Why Murderbot is tough to write and other sci-fi secrets – Interview with Martha Wells

Martha Wells has written many fantasy and sci-fi novels, short fiction and novellas. She’s also written Star Wars and Stargate novels as well as worked on Magic:The Gathering. She has won Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards for her work. She recently released a new Murderbot novella and we spoke about the novella, Murderbot, her other works, and her inspirations. Fugitive Telemetry (Tordotcom, 2021)

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, videos, tordotcom, science fiction, fiction, star wars, locus award, hugo award, Nebula award,

Cris Alvarez Full Contact Nerd Interviews
 

Why Murderbot is tough to write and other sci-fi secrets – Interview with Martha Wells

martha wellos fugitive telemetry

Why Murderbot is tough to write and other sci-fi secrets – Interview with Martha Wells

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/33EmJJ3

Interview Timeline

Martha Wells has written many fantasy and sci-fi novels, short fiction and novellas. She’s also written Star Wars and Stargate novels as well as worked on Magic:The Gathering. She has won Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards for her work. She recently released a new Murderbot novella and we spoke about the novella, Murderbot, her other works, and her inspirations. Fugitive Telemetry (Tordotcom, 2021)

0:54 – Martha talks about how she chooses the idea to write.

1:49 – Martha talks about being excited by her stories and writing.

3:05 – Martha talks about what parts of the story she wants to be engaged by.

3:37 – Martha talks about the Murderbot series and Murderbot.

6:42 – Martha talks about he chooses between writing a novel versus a novella.

8:22 – Martha talks about writing novellas.

9:24 – Martha talks about the difficulty in writing science fiction with new technology

11:43 – Martha talks about her inspirations.

14:53 – Martha talks about her interest in true crime and

16:45 – Martha talks about her previous mystery novels.

18:24 – Martha talks about the aesthetic of the book.

19:31 – Martha talks about sci-fi mysteries and noir.

21:10 – Martha talks about enjoying archaeology.

22:20 – Martha talks about enjoying revision.

23:51- Martha talks about her writing routine.

25:25 – Martha talks about her cats.

25:44 – Martha talks about how her writing process has changed over time.

28:31 – Martha talks about attending conventions.

32:13 – Martha talks about meeting celebrities at cons.

33:22 – Martha talks about how busy authors can be.

34:35 – Martha talks about having been a gamer.

36:00 – Martha talks about the video games she enjoyed.

36:55 – Martha talks about world-building.

37:58 – Martha talks about the Murderbot character.

40:16 – Martha talks about the future of Murderbot.

41:27 – Martha talks about her writing output.

42:10 – Martha talks about sci-fi versus fantasy.

43:10 – Martha talks about fantasy writing.

44:42 – Martha talks about her favorite character to write.

45:56 – Martha talks about enjoying Star Trek, Godzilla, and other things when she was young.

47:09 – Martha talks about writing Stargate and Star Wars novels.

48:43 – Martha talks about working on Magic: The Gathering.

49:16 – Martha talks about writing for other properties.

51:48 – Martha talks about promoting books.

52:51- Martha talks about her earlier works.

53:29 – Martha talks about how she was able to write for Stargate and Star Wars.

55:08 – Martha talks about the contracts for Murderbot.

56:40 – Martha can be found at marthawells.com and on twitter @marthawells1 and on marthawells.dreamwidth.org

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/33EmJJ3

https://publishing.tor.com/fugitivetelemetry-marthawells/9781250765376/

http://marthawells.com/

https://twitter.com/marthawells1

http://marthawells.dreamwidth.org

Contact Information

For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast. Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Martha Wells

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, podcast, tordotcom, science fiction, fiction, star wars, locus award, hugo award, Nebula award,

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/33EmJJ3

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Cris Alvarez Full Contact Nerd Interviews

Somaiya Daud interview about her space fantasy fiction novel “Court of Lions” (Flatiron Books, 2020)

Somaiya Daud interview about her space fantasy fiction novel “Court of Lions”

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2DE3tlW

Interview Timeline

Somaiya Daud loves high fantasy and science fiction. She has taught the subject and she’s released her second high space fantasy novel Court of Lions. We spoke about the book, Moroccan culture, Tolkien, and getting the book written and published.

0:31 – Somaiya talks about how the idea for the novel came from seeing a Star Wars prequel costume exhibit.

1:49 – Somaiya talks about how her series is a space fantasy with a lot of political intrigue.

4:28 – Somaiya talks about the culture that stands in for Morocco in the book.

4:53 – Somaiya talks about the backstory of the setting.

5:12 – Somaiya talks about the protagonist and the conflict in the book.

7:04 – Somaiya talks about writing about serious subjects for young readers.

8:55 – Somaiya talks about research in to the Moroccan years of Lead.

11:28 – Somaiya talks about how her research fed into her novel.

12:07 – Somaiya talks about sympathetic characters among the antagonists.

13:59 – Somaiya talks about how she created her conquering antagonists.

16:35 – Somaiya talks about her interest in Arabic poetry and her use of it in the book.

19:53 – Somaiya talks about her use of religion in the book.

22:04 – Somaiya talks about her love of science fiction and Tolkien.

23:27 – Somaiya talks about her interest in comic books and non-fiction.

24:36 – Somaiya talks about the musical aesthetic of the books.

25:37 – Somaiya talks about her writing process.

28:36 – Somaiya talks about writing a lot of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fan fiction.

34:58 – Somaiya talks about completing the book.

36:28 – Somaiya is on somaiyabooks.com, on twitter @somaiyadaud and on instagram @somaiiiya

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2DE3tlW

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250126450

https://www.somaiyabooks.com/

https://twitter.com/somaiyadaud

https://www.instagram.com/somaiiiya/

Contact Information

For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast

Guests: Somaiya Daud

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, fantasy, writer, novel, novelist, fiction, Star Wars, prequel, Morocco, conquest, moon, queen, colonial, war, indigenous, dissident, Arabic, Arab, worldbuilding, poetry, Islam, Muslim, the Expanse, Killjoys, Tolkien, Luis Delgado, Silmarillion, Middle Earth, apocalypse

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2DE3tlW

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.