Big Idea Category
The Big Idea: Jeff Carlson
Posted on November 24, 2009 8 Comments
Where do you go in a book series when you’ve wiped out five billion people in the first book? Jeff Carlson knows, because Plague Zone is the third book in his acclaimed “Plague Year” series — and yet, as Carlson explains in this week’s Big Idea, all the thought-out plans of the author can (and […]
The Big Idea: Scott Westerfeld
Posted on November 10, 2009 70 Comments
You can’t accuse Scott Westerfeld of not thinking big. When he put together his latest trilogy, of which his terrific new novel Leviathan is the first installment, he not only reordered history by providing an alternate version of World War I, but also also fiddled with biology, technology and indeed the whole general run of […]
The Big Idea: Jeff VanderMeer
Posted on November 5, 2009 16 Comments
Jeff VanderMeer returns to his weird, fantastical city of Ambergris in his new novel Finch, but as he explains in this Big Idea, there’s more going on in this stand-alone tale than just the rich vein of fantasy he’s previously explored in this world. Finch has more on its agenda, and the idea that more […]
The Big Idea: Steven R. Boyett
Posted on November 3, 2009 34 Comments
I’ve made no secret that when I was a teenager, one of my favorite novels was Ariel, by Steven Boyett. Why? Because here was adventure-packed novel with great dialogue, an epic quest and a love story (of sorts) at the end of the world (or at least the end of the world as we knew […]
The Big Idea: Diana Pharaoh Francis
Posted on October 29, 2009 18 Comments
From a small mud volcano in southeast Asia to the very end of the world? That’s quite a journey. But it’s the journey Diana Pharaoh Francis took in the process of writing Bitter Night, the first book in Francis’ new “Horngate Witches” series of fantasy novels. Along the way, Francis considers a new kind of […]
The Big Idea: Nicole Peeler
Posted on October 27, 2009 38 Comments
Does a “beach read” novel need an intellectual justification? Probably not, but if it actually has one, that’s always a bonus. And as it happens, literature professor and debut novelist Nicole Peeler has some rigorous and righteous background justification for her novel Tempest Rising, which follows the mystical adventures of half-selkie Jane True. Not only […]
The Big Idea: John Brown
Posted on October 20, 2009 30 Comments
Here’s a question for you: When you’re confronted by a large, angry animal that could squash you like a grape, is the first thing that comes to your mind, hey, now that gives me an idea for a story? If the answer is “yes, of course it does,” then you may be an author. Or […]
The Big Idea: Cherie Priest
Posted on October 13, 2009 37 Comments
I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m a big ol’ fan of Cherie Priest’s work — I blurbed one of her previous novels, you know — but even factoring in my enjoyment of her work, I have to say that Boneshaker, Priest’s latest, very simply rocks: It’s not only the steampunk adventure you’ve been […]
The Big Idea: Janice Hardy
Posted on October 6, 2009 11 Comments
Writers: Remember that story you wrote, the one with the great idea that you wrote really really badly? Don’t throw it into the shredder — keep it. Why? As Janice Hardy proves with her new novel The Shifter, good ideas are worth keeping — becuase good ideas can keep until you’re ready for them. JANICE […]
The Big Idea: Mindy Klasky
Posted on October 1, 2009 16 Comments
Mindy Klasky is well known as a fantasy writer, but her latest book, How Not to Make a Wish, has a trick up its sleeve — a secret so big that I can’t reveal it to you here. No, not me; it’s too big for me. Fortunately, Mindy Klasky is here to reveal Wish’s big […]
The Big Idea: Harry Connolly
Posted on September 29, 2009 43 Comments
This is one of those “in the family” moments — Harry Connolly is a long-time commenter here at Whatever, who has also been plugging away at the writing thing all the way. It’s paid off today with the publication of his debut fantasy novel Child of Fire, which earned a big fat starred review from […]
The Big Idea: Paolo Bacigalupi
Posted on September 24, 2009 36 Comments
If you read science fiction short stories, the name “Paolo Bacigalupi” has become a familiar one recently, in no small part because it keeps cropping up during awards season: four Hugo nominations in five years, Locus and Sturgeon award wins, and general praise from all quarters. The work in short fiction is the foundation for […]
The Big Idea: Diana Peterfreund
Posted on September 22, 2009 57 Comments
A word for you: “Unicorns.” Did you roll your eyes? Oh, come on, yes you did. And yet, some part of your brain knew that one point, unicorns were actually cool. What happened to them? Can anything be done to return them to their former status? Diana Peterfreund has a few ideas on the subject, […]
The Big Idea: David Anthony Durham
Posted on September 17, 2009 25 Comments
David Anthony Durham is one of my favorite new fantasy writers, and I’m not alone in having this opinion; Durham this year found himself in possession of the Campbell Award for Best New Writer, taking the tiara from an exceptionally competitive field. Durham nabbed that award on the strength of his acclaimed debut fantasy novel […]
The Big Idea: Megan Crewe
Posted on September 15, 2009 16 Comments
Ghosts: Let’s face it, most people who see them (in novels and such), aren’t generally happy about the fact. I’ve always thought: Why? Dude, you’re seeing into a secret world of the dead. That’s kind of cool. But no, they’re usually angsty about it. Seems a bit of a waste to me. And, critically, to […]
The Big Idea: Malinda Lo
Posted on September 1, 2009 129 Comments
Here’s a thought: What if the big idea about a book isn’t something in particular — it’s about the absence of something in particular? Does that count? And what does it do to the story you’re telling? The question is relevant to Malinda Lo, whose debut novel Ash is a retelling of the Cinderella story […]
The Big Idea: C.L. Anderson
Posted on August 25, 2009 93 Comments
“All we are saying is give peace a chance,” John Lennon once sang, from his bed. The question is: What does it take to give peace a chance — and is it an equitable price for what you get? This is a question that C.L. Anderson has thought more than a little bit about, and […]
The Big Idea: Lev Grossman
Posted on August 19, 2009 36 Comments
After a bit of a summer vacation, the Big Idea is back! And to kick things off, author Lev Grossman is here with The Magicians, his new fantasy novel, which aside from starred reviews in Booklist and Library Journal, has prompted no less than George R.R. Martin (who knows from fantasy) to declare that it […]
The Big Idea: Sarah Rees Brennan
Posted on June 25, 2009 33 Comments
Author Sarah Rees Brennan likes the bad boys. I’m not telling you any great secret here. Her novel The Demon’s Lexicon features one of those bad boys: Nick, who among other things is the sort who keeps sharp pointy objects underneath the sink because, hey, you have to keep them somewhere. But while the “bad […]
The Big Idea: Diana Rowland
Posted on June 23, 2009 14 Comments
Sometimes writing is like a romance: You might need time away to realize how much it’s part of you. Author Diana Rowland can tell you about this. Life and other complications conspired to keep her from the fantasy and science fiction genre for years — and yet, here she is, with her novel Mark of […]
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