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charlie_cochraneIt was a happy day for me when I got into a chat at an author group and discovered that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stevie_carroll lived just down the M27 from me. Since then we've become regular "meeters up for lunch". Stevie does tend to hide her light under a bushel - she was long listed for the prestigious Tiptree Award yet you have to prize the information about it out of her. which is just what I've done...
What inspired you to start writing?
I think I've always written. I remember once being told that I couldn't go out on my bike until I'd finished my homework, so my friend and I produced a combined effort (he wasn't even at my school!) of a science fiction story for my English creative writing assignment.
I wrote a lot while I was at university, and various bits and pieces were published in zines, including BiFrost which I thought particularly exciting since the editor had managed to obtain an ISBN for it so that all subsequent editions would have copies in the British Library.
Then I didn't write much again until the very end of the 1990s...
Do you have another job (paid or otherwise) apart from being an author? If so, how do you juggle your time?
I've had lots of jobs, most of which took up more time than I had available, hence the not-writing. Now I'm a medical writer, and the fiction gets slotted in between other projects. If I'm stuck on one form of writing I can switch to the other and perk my brain up.
What does it feel like watching your first book fledge and leave the nest?
So far everything I've written has been in anthologies. Having the first one come out was still pretty exciting, although I was even more excited when it not only got nominated for the 2010 Tiptree Awards, but also ended up on the jury's long list.
What are the Tiptree Awards?
The Tiptree Award is named for Alice B. Sheldon, who wrote under the pseudonym James Tiptree, Jr. By her impulsive choice of a masculine pen name, Sheldon helped break down the imaginary barrier between “women’s writing” and “men’s writing.”
The award is an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender. The aim of the award is not to look for work that falls into some narrow definition of political correctness, but rather to seek out work that is thought-provoking, imaginative, and perhaps even infuriating. The Tiptree Award is intended to reward those women and men who are bold enough to contemplate shifts and changes in gender roles, a fundamental aspect of any society.
What do they mean to you personally?
I think the most important aspect of the story getting long listed (I have a friend who writes serious SF and is most miffed that his stories have never made it that far) is the recognition that a quite lightweight cross-genre (or even erotic romance) can nonetheless impart important messages about gender and also about attitudes towards disability.
What happened to you in order to get nominated? How could the same thing happen to someone else?
In 2010, before the anthology had even come out, I went to EasterCon. I'd volunteered for a bunch of panels that were close to my heart – on gender in SF, female characters in SF and disability in SF – and of course I mentioned my story where it seemed relevant to the discussion. At the end of one of my panels, I was approached by Penny, who was chairing the awards jury for that year, and asked if I would consider submitting my story for their assessment.
Of course I did! Although I remember there were a few technical issues because the anthology is only available as an eBook at present, and the jury were more used to dealing with stories in print format.
My advice to others is to keep on talking about your stories: you never know who might be listening!
Why do you think awards of this type are important in various genres or combination of genres - romance vs sf etc?
I think awards are great for introducing readers and writers to each other, especially where a cross-genre book might not be marketed to all of its potential audience. There are definitely books that I've been recommended by readers of one genre and then gone on to recommend to readers of a quite different genre as something they might also like. Plus more niche awards like the Tiptree go a long way towards encouraging people to think about what they're writing, and hopefully that gives us eg more books that explore gender in SF&F stories.
Are you character or plot driven? What do you do if one of your characters starts developing at a tangent?
I like to think I'm a bit of both. Generally I have an idea for the mid point of the plot, and a vague picture of who the people are that have found themselves in that situation. Then I have to go back to the start and work out how they got there and how to get them out again.
My characters never behave the way that I expect! I have a novella that I'm editing at the moment, where I still don't know whether the characters have ended up as friends or lovers. Still, at least they're getting on: I've had other stories where characters I thought were perfect for each other have refused to even hold a civil conversation once they've been introduced
If you were in a tight corner and had to rely on one of your characters to save you, which would it be and why?
That would depend on the situation. If it was something outside human control: natural disaster, alien invasion, rampaging dragons, etc, I'd pick Matthew the Wildlife Officer from that novella I just mentioned. He'd be completely unsurprised by events and would rustle up water, food, and shelter while everyone else was still panicking. If the situation was caused by all-too-human villains I'd pick Edward, the Duke of Derwent Dale (more on him in a moment), because he has money, staff and a lot of rather dubious friends. Or I'd possibly call in his mother: she's about the only person he's afraid of so she'd just glare at the villains until they slunk away.
