Ask the Author: Greg Van Eekhout
Answered Questions (17)
Greg Van Eekhout
Hi, Sean. In the US the books are available in e-book from US Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most indie bookstores, but I see that you're in Australia and I'm afraid that due to various territory and license intricacies, they may not be available as ebooks from Australian retailers.
Greg Van Eekhout
Hi, Wes. I've got a new long-ish short story in the osteomancy world coming out this fall in anthology that I don't know if I'm allowed to publicize yet, but once I do I'll be posting it on social media and my website. It'll probably take place a decade or two before CALIFORNIA BONES and feature a couple of characters who appear in the trilogy. And it's been out a while now, but there's another short story taking place in the Blackland universe up in podcast form at PodCastle.
Thanks for your question!
http://podcastle.org/story-texts/the-...
Thanks for your question!
http://podcastle.org/story-texts/the-...
Greg Van Eekhout
I don't have any plans to write a follow-up novel, but never say never. I do, however, have a Norse Code related short story, "Gods of the Dimming Light," in the Diverse Energies anthology:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Greg Van Eekhout
Hi, Hayley. Glad you liked the book!
My best sources were the Poetic Edda (The Elder Edda), Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda (The Younger Edda), The Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by Hilda Ellis Davidson, and Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe, also by Davidson.
My best sources were the Poetic Edda (The Elder Edda), Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda (The Younger Edda), The Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by Hilda Ellis Davidson, and Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe, also by Davidson.
Greg Van Eekhout
Yes, my parents were Indo, meaning they were from Indonesia and were of mixed Dutch and Indonesian ancestry.
Greg Van Eekhout
Here's a belated thanks! Em is not based on anyone in particular, but I do tend to value people who, like Em, tells me straight-up truths and has my back in a fight. Not that I ever get into fights ...
Greg Van Eekhout
Probably not in the foreseeable future, but I never say never!
Greg Van Eekhout
Most osteomancers can't expend more magic than they consume, but Daniel is one of the rare ones whose magic, as Sebastian Blackland says, transcends the First Law. Or so it appears. Actually, Daniel is like a sponge, and he can draw magic from his surroundings in a way magically analogous to osmosis. In Pacific Fire we'll see the cost of this.
Golems have the magic of the person they're generated from, so if that original is strongly osteomantic, then the golem will be as well. With someone like the Hierarch, I think of their golems as organ-donor clones.
Thanks for asking, and I hope you enjoy Pacific Fire!
Golems have the magic of the person they're generated from, so if that original is strongly osteomantic, then the golem will be as well. With someone like the Hierarch, I think of their golems as organ-donor clones.
Thanks for asking, and I hope you enjoy Pacific Fire!
Greg Van Eekhout
Glad you enjoyed the book!
There'll be two sequels, in fact. Pacific Fire comes out in January 2015, and a third book will be out later in the year.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
There'll be two sequels, in fact. Pacific Fire comes out in January 2015, and a third book will be out later in the year.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Greg Van Eekhout
I've been wrestling with this question a lot, for years, and still don't think I know how to answer it. Because it is so much more than knowing which books you can cuss in and which cusses you can use and how graphically to depict violence and that sort of thing.
When I set out to write a middle-grade book, I imagine the physical object on the shelf. I imagine roughly (very roughly) how thick it will be. What the cover might look like. How it will feel in my hands. I imagine what it will look like surrounded by other middle-grade books, and what the reader might be like. What kind of kid, with what kind of mind, with what sort of interests and likes and dislikes. I don't do this to a great degree of detail, not like I have a dossier on them or anything like that. But I have an impression of them. Unsurprisingly, this imaginary kid is very much like I was when I was a kid. And I don't write the book for that kid, but I do write it from a headspace that I imagine is similar to that kid's.
The characters, who are as different from one middle-grade book to another as characters in different adult books are to each other, grow from the same process: putting yourself in the mindset of that specific, unique person who happens to be a kid, and seeing the world through their experience and perspective, and writing in their voice.
Is that at all helpful?
