Additional links to the interview

You can listen to Off the Shelf via any of the following methods:

• Direct link to the show on Archive.org where you can listen to it as a stream or download the audio file directly
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Subscribe using our RSS feed

Don’t forget to listen to the show on one of the Radio Riel stations.

Show Notes

Author Website | Amazon Author Pages: US / UK
This show’s music: “Polwart on the Green ” by Musica Pacifica on the album Dancing in the Isles available on Magnatune.com

We begin the interview discussing Teresa’s early influences – The Wizard of Oz and The Lord of the Rings – and the way they helped her define the type of books she wanted to write.

Teresa’s characterizes most of her books as alchemical fairy tales, starting with her first Celydonn book.  She reveals she doesn’t use the internet for research; instead she focus on books that explore the daily life in earlier times, research that gives life to the details. To add further realism to her works, she call on her husband and friends who are historical re-enactors.

While Teresa’s books are character-driven, the world building aspect is very important. She wants readers to feel as if they can breath the air of the worlds she creates. While many or her books depict an 18th century type of society, she leans heavily on a 19th century style of writing. Her works recall authors such as Rafael Sabatini, Russell Thorndike, Charles Dickens, Georgette Heyer, and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Teresa is re-releasing her earlier works, both in print and in ebook formats. Her first re-release is Goblin Moon, a proto-steampunk novel or fantasy of manners. Teresa’s books are also available under the pseudonym Madeline Howard. The series written under this name — The Rune of Unmaking — are darker, reflecting many of the changes the author has gone through in her life. She is working on the third book in the trilogy. This series revisits the world of Goblin Moon, but centuries separate the series, allowing Teresa to explore evolutions of mythology.

In addition to working on her own books, Teresa shares advice with new writers on the SFF Chronicle website. She highly recommends all writers read a lot and read broadly. Also, any problem can probably be solved by looking back at what you’ve already written.

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Following the interview with Teresa, Kghia and Simeon reflect on some of their past interviews. Kghia’s favorite interviews include Barbara Hambly, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Seanan Mcquire. From previous seasons, Kghia has enjoyed interviewing some of her favorite authors including Gail Carriger, Marjorie M. Liu, and Vicki Pettersson. For Simeon, interviews with Donna Fletcher Crow, Nancy Holzner, Barbara Hambly, and Peter May stand out.

• Monday, January 23 at 11am PST
• Tuesday, January 24 at 5 pm PST

This story is nothing but pure fun. How would your average police handle a gigantic, flying serial arsonist? Pratchett riffs on many aspects of the mystery genre (the detective forbidden to pursue his inquiries, the rookie) as well as fantasy (What do dragons eat? Virgins, of course!) and it’s a million-to-one chance you’ll love it, but you just might.

It’s the beginning of a series that will only get better.

Listen to the podcast

Additional links to the interview

You can listen to Off the Shelf via any of the following methods:

• Direct link to the show on Archive.org where you can listen to it as a stream or download the audio file directly
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Subscribe using our RSS feed

Don’t forget to listen to the show on one of the Radio Riel stations.

Show Notes

Author Website | Amazon Author Pages: US / UK
This show’s music: “Universe Acceptable” by Ash Ganley on the album Universe Acceptable available on Magnatune.com

The interview begins by discussing Kristine’s writing…and reading…routine. Then we discussed some of her writing including The Retrieval Artist, which was based on a Hugo-nominated short story, and the space-opera series Into the Wreck. We also discuss how she transitions a short story into larger works.

We moved on to discuss writing two types of mystery novels futuristic and the 1960s-based Smokey Dalton series, which she publishes as Kris Nelscott.

Kristine publishes romance novels under the name Kristine Grayson. She began her writing career with a desire to write historical romances, but she decide to write something that required less research. She met Kevin J Anderson  who pointed her to the fantasy markets that would be interested in her work.  Her current romances often involve updating classic myths and fairy tales, which has its origins in a Daw Books anthology she contributed to.

Kristine, along with her husband Dean Wesley Smith, are regular writers in the Star Trek franchise and Star Wars.

The publishing industry information Kristine shares on her website evolved from the workshops she and her husband offered. The first incarnation with the Freelancer’s Survival Guide.  She got advice about setting up the website from  Michael J Totten  and Scott William Carter. After the guide, she started writing more about the publishing industry, and because of her experience owning a publishing company, as an editor and as a writer, she felt she had a lot she could share.

The last portion of the interview focuses on the state of publishing today. Kristine has great insights to independent and e-publishing, the control writers have over then own career, and the resurgence of magazines and the short story.

Also mentioned: Amanda Hocking, John Lock, and David Wellington.