If you had no constraints of time and a guarantee of publication, what book would you write?
Right now I seem to be writing whatever comes into my head and hoping that I'm not the only one that wants to read those stories!
Is there a classic book you started and simply couldn't finish?
Lots! I may have read all of Wuthering Heights, but only because it was a set book that term. I definitely didn't get very far with Oliver Twist, even as an audio book: I found it full of hateful, hateful attitudes towards people who were remotely different from the norms of the time.
What’s your favourite gay romance/other genre book? And why? .
Patrick Califia's Doc and Fluff. One of the first books I ever bought from Edinburgh's West and Wilde (a much missed gay bookshop). Gay, lesbian and bisexual bikers in a post-apocalyptic North America with quite a lot of BDSM. And also the sweetest ever (in my opinion) m/m hurt-comfort scene between two of the bikers in a rundown motel.
What's your next project?
I'm currently putting together a collection of short fantasy/magickal realism stories, which will probably be called A Series of Ordinary Adventures and will hopefully come out in the early spring.
After that I've got two novels I want to tidy up and submit: one is SF romance again, and the other is Searching for Julia which is more of a mystery-cum-family saga about the Dukes of Derwent Dale and their shadowy role in history right the way back to the time of William the Conquerer and his alleged illegitimate son. William Peverel (who built Peveril Castle up where I come from).
Echoes of Possibilities: Four unconventional m/f erotic romances set in very different futures. Including a trans* character, a cyborg, an alien, a female ex-president of the United States and their equally remarkable lovers.
'The Monitors' by Stevie Carroll: Born blind in a universe where genetic abnormalities are screened out at conception, Stuart, a monitor -- the human backup to computer controls on a deep space colony transport -- dreams of an academic research post, a family and a permanent home. As a transman, still saving for the last of his operations, he wonders what woman would love a guy like him.
Expecting a routine shift-change, Stuart is astonished and delighted when he is propositioned by Claire, a deaf woman who has broken away from her family and now wants to experience as much of the universe as possible. The instantaneous chemistry between them breaks down Stuart's inhibitions about sex on duty -- and on a first date -- but he has no idea if Claire will put her travel plans on hold until his transition is complete, and he is ready to go with her as a whole man.
stevie_carroll lived just down the M27 from me. Since then we've become regular "meeters up for lunch". Stevie does tend to hide her light under a bushel - she was long listed for the prestigious Tiptree Award yet you have to prize the information about it out of her. which is just what I've done...What inspired you to start writing?
I think I've always written. I remember once being told that I couldn't go out on my bike until I'd finished my homework, so my friend and I produced a combined effort (he wasn't even at my school!) of a science fiction story for my English creative writing assignment.
I wrote a lot while I was at university, and various bits and pieces were published in zines, including BiFrost which I thought particularly exciting since the editor had managed to obtain an ISBN for it so that all subsequent editions would have copies in the British Library.
Then I didn't write much again until the very end of the 1990s...
Do you have another job (paid or otherwise) apart from being an author? If so, how do you juggle your time?
I've had lots of jobs, most of which took up more time than I had available, hence the not-writing. Now I'm a medical writer, and the fiction gets slotted in between other projects. If I'm stuck on one form of writing I can switch to the other and perk my brain up.
What does it feel like watching your first book fledge and leave the nest?
So far everything I've written has been in anthologies. Having the first one come out was still pretty exciting, although I was even more excited when it not only got nominated for the 2010 Tiptree Awards, but also ended up on the jury's long list.
What are the Tiptree Awards?
The Tiptree Award is named for Alice B. Sheldon, who wrote under the pseudonym James Tiptree, Jr. By her impulsive choice of a masculine pen name, Sheldon helped break down the imaginary barrier between “women’s writing” and “men’s writing.”
The award is an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender. The aim of the award is not to look for work that falls into some narrow definition of political correctness, but rather to seek out work that is thought-provoking, imaginative, and perhaps even infuriating. The Tiptree Award is intended to reward those women and men who are bold enough to contemplate shifts and changes in gender roles, a fundamental aspect of any society.
What do they mean to you personally?
I think the most important aspect of the story getting long listed (I have a friend who writes serious SF and is most miffed that his stories have never made it that far) is the recognition that a quite lightweight cross-genre (or even erotic romance) can nonetheless impart important messages about gender and also about attitudes towards disability.
What happened to you in order to get nominated? How could the same thing happen to someone else?
