the future on an alien planet. Humans colonised
the planet long ago, only to discover that a native spore was killing them, so
they built giant cities that floated above its reach.
The story is about a girl called Hero who wants,
more than anything, to escape her parents’ overly protective bubble. Her only
friend is Fink, a 600kg genetically engineered ruc-pard (a little bit of rat,
mixed with a little bit of leopard and a whole lot of alien), who’s her
confidant, protector and ice-cream-eating buddy.
When Hero finally has a taste of the freedom she
craves, she discovers she’s part of centuries-old plan, set in motion by the
first colonists, to change the world.
What do you enjoy most about writing in the
science fiction genre?
I love science fiction because it lets me
explore the future, one that's more hopeful than what you usually find in
dystopian fiction. Taking the events and ideas of today and extrapolating them
into the future is a lot of fun, for example, there are people today researching how to get trees to grow carbon fibre.
Just imagine what it would be like if, at some
point in the future, cars were made out of trees, from the carbon fibre
framework right down to the tyres. It sounds like something elves would do,
except cooler.
What did you enjoy most about writing your
book?
Letting my inner brat loose. Hero is smart
mouthed, opinionated and sneaky, and writing the her dialogue was a blast. It’s
smart, snappy and full of the kind of sass you’d expect from a teenager with a
chip on her shoulder.
Can you tell us about your writing process?
Where do your ideas originate? Do you have a certain writing routine?
My ideas come from all over the place–TV, films,
books, random articles on the internet, dreams. I suck them into my brain and
let them ferment in what Natalie Goldberg, in her book Writing Down the
Bones, calls the mental compost heap. Eventually, one idea will nag at me,
which is when I know it’s time to turn it into a book.
From there, I brainstorm, fleshing out that
first idea with others–often from the compost heap themselves–until I have the
main character, their inner conflict and the world they live in sketched out.
Next, I go through several planning phases, each more detailed than the last as
I build upon my mental sketch, and then I’ll start writing.
I’ll go through about five or six drafts,
starting with an absolutely horrid discovery draft–where the details of the
plot are worked out–and ending on a final draft where I’ll go back and
foreshadow a subplot I added in draft three, or straighten out character
descriptions that became muddled somewhere between drafts two and five.
What is your greatest challenge as a writer?
Self-confidence. The voice in the back of your
head that tells you that last line/paragraph/chapter sucked, is a killer and
it’s danged hard silence. Over the years, I’ve learned to push it aside and
keep slugging. In my view, the only way to beat self-doubt is to keep trying,
you’ll get there eventually.
Do you have a favourite author, or writing
inspiration?
Lately, I’ve been blown away by Brandon
Sanderson’s Way of Kings and the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews.
Both of them do a really great job of describing worlds that are very different
from ours, by giving you enough information to understand what’s happening in
any given scene without any extra fat.
What do you like to do when you're not
writing? Any hobbies?
My family owns a small stud where we breed
Arabian horses, so when I’m not writing, reading or playing Guild Wars I
can usually be found working with a horse.
As well as breeding horses, I'm an endurance
rider, which is like going on a really long trail ride over a
prearranged course of anywhere between 40 and 80km (25-50 miles) once a month.
It means I get to spend a lot of time on a horse, not just at an endurance
event, but training as well.
It's awesome.
What’s your next project? Any upcoming book
secrets you care to reveal?
Currently, I’m putting the finishing touches on
the second book in The Hero Rebellion, while planning the third and final book
in the series. I have big plans for book three, in which I’m going to do a
homage to one of my favourite TV series, Farscape (if you could see me
right now, I’m doing my Mr Burns ‘Excellent’ impression and resisting the urge
to cackle).
As for book two, it takes a dark turn when Hero
is forced to face the consequences of the her actions in book one, and at the
end of it, she’ll discover that she’s not quite the girl she thought she was.
In fact, she’ll discover that the world isn’t what she thought it was and that
there are secrets upon secrets keeping her homeworld’s cities afloat.
Author bio:
Belinda is a geek. She loves Star Wars, Dr Who, spaceships and girls who kick butt. When she’s not writing books or playing Guild Wars, she’s on a horse named Wombat or wrangling a small herd of cats.
Currently, Belinda is putting the finishing touches on the second book in The Hero Rebellion, due for release September this year.
Currently, Belinda is putting the finishing touches on the second book in The Hero Rebellion, due for release September this year.
Hero (The Hero Rebellion #1) by Belinda Crawford
Centuries ago, humans colonised Jørn, a lonely planet on the far side of the galaxy. Arriving in five great colony ships, they quickly settled the surface only to discover, after a few short years, that the planet was killing them. The culprit, a native spore, carried on every wind to every corner of the globe.
Genetic engineering, blending DNA from Earth and Jørn species, saved their crops and livestock, but for humans there was no cure. Instead they took to the skies, turning their colony ships into cities that floated above the spore’s reach.
Hero Regan is special, and not in a way she likes. She hears voices, voices in her head that other people can’t. Surrounded by butlers, bodyguards and tutors, insulated from the outside world, her only solace is Fink, a six-hundred-kilogram, genetically engineered ruc-pard. They share lives, thoughts, triple-chocolate marshmallow ice-cream and the burning desire for freedom.
Their chance comes when Hero is allowed to attend school in Cumulus City. Here, along with making unexpected friends, Hero discovers she is an unwitting part of a master plan set into motion by the first colonists, a plan she must either help or foil if she’s ever to attain the freedom she craves.
Genetic engineering, blending DNA from Earth and Jørn species, saved their crops and livestock, but for humans there was no cure. Instead they took to the skies, turning their colony ships into cities that floated above the spore’s reach.
Hero Regan is special, and not in a way she likes. She hears voices, voices in her head that other people can’t. Surrounded by butlers, bodyguards and tutors, insulated from the outside world, her only solace is Fink, a six-hundred-kilogram, genetically engineered ruc-pard. They share lives, thoughts, triple-chocolate marshmallow ice-cream and the burning desire for freedom.
Their chance comes when Hero is allowed to attend school in Cumulus City. Here, along with making unexpected friends, Hero discovers she is an unwitting part of a master plan set into motion by the first colonists, a plan she must either help or foil if she’s ever to attain the freedom she craves.
Hero is available at
I'd like to thank Belinda Crawford for
stopping by today, and be sure to check out her virtual booth at the convention this
April.
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