This interview is part of the 10,000 Dawns Finale, which you can read all of (and download!) at this link: http://www.jameswylder.com/home/10000-dawns-the-finale James Wylder: Writer, Interview by Alex RoseInterviews: We took the time to have some words with many of the personalities shaping 10kd in the present and the future! Learn about the creation of this story, and where we go from here.... James is the author of the serial “10,000 Dawns” story, as well as the Editor of the upcoming “10,000 Dawns Anthology”. He has also written several books including the Unofficial Doctor Who Poetry Book, “An Eloquence of Time and Space”. What is or what has been your favorite part about writing 10kd? This is a story I've wanted to write for years now, and so just making it exist, and letting these characters live on the page as I envisioned them is a more wonderful feeling than I can describe. Out of every chapter you’ve ever written for 10kd, which has been your absolute favorite? “Chapter 19: A Crystal Road” was a lot of fun to write, and went in some really surprising directions. Not to mention, the reaction from fans from it was awesome. Arch and Graelyn's confrontation, brewing throughout the whole story was one of the most brutal and heartbreaking scenes for me to write, because I hadn't originally intended for it happen. But while I was writing I realized it should happen, and needed to happen. It was what the characters would do, and so I let them do it. On a totally different end of the spectrum, the scene where the Crystal Moon plows through a wall in reality ended up being a real fan favorite, and has to be up there in the most utterly bonkers things I've put into words, yet it works. How exactly did you get the idea for writing the plot of 10kd? How did you come up with such a story? 10,000 Dawns has been a very long time coming, and answering where the story came from has more than one answer, and I can’t say any particular version of the story is more correct than any other. So many things came together to make this story its hard to mesh them into one narrative, because the strands don’t always knot together neatly. The different strands come in the form of three RPG campaigns, a Doctor Who Poetry Book, an idea for a piece of fanfiction about fanfiction, some regular fanfiction from whole slew of different things, and like all things, my own life because I’m a terrible narcissist. So where would I start? The story you’ll hear the most is that 10,000 Dawns started with an RPG campaign of a dead RPG based on a dead card game. It was a weird start, and a memorable one, but its not the whole story. It was the start of it all though, and the friends who I played in that game with are some of the same people helping to build this world in prose now. This specific story came about because my good friend Dave Koon created a character named Graelyn Scythes, and I was fascinated by her. She was actually a villain for heroes to thwart, but she was such a complex and well thought out villain I couldn't help trying to figure out why she thought what she thought at every turn. Later, I came up with the idea of Archimedes: a cyborg who is so much a cyborg, other people wonder how human he is. Graelyn was notable for being considered so cold or nasty that many people considered her nearly not human, while Arch looked robotic but his actions were so filled with heart and emotion he earned a lot of admiration. Juxtaposing these two characters lept into my head, and the idea of taking both of them out of the kind of story they would live by themselves, and seeing how they would change each other's lives was just too good to pass up. I started developing the story, and even did a trial run of it in the short story in “An Eloquence of Time and Space” (which is still in continuity, mind you, so if you are desperate for more 10kd go pick it up!). I kept trying to convince myself I didn't desperately want to write this story, because it involved using so many characters my friends had made, and making alternate versions of those characters. Eventually though, I realized I needed to make this, and I wouldn't be satisfied till I did. I'm very glad I followed through on it. What is the future for 10kd? Do you have any major plans for the story itself or the characters? Will there be a sequel? Oh, the future is bright boys, girls, and people outside of the gender binary! 