In 2010, before the anthology had even come out, I went to EasterCon. I'd volunteered for a bunch of panels that were close to my heart – on gender in SF, female characters in SF and disability in SF – and of course I mentioned my story where it seemed relevant to the discussion. At the end of one of my panels, I was approached by Penny, who was chairing the awards jury for that year, and asked if I would consider submitting my story for their assessment.
Of course I did! Although I remember there were a few technical issues because the anthology is only available as an eBook at present, and the jury were more used to dealing with stories in print format.
My advice to others is to keep on talking about your stories: you never know who might be listening!
Why do you think awards of this type are important in various genres or combination of genres - romance vs sf etc?
I think awards are great for introducing readers and writers to each other, especially where a cross-genre book might not be marketed to all of its potential audience. There are definitely books that I've been recommended by readers of one genre and then gone on to recommend to readers of a quite different genre as something they might also like. Plus more niche awards like the Tiptree go a long way towards encouraging people to think about what they're writing, and hopefully that gives us eg more books that explore gender in SF&F stories.
Are you character or plot driven? What do you do if one of your characters starts developing at a tangent?
I like to think I'm a bit of both. Generally I have an idea for the mid point of the plot, and a vague picture of who the people are that have found themselves in that situation. Then I have to go back to the start and work out how they got there and how to get them out again.
My characters never behave the way that I expect! I have a novella that I'm editing at the moment, where I still don't know whether the characters have ended up as friends or lovers. Still, at least they're getting on: I've had other stories where characters I thought were perfect for each other have refused to even hold a civil conversation once they've been introduced
If you were in a tight corner and had to rely on one of your characters to save you, which would it be and why?
That would depend on the situation. If it was something outside human control: natural disaster, alien invasion, rampaging dragons, etc, I'd pick Matthew the Wildlife Officer from that novella I just mentioned. He'd be completely unsurprised by events and would rustle up water, food, and shelter while everyone else was still panicking. If the situation was caused by all-too-human villains I'd pick Edward, the Duke of Derwent Dale (more on him in a moment), because he has money, staff and a lot of rather dubious friends. Or I'd possibly call in his mother: she's about the only person he's afraid of so she'd just glare at the villains until they slunk away.
If you had no constraints of time and a guarantee of publication, what book would you write?
Right now I seem to be writing whatever comes into my head and hoping that I'm not the only one that wants to read those stories!
Is there a classic book you started and simply couldn't finish?
Lots! I may have read all of Wuthering Heights, but only because it was a set book that term. I definitely didn't get very far with Oliver Twist, even as an audio book: I found it full of hateful, hateful attitudes towards people who were remotely different from the norms of the time.
What’s your favourite gay romance/other genre book? And why? .
Patrick Califia's Doc and Fluff. One of the first books I ever bought from Edinburgh's West and Wilde (a much missed gay bookshop). Gay, lesbian and bisexual bikers in a post-apocalyptic North America with quite a lot of BDSM. And also the sweetest ever (in my opinion) m/m hurt-comfort scene between two of the bikers in a rundown motel.
What's your next project?
I'm currently putting together a collection of short fantasy/magickal realism stories, which will probably be called A Series of Ordinary Adventures and will hopefully come out in the early spring.
After that I've got two novels I want to tidy up and submit: one is SF romance again, and the other is Searching for Julia which is more of a mystery-cum-family saga about the Dukes of Derwent Dale and their shadowy role in history right the way back to the time of William the Conquerer and his alleged illegitimate son. William Peverel (who built Peveril Castle up where I come from).
Echoes of Possibilities: Four unconventional m/f erotic romances set in very different futures. Including a trans* character, a cyborg, an alien, a female ex-president of the United States and their equally remarkable lovers.
'The Monitors' by Stevie Carroll: Born blind in a universe where genetic abnormalities are screened out at conception, Stuart, a monitor -- the human backup to computer controls on a deep space colony transport -- dreams of an academic research post, a family and a permanent home. As a transman, still saving for the last of his operations, he wonders what woman would love a guy like him.
Expecting a routine shift-change, Stuart is astonished and delighted when he is propositioned by Claire, a deaf woman who has broken away from her family and now wants to experience as much of the universe as possible. The instantaneous chemistry between them breaks down Stuart's inhibitions about sex on duty -- and on a first date -- but he has no idea if Claire will put her travel plans on hold until his transition is complete, and he is ready to go with her as a whole man.