When I set out to write a middle-grade book, I imagine the physical object on the shelf. I imagine roughly (very roughly) how thick it will be. What the cover might look like. How it will feel in my hands. I imagine what it will look like surrounded by other middle-grade books, and what the reader might be like. What kind of kid, with what kind of mind, with what sort of interests and likes and dislikes. I don't do this to a great degree of detail, not like I have a dossier on them or anything like that. But I have an impression of them. Unsurprisingly, this imaginary kid is very much like I was when I was a kid. And I don't write the book for that kid, but I do write it from a headspace that I imagine is similar to that kid's.
The characters, who are as different from one middle-grade book to another as characters in different adult books are to each other, grow from the same process: putting yourself in the mindset of that specific, unique person who happens to be a kid, and seeing the world through their experience and perspective, and writing in their voice.
Is that at all helpful?
Greg Van Eekhout
I do not mind at all being upstaged by my dog, because he is awesome. And I would take him to book events and cons except he's not allowed in many places because many places aren't as awesome as Dozer. But, gosh, I wish I could. Because awesome.
Greg Van Eekhout
Picture this: Dragon mixed with corgi.
Greg Van Eekhout
I've never been to Idaho. And Delaware was taken by MT Anderson's Jasper Dash and the Flame Pits of Delaware.
YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS, JASPER.
YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS, JASPER.
Greg Van Eekhout
I did some research on long-distance walking journeys and found out you can make a cross-country trek on foot in a matter of months. The journey actually does take place over period of months, which I tried to indicate by changing seasons, but I probably could have done a better job of emphasizing that. One criticism I commonly get is that my pacing is fast and sometimes rushed, but I'm dreadfully averse to dragging plots, and that becomes a danger in stories about long journeys.
Greg Van Eekhout
It depends on the severity. Obviously, frequent showering and deodorant can help. And some stores sell special travel clothes that wick away moisture. But if it's really bad you should consult an endocrinologist.
Oh, you said aspiring. I thought you said something else.
Seriously, if you aspire to being a writer, you probably already are a writer. Writers are people who write. Nobody can tell you you're a writer, nobody can tell you you're not a writer. You're a writer because you're a person who writes.
If you want to be a *published* writer, you can certainly go the self-publishing route. Nobody can stop you. You can pretty much write whatever you want, however you want, and make your work available to readers. There are few obstacles in your way, although not having obstacles isn't a guarantee of success, even on a small scale. Self-publishing is a route, not a shortcut.
If you want to be a traditionally published writer, which is the kind of writer I am, it's a bit more complicated, especially when it comes to novels. You need an agent who can sell your book to a publishing company willing to pay you and to invest money in publishing your book and getting it onto bookshelves. I go this route because it's working for me. I'm getting paid, publishers are doing a good job of printing and publishing my books, and I get a great deal of satisfaction from seeing my books as tangible objects on bookstore shelves.
It's easy to get distracted and discouraged by the whole publishing business, so it's really important to focus on the writing. Nobody wants to read or publish an unfinished book. Nobody wants to read or publish a book written without care, without intelligence, without craft, without heart.
So immerse yourself in words. Read a lot. Write a lot. You're going to spend a lot more time writing books than doing the stuff involved in publishing books, so if you're not getting satisfaction or enjoyment form the act of writing, you're not going to be happy.
And if writing isn't making you happy, it's okay to quit. There's no shame in it. There are easier ways to make money, and there are plenty of other ways to find fulfillment. But if writing does make you happy, at least enough of the time, enjoy the journey, and good luck.
Oh, you said aspiring. I thought you said something else.
Seriously, if you aspire to being a writer, you probably already are a writer. Writers are people who write. Nobody can tell you you're a writer, nobody can tell you you're not a writer. You're a writer because you're a person who writes.
If you want to be a *published* writer, you can certainly go the self-publishing route. Nobody can stop you. You can pretty much write whatever you want, however you want, and make your work available to readers. There are few obstacles in your way, although not having obstacles isn't a guarantee of success, even on a small scale. Self-publishing is a route, not a shortcut.