10,000 Dawns: Anthology is coming out this summer, which will delve into the stories and history of the world 10,000 Dawns is set in. There are all sorts of people, events, places, and groups that show up in 10,000 Dawns in fleeting moments with huge histories behind them. You'll get to learn about the history of Centro Systems, of Mars, of all the different peoples of the rim, and most importantly of all how the 10,000 Dawns formed in the first place! You didn't think 10,000 Universes just linked up on their own did you? Its going to be a lot of fun, and I'm bringing in lots of other creative writers who are all adding their own flair to the affair. I cannot wait for you guys to see it. Before that though, there are still a few bonus stories left featuring the adventures of Graelyn, Arch, and Dawn and company, including the three stories from the bonus story contest! So the adventures aren't over yet. Later this year there is a novel set in the 10,000 Dawns Universe I wrote called “Death and Doubling Cubes” being released as well, which will feature Backgammon Jenny and Chess Mistress Hex, so look out for that! Oh, and there is already a second Anthology in the works. Shhh! I didn't tell you! As for a full on sequel to 10,000 Dawns... I'll get back to you! Annie and I have only just finished this one, and I think we'd both like to take a nap and finish the slew of other work we have before either of us even thinks about a sequel. When you started writing 10kd did you ever think that you’d get so attached to the characters or the story itself? The answer here might surprise you: no. I didn't. I went into this story with the full knowledge that the characters were alternate reality versions of existing characters, and I thought they'd be fleeting. I was incredibly, and luckily, wrong. David Bowie has been one of your personal influences since you were young, did he in any way ever influence your writing? Oh, did he ever. I listened to the Bowie albums “Hours”, “Black Tie, White Noise”, and “The Next Day Extra” over and over while writing 10,000 Dawns, and as you've read many of the songs seeped into the story itself. “God Bless the Girl” holds a special meaning to myself and Graelyn that cannot be separated from this story now. But his music has been influencing me long before 10kd: while writing my first full length play “Cryptos”, I listened to Bowie's “The Alabama Song EP” on repeat, with the rerecording he did of “Space Oddity” for it helping to shape the mood for the trek into the underworld in the play's second act. David Bowie is my favorite musical artist, and his notes have sunk into more of my writing than I can keep track of. What are some struggles you’ve come across when writing 10,000 dawns? The biggest struggle has been the time crunch of trying to get a chapter written, edited, formatted, proof read, and recorded as an audio podcast every single week. As many of you have noticed, the first thing that went out the window if there wasn't time each week was proofreading. I'm well aware the biggest complaint with the story is the number of typos there are, and I can't wait to have to chance to fix them finally when things finally calm down. I apologize that part of the story wasn't up to the quality it should have been. The weekly time schedule meant that I had to write, and had to post, and it was very unforgiving if I got sick (or if Annie got sick). We had to take two hiatuses in the end, just to keep things on track. That we completed this whole endeavor at all is a real triumph for me. Chapter 22 really says a lot about Graelyn's childhood, and talks about how she had even tried to commit suicide. This really adds to Graelyn's character. In future chapters will we hear anymore about Graelyns past/childhood? Maybe more background about her parents? Well, now that everyone has had the chance to read the end of the story I think its pretty clear the answer is a resounding “yes”. Graelyn's childhood was difficult to write about, and I know it rings true for many readers... One thing about the 10kd fandom I've noticed is they're very private. I get more private messages and emails than I get comments, and that's okay. When I get a message asking a question about the text, or something as simple as “You know, Graelyn's mom is like my parent was.” it reminds me how important creating fiction is, and what a duty I have as a writer to try to get this stuff right. I know 10kd isn't perfect, but I know its helped a few people, and I'm grateful it could. As someone who has tried to commit suicide, who has friends who have tried, and friends who have succeeded... It was important for me to show Graelyn's suicide attempt, pull the cover off of it so to speak. I hope in reading Graelyn's story some people come away with what I've learned myself: life can be hell, but it can get better, and you have to be alive to see that better day. So hold in there. Dawn will rise, and the night will end. 10,000 Dawns is definitely not the only thing you’ve ever written, you've written multiple poetry books and plays, as well as released a short story book. What is your greatest accomplishment when it comes to your own writing? I think the general consensus is that “An Eloquence of Time and Space” is my greatest achievement, and it definitely is in terms of popularity and sales. Its a really good book, and I'm very proud of it, however I think artistically the best thing I've written is my play “Paper Gods”, which is a strange fever dream of theatre that deals with characters holding a revolution against the author of the play (me). Its printed in my book “Cascade” if anyone is curious to read it. David Bowie has come up a few times throughout the story, the first noticeable time is when Graelyn had a dance off. Due to his passing, do you plan on putting any form of tribute in any of the upcoming chapters? There was a tribute we already put out called “And a Star Spun Dark” that wasn't planned to be a tribute, it was actually a discarded bonus story for a canceled listening party for the release of “Blackstar” where the 10kd crew was going to post in-character as different people from 10kd as if they were listening to the album together. It would have been fun... But we didn't have time. I thought “I can just reuse the idea for his next album.” Surprise, in the worst way. We will be having a full scale tribute though, in the form of a real bonus story with art by “Eloquence” artist Olivia Hinkel, so watch for that! All of the characters that are in this story (10,000 Dawns) have depth and most, you can really connect to. What character are you most proud of? I know its the answer you'd expect, but its true: Graelyn. She's a very complex, real, person who I feel like I managed to delve deeper into the psyche of than any character I've written before. I felt like writing her was a danger, because in all honesty she is such an easy person to hate. She does lots of selfish and petty things, but in the end she is trying desperately to be a good person, and I believe she is one. I wasn't sure readers would feel the same. That they did makes me very happy, because it means the readers of Graelyn's story have shown her the love and understanding that her family never did. I think she'd be happy about that. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us! No, thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to ask these questions. And thank you to the readers, you've really made this experience wonderful.
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This interview is part of the 10,000 Dawns Finale, which you can read all of (and download!) at this link: http://www.jameswylder.com/home/10000-dawns-the-finale Alex Rose: SongwriterAlex Rose is an Indianapolis based musician whose new song “Space Adventure” is 10,000 Dawns new Theme Song! You can hear a sample of the song in front of this week's podcast version of 10kd, or just download the whole thing below!
First off, could you introduce yourself for our readers? Hi! I'm Alex Rose! I've been playing guitar for 8 years and music is my absolute passion! It's a major part of me and I'm so happy to be able to be involved in this great story! I’m an artist in many forms and I absolutely love creating things. I also love space! The way you met the author of 10,000 Dawns was pretty interesting from what I hear? Yea actually! We had met at PopCon in Indianapolis IN in June of 2015! Uh, but, how we became friends consisted of a major dance off between me (a cosplaying starlord) and him (a dancing Doctor!). And the friendship sparked from there! Tell us about your song, “Space Adventure”, what inspired it? How did you go about writing it? Space Adventure came to be when I was going through a rough time with friends and relationships. I was being thrown around emotionally, and the song is about me telling myself and others that I can do everything I set my mind to do and what they do doesn't hold me back It was me standing up for myself. It took a long time for me to actually come out and say what it was about, because I was afraid. But I'm so glad I did. And now it's a fan favorite What themes do you think the song shares with 10kd? Space man!!!! I also feel like it has a strong connections with Graelyn! The song very much portrays a strong independent vibe which is everything I see Graelyn as. I feel like it really commits to the story and I'm so glad that it's the theme song! What drew you into music? My dad actually! He was a major influence. He taught me the basics of guitar. What kind of music do you listen to when you're not writing it? Have a favorite song? I listen to everything (but country) honestly! And my favorite song changes every week! But right now, it's I Want To Get Better by Bleachers Like a lot of awesome artists, you do live shows! Where can people see you, and how do you feel about performing in front of people? Do you ever get nervous or are you always pumped? I love doing live shows! Usually I play at different venues in Indianapolis, most notably being the Hoosier Dome on Prospect St! Sometimes I'm nervous, but most times I'm always pumped to perform! I absolutely love it! What's the greatest moment you've ever had onstage? Probably when I sang I Miss You by Blink 182 and people got on stage with me! There's a video of it on the Facebook page, and whenever I watch it I laugh! What's the most embarrassing moment you've ever had onstage? The time I forgot my own lyrics half way through a song and had to make it up as I went!!! 0.0 You have an upcoming album, correct? Whats the album like overall? I do! Overall the album is honestly about my life over the past few years. Some songs are really sad and about personal things or they're about happy stuff and moving on past the sad things, such as space adventure! Expect a good cry. You're a reader of 10kd, as well as a songwriter. What's your favorite thing about the story? I CANT chOOOSE Do you have a favorite 10,000 Dawns character? Graelyn! What's it like having your song as the theme to a story like this? It's so shocking honestly! I never thought