If you want to be a traditionally published writer, which is the kind of writer I am, it's a bit more complicated, especially when it comes to novels. You need an agent who can sell your book to a publishing company willing to pay you and to invest money in publishing your book and getting it onto bookshelves. I go this route because it's working for me. I'm getting paid, publishers are doing a good job of printing and publishing my books, and I get a great deal of satisfaction from seeing my books as tangible objects on bookstore shelves.
It's easy to get distracted and discouraged by the whole publishing business, so it's really important to focus on the writing. Nobody wants to read or publish an unfinished book. Nobody wants to read or publish a book written without care, without intelligence, without craft, without heart.
So immerse yourself in words. Read a lot. Write a lot. You're going to spend a lot more time writing books than doing the stuff involved in publishing books, so if you're not getting satisfaction or enjoyment form the act of writing, you're not going to be happy.
And if writing isn't making you happy, it's okay to quit. There's no shame in it. There are easier ways to make money, and there are plenty of other ways to find fulfillment. But if writing does make you happy, at least enough of the time, enjoy the journey, and good luck.
Greg Van Eekhout
I don't believe in writer's block in the sense of being unable to write, but I know what it's like when you feel incapable of writing words that don't suck. When that happens, here're a few things I try:
1. Just keep writing and hope upon later reflection the words don't suck as much as you think they do. This actually works a lot of the time.
2. Go read something by one of your favorite writers. Sometimes splashing good words on yourself helps you drip some good words of your own on the page.
3. Take a walk. There's something about getting the circulation pumping and the sensory stimulation of trees and birds and people and dogs that can unknot a plot problem or alleviate a sense of stiffness or staleness.
4. Stop trying to write and instead just tell yourself the story, verbally or in informal text. Separating the job of crafting good sentences from the job of telling what happens can sometimes help you get things moving again.
5. Go somewhere without access to writing materials and tools. No laptop, no notebook, no pencil. Maybe take a hike. Maybe take a shower. Removing the pressure of having to write can sometimes free you to think.
1. Just keep writing and hope upon later reflection the words don't suck as much as you think they do. This actually works a lot of the time.
2. Go read something by one of your favorite writers. Sometimes splashing good words on yourself helps you drip some good words of your own on the page.
3. Take a walk. There's something about getting the circulation pumping and the sensory stimulation of trees and birds and people and dogs that can unknot a plot problem or alleviate a sense of stiffness or staleness.
4. Stop trying to write and instead just tell yourself the story, verbally or in informal text. Separating the job of crafting good sentences from the job of telling what happens can sometimes help you get things moving again.
5. Go somewhere without access to writing materials and tools. No laptop, no notebook, no pencil. Maybe take a hike. Maybe take a shower. Removing the pressure of having to write can sometimes free you to think.
Greg Van Eekhout
Jon, sleep deprivation is a significant detriment to health and wellbeing, and it's one of the unintended consequences of the artificial light that's become ubiquitous since the latter stages of the Industrial Age.
Ironically, perhaps, I use technology to assist me in getting sleep. Specifically, I use podcasts. I prefer podcasts that I find sufficiently interesting that, if I'm awake listening to them, I'm entertained. But not so interesting that I feel compelled to stay awake just to listen to them. The History of England podcast and the The History of the Crusades serve me very well. They're like informative lullabies. You'll have to find a podcast that suits your personal interests, of course. But not one that suits those interests too well.
Good luck getting better sleep, Jon!
Ironically, perhaps, I use technology to assist me in getting sleep. Specifically, I use podcasts. I prefer podcasts that I find sufficiently interesting that, if I'm awake listening to them, I'm entertained. But not so interesting that I feel compelled to stay awake just to listen to them. The History of England podcast and the The History of the Crusades serve me very well. They're like informative lullabies. You'll have to find a podcast that suits your personal interests, of course. But not one that suits those interests too well.
Good luck getting better sleep, Jon!
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Jul 11, 2018 06:03AM