my music would be taken so seriously! We have to ask, did you and James Wylder ever consider recording a cover of something from Guardians of the Galaxy together? You don't have to answer but.... Hell yes!!!! Where can our readers find more of your music? Alexroseandthemagicalacoustic.bandcamp.com Thank you so much for talking to us Alex, we wish you many more space adventures! This interview is part of the 10,000 Dawns Finale, which you can read all of (and download!) at this link: http://www.jameswylder.com/home/10000-dawns-the-finale Rachel Johnson: ArtistRachel is an artist who has drawn art for the 10,000 Dawns Artist Showcase, as well as for our bonus stories! It was a pleasure to speak with them. First off, could you introduce yourself for our readers? I’m Rachel. I’m currently a sophomore at the Minneapolis College of Art and design where I’m studying comic art! Drawing is one of my biggest passions. You have an interesting relationship with 10,000 Dawns, in that you read it's first short story in “An Eloquence of Time and Space” and made the first fan art of it! Did you ever expect you'd be drawing more of it? I can’t say I was but I’m really glad I got the chance to! What drew you to 10kd? Obviously I’m going to be interested in anything a friend of mine is doing, but I also really love sci-fi so this is right up my alley. Do you have a favorite character from 10kd? Probably Graelyn. Or Mister Sprinkles. What's your favorite work of art you've made for 10kd? The big group picture I did of Songbird and her crew! You've drawn more art for 10kd right now than any artist other than Annie Zhu, in some ways you've given your own feeling and aesthetic to Songbird's World, and the Bonus Stories. What was it like defining a look for so many characters? It was pretty challenging trying to get everyone’s looks to line up with their written descriptions, but it was also a lot of fun for me! Can you tell us about your other art? I also make short comics and also digital illustrations, mostly inspired by daily life and my interests. What sort of things do you like to do in your free time? Any hobbies or interest? I love to draw, obviously. I also enjoy reading. If I’m not doing either of those I’m probably watching superhero shows. If you could have the chance to draw any character you haven't yet from the story, who would it be? Kinan, probably! Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers? Thank you so much for chatting! It’s been so much fun being involved in this story and I hope you guys are enjoying it! This interview is part of the 10,000 Dawns Finale, which you can read all of (and download!) at this link: http://www.jameswylder.com/home/10000-dawns-the-finale Jordan Stout: WriterJordan is a writer who has been a part of the development of 10,000 Dawns and will be featured in 10,000 Dawns: Anthology later this year! He's quite the character. First off, could you introduce yourself for our readers? Good day to you all. It is a pleasure to meet all the readers of 10,000 Dawns, I hope you are well, sassy, classy, and currently enjoying a good book of some kind. My name is Jordan Stout and I am proud to say that I am one of the writers for the 10kd universe. I've been with the 10kd project from the beginning, and I am honored to still be here helping readers make that special astonished face you all make when something too crazy to be possible happens on the page. Yes, you do totally make that face. Yes. Its kind of like the expression lemurs always have by default. Yes, like that, its my favorite, and I love you for it. So you've been part of 10kd for a long time, how did you first get involved in this endeavor? 10kd for me started with a college friend desiring to embarrass me and my roommate with an obscure science fiction card game he had stolen from James' room that we had never played but he deceptively and wickedly already knew all the rules to. Naturally my roommate and I were disgraced forever and will never completely live down the shame, but there was something very thought-provoking about the cards themselves and the very lightly brushed on conceptual story behind them and it got us working out new and different ways to play the game, making a newer and deeper story, and then ultimately starting a full role-playing game and living out adventures in the world of our design every Saturday night, with the ever-creative James Wylder as game master. The adventures were rich and brilliant and often the sun would rise on a Sunday morning to us still laughing and shrugging off our exhaustion for another roll of the dice that would determine fates to altered the very alignments of planets and moons in our solar system. As much as it meant to us, originally it was almost a joke. There were only four of us at the start and it was almost embarrassing to tell others about this game we played that was loosely based off of a card game that no one in their right mind would have even heard of. We would get looks like we were all wasting our Saturday nights and there was no way to really explain. Stories, however, have a way of speaking for themselves. We gained two new people to make six just before I began a semester traveling abroad in Europe, and when I returned I was astonished to find more that thirty people sitting at the same little table the next Saturday night, all with characters woven into the intricate story that James had continued to weave. It only grew from there. The game evolved into an overwhelming topic of conversation, started holding its own reserved room at college events and conventions, taking form on social media, drawing the attention of other science-fiction writers, hosting its own website, inspiring us to write short stories, and eventually became so big that rare was any hour of any day where a large group of people would not be sitting in the campus center discussing, bickering, building, or scheming some angle of the story arch and so there was never a time a person couldn't conveniently find someone to talk to about this story at our college. At that point it was clear that it had taken a life of its own, and after graduation it was keen to become the subject of literature. What's it been like developing the 10kd universe together? How do I love having my own characters represented in your work? Well, speaking on behalf of my character, Doitzel, he truly loves your work James, and is trilled to see himself come to life under your pen, and, oh wait, he's demanded to speak for himself, he says “you haven't yet written about him at all yet,” and “what's the matter,” he seems rather angry. Oh, maybe he's crying. ”Are you afraid of my magnetic personality? Think I will try to take over your story by force? I won't, scout's honor, I'm a changed man.” I'm terribly sorry James, I'll have a chat with him. “Is it because I'm insane?” No, Doitzel, you need to stop this now. “I'm not you know, I have a letter from the state that says I've been pardoned.” Yes, well done, Doitzel. “Not many people have those!” Doitzel, please calm down. Remember what happened the time when you shot the coffee machine. “I've always wanted to be in your stories, Jim, why don't you notice me? What do I have to do, take over a planet or something? I will if I have to.” Doitzel, you need to stop threatening authors, this is becoming a bad habit. “Believe me, you'll want me in your story on your terms, don't let them be mine! Don't forget how many side characters were never fully developed because of me!” I'm sorry about that James, he's just cranky because of his tragic background. You know he can't be held accountable for his own words. He's harmless, really, you have nothing to worry about, and should keep up the good work we all love. Now, you're a part of 10,000 Dawns: Anthology, which is set in the Prime Universe of 10,000 Dawns, featuring very different versions of some of these characters we've just met. Do you think readers will be surprised at what they'll see? Naw, I think our readers are brave and ready to handle the surprises in store. Can you tell us a little about what you're creating for 10kd: Anthology? Most of my writing will be focusing on events on the Rim as well as one of my characters to grow out of the original role-playing game, Doitzel. It looks like I'm going to dive into the Rim in a few more questions here, and I dare not tell you what role Doitzel will play in the history of the known universe but suffice to say he is far from the conventional hero we've come to expect from our classic stories, but often, for better or worse, finds himself at the turning point of a story where in an ideal world the more conventional hero really ought to be. Audiences can be assured that he is not the kind of man who can do more than one pull-up, be counted on to always find the right solution over the most entertaining solution, and most certainly of all, learn anything meaningful about life or humanity over the course of a given story. I am delighted to see what you readers will think of my tales and characters and what you judge them to be for yourselves. Most frequently I feel natural writing a story out through thick layers of humor guided along by a brisk, confident pacing like the stride between two blind men who haven't realized the other is blind leading each other across a busy street. You can reasonably expect my stories to quickly rush up to the limit of where you will expect things to go and then take that one step over the edge, and I do hope you will enjoy every word, it's what I wrote them for. What else do you do in your free time? Do you have any other hobbies or pursuits? I rather like to keep my free time overbooked with as many things, equally ridiculous as my stories, as possible. I like long walks on the beach, traveling to any place less geographically level than central Indiana, which thankfully is almost everywhere, I play semi-professionally in the chamber folk band “Willoughby Sprig,” I am told that my volunteer tours of the Indiana Central State mental hospital are very “...enlightening,” I occasionally build my own home electronics out of unconventional things, and my dream is to one day photo-bomb the James Webb Space Telescope. I am truly blessed to have a cat that judges me abusively if I do not stop things I am working on and go to bed at a healthy hour. You really helped shape the feel of the Rim in 10,000 Dawns, a place that our readers have yet to explore in depth! What sort of adventures can we expect to see out there? What drew you to it? I have been, more or less, the creative designer of the Rim in the 10kd universe with the generous help of many other writers here like Andrew McLung, Taylor Elliott, Miguel Ramirez, and of course James Wylder. I took a rather passionate liking to working on the societies out there due to our need to write them as wild, frequently irrational, and possessing a far wider range of cultural differences than are found on Earth and Mars. With the story centered around a time when humanity looked to the stars, pushed boldly out to the edges of our solar system and then said “eh, that's good enough,” the Rim becomes a place where people live ignored, desperate, short, but clever and exhilarating lives, mostly free from the powers of the planets, and organized into ever-warring gangs that might frequently be underestimated by the strong power of Earth. Readers can expect locations on the Rim to be strange and turbulent, and the characters from the Rim to hold dreams, specifically of the big and dangerous variety. Expect pirates with cybernetic bodies to be taking big risks for big payoffs. Expect crazed space-prospectors to ramble madly about pods of probably equally crazed space-whales they saw swimming past Neptune. Expect floating cities on the oceans beneath Europa's icy crust. Expect violently temperamental and shadowy gang bosses to be hatching layers of convoluted schemes against each other and the powerful governments of the inner planets. Expect remarkable space stations that could be possessed by ghosts. Expect scientists that my no means should have lived as long as they have to be messing with things that they really shouldn't be, and of course, expect our heroes to be right in the midst of it, holding their own. If you could punch any 10kd character, who would it be and why? I probably wouldn't punch any of them because its a universe where people are likely to punch back very hard. Is there Anything else you'd like to say to our readers? Many, many thanks to all you readers and supporters for the time and interest you give to this project. We couldn't do something like this without you, well, okay, actually we could but it would be pointless and dismal. I am trilled to be working on these new bits to come out and I hope you are all just as excited, and if not, then I hope the sheer strength of your obdurance is consolation enough for reading this entire article against your better judgement. Best wishes to you and happy reading. Thank you so much for talking with us Jordan! This interview is part of the 10,000 Dawns Finale, which you can read all of (and download!) at this link: http://www.jameswylder.com/home/10000-dawns-the-finale Josephine Smiley: WriterJosephine is a writer who has been a part of the development of 10,000 Dawns and will be featured in 10,000 Dawns: Anthology later this year! She's was a real joy to talk with. First off, could you introduce yourself for our readers? Absolutely! I am Josephine Smiley, writer for 10kd, graduate student at the University of Missouri (Mizzou,) political and social justice activist, and all around geek. Actually, science fiction was my first love, so to speak: that love came in ’93 in the form of Star Trek: the Next Generation, and it has been a wild and awesome ride from there. So you've been part of 10kd for a long time, how did you first get involved in this endeavor? When I was a student at Hanover College, a bunch of us were part of a Tabletop RPG Group of Total Geekery. I was one of those roleplay nerds who writes up detailed backstories for her characters. While I was doing that, more story ideas just came popping into my head, and I created Alice MacLeod, and then… well, you guys can see what happened. What's it been like developing the 10kd universe together? Amazing. I love being able to collectively create something as diverse and wonderful as 10kd, and everyone else on this team is the best. The fact that it’s a team effort only makes it more diverse: other people have thought of ideas I never would have come up with, and everyone’s ideas just give me more ideas for my own 10kd stories as far as places, people, and events that I can work in and develop a little more. Some of your ideas (and characters) have made it into 10,000 Dawns: Serial, especially your character Alice MacLeod, what was it like seeing her come to life under a different writer? The thing about Alice MacLeod is that she’s supposed to be able to appeal to people from various different backgrounds. In the story, she leads a worldwide revolution, and in order to do that, you have to be someone that people can relate to at least a little bit. I relate to her a lot, and it has been a very interesting experience for me, watching how other people interpret her. I’m very eager to see how it plays out in the future as well. After all, Alice is for the people, I wouldn’t want to keep her to myself. Now, you're a part of 10,000 Dawns: Anthology, which is set in the Prime Universe of 10,000 Dawns, featuring very different versions of some of these characters we've just met. Do you think readers will be surprised at what they'll see? Maybe. It’s hard to tell, honestly. The Prime Universe is definitely different than the universe they’ve seen in 10,000 Dawns: Serial, and several aspects of it will probably be surprising. Some characters have changed a little, and some have changed a lot. Whether or not their differences will be surprising to people, I’m not sure. Can you tell us a little about what you're creating for 10kd: Anthology? Absolutely! I have a series of short stories that I am working on currently, most of them about the relationship between Earth and Mars. I find that fascinating, so it features a lot in my work. Are there any prominent themes in your own writing? As Alice MacLeod would say: Viva la Revolution! My work definitely has a theme, and it’s the same theme that dictates my life as an activist: it’s all about universal struggle, uprising, and rebellion. I guess you could say it’s an examination of what happens when human beings are pushed to their limit and survive. What else do you do in your free time? Do you have any other hobbies or pursuits? (What is free time? I do not know this term.) Okay, all joking aside, yes, I am active in several of my local social justice organizations which are constantly mobilizing, working toward a better future (if I may be so cliché about it.) That consumes most of my free time. I also run a blog, so there’s that as well. You're also writing a Novel set in the 10,000 Dawns Universe, correct? Without giving away too much, who and what are we going to see in it? Well, I don’t want to spoil my novel for everyone, but I can tell you that Alice MacLeod is in it, and it will explore a lot more of her personal story than the serial does. It also investigates the reality of Earth’s mega-corporation, Centro Systems, and goes along with that theme I was talking about earlier. The Alice MacLeod parts of 10,000 Dawns Serial had a lot to do with Revolution. Is this a theme that will continue with your own writing about Alice? You better believe it. If you could punch any 10kd character, who would it be and why? Oh…. You know what, I don’t know if I would. There are a lot of characters in the 10kd universe that I know I definitely wouldn’t get along with in real life, I can tell you that much, but would I punch them? Probably not. I take my rage out in other ways. Is there anything else you'd like to say to our readers? You’re important and you matter. I love you all. Keep being awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us Josephine! This interview is part of the 10,000 Dawns Finale, which you can read all of (and download!) at this link: http://www.jameswylder.com/home/10000-dawns-the-finale Taylor Elliott: WriterTaylor is a writer who has been a part of the development of 10,000 Dawns and will be featured in 10,000 Dawns: Anthology later this year! She's pretty darn interesting. First off, could you introduce yourself for our readers? Hi there! I’m Taylor, I write Ariadne Moore/Chess Mistress Hex. What’s shakin’, Internet? So you've been part of 10kd for a long time, how did you first get involved in this endeavor? Jim was running a tabletop RPG, the one the 10kd universe has spun off from, back at college, and most of our mutual friends were playing every Saturday night. I was asked if I’d be interested in playing and, while I was hesitant to devote every Saturday to a tabletop game, I agreed to come in as a one-shot villain — specifically one that had originally appeared briefly in a story Jordan had written for the universe. I went into the game with every intention of Hex dying, but not only did she survive, she managed to ROYALLY mess with the entire party during that particular campaign. It was so fun that a few weeks later I came back, and the next thing I knew I was spending every Saturday night as Hex, who was masquerading as a crew member named Leesa Nickelback to mess with the other players and generally wreak total havoc. What's it been like developing the 10kd universe together? Super fun! This is a universe we’ve had our feet in for 4-5 years now. It became such a big part of our lives and has been a really strong bond for all of us. It’s been so cool to take what was just a fun way for us to spend our Saturday nights together and see it grow into this big, new thing that other people can enjoy. Some of your ideas (and characters) have made it into 10,000 Dawns: Serial, specially your character Chess Mistress Hex. Hhat was it like seeing them come to life under a different writer? Really cool! It was fascinating to see how Jim understood Hex and the choices he made for her. Because she’s such a complex and secretive character I was involved with the editing process for the scenes she’s in, but Jim did such a great job with her that I really didn’t need to do much. It was so cool to see someone else bring her to life! Now, you're a part of 10,000 Dawns: Anthology, which is set in the Prime Universe of 10,000 Dawns, featuring very different versions of some of these characters we've just met. Do you think readers will be surprised at what they'll see? Oh absolutely! I think they’re going to be really floored by some of the differences and some of the adventures we have planned. Can you tell us a little about what you're creating for 10kd: Anthology? I am currently working on one project wherein we get to see a much younger Hex. I think it’s going to be really interesting for everyone to see her before she became the Hex we all know her as, and I’ve been having a lot of fun exploring that chapter of her life. I’m also working on a joint project with Jordan involving Hex and his character. It’s something we’re both really excited about and I think the storyline is really going to shake up the universe! Are there any prominent themes in your own writing? I definitely play with some nontraditional character elements and questions of morality in my writing. I actually wrote my undergraduate thesis on antiheroes. I love writing characters who aren’t all good, but aren’t all bad either. I love making a reader really question whether a character is a protagonist or antagonist, and I think Hex is a really obvious example of this. While our lovely 10kd readers have good reason to believe Hex is a baddie, I don’t think any of my fellow writers on this project would really classify her as a villain. What else do you do in your free time? Do you have any other hobbies or pursuits? I am an event planner by day, a nanny by night, and help run a small press publisher, PlotForge, by twilight and early morning. In my free time, I cook, read, write, croon at my cat, watch way too much Netflix, and plan fabulous international adventures. Last summer I spent two weeks in Japan where, among other things, I got to cuddle some owls and scared the pants off a guy I’m pretty sure was a member of the Yakuza. Chess Mistress Hex (aka Ariadne Moore) is such an intriguing, and mysterious character. Will we get to learn more about her? Absolutely! The readers are going to be seeing more of her in the future. I don’t want to talk about her too much because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I am really excited for everyone to get to know her better and understand who she is and what she does. If you could write about any 10kd character you haven't yet, who would it be and why? Chrometeeth. Hands down. Any character who rocks a cute sundress and can rip out a jugular with her modified teeth is a character I need to be better friends with. You played a big role in developing the criminal group “The Index” for 10kd, as well as their home of New Alexandria. What draws you to them so much? The old adage that knowledge is power is honestly the inspiration there. We’re not the first group of storytellers to hit on this — it’s what made Sherlock (and his enemies, Moriarty and Magnussen) so potent and intriguing. Anyone can be powerful in the sense of having a formidable weapon or military at their disposal. It’s an entirely different type of might and, in my opinion, much more frightening type of might to wield intelligence and secrets. The Index just takes this concept to an interstellar scale. Imagine the combined secrets of all of these groups carefully collected and stored away for a rainy day. And imagine, if you will, how the Index is securing all of that information. Makes you feel like you can’t trust anyone, huh? As for New Alexandria… I mean, my inner history and literature nerds just LOVE the idea of paying homage to the lost library of Alexandria in this way. And how cool is that setting for something like the Index?! They built a massive compound on an ice moon! Just for fun! Could have built it anywhere but no, they took a look at Europa and said, “Yeah, that seems like a really hospitable spot for the compound we’re going to blackmail the entire system from.” It’s just makes me nerd out in a big way. If you could punch any 10kd character, who would it be and why? Manuel Salazar. Hard, in the face. My inner Hex is too strong for me to give any other answer. Is there Anything else you'd like to say to our readers? Basically just cue up “The Best is Yet to Come” by Frank Sinatra, because that’s what we have coming down the pipe for you guys. Get excited. I know I am. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us Taylor! Annie Zhu and I did an interview with Barebones Entertainment about our work creating the illustrated sci-fi tale 10,000 Dawns together! You can learn for the first time how we got together on this project, where the ideas came from, and how on Earth we find time for it all! Its a fantastic read so go check it out :)!
You can read the interview here: http://www.barebonesent.com/q-and-a-with-jim-wylder/ Its my honor today to bring you a guest interview with my friend and fellow author Luther Siler. He's got a new book coming out about a topic that's very near and dear to my heart: Teaching. I hope you check it out! Without further adieu: 1. First off, tell my readers a bit about yourself.My name's Luther Siler. James and I met at InConJunction this year when we had tables next to each other in Artists' Alley, and... well, the convention was kinda slow, so we got to talking a bit. I've been a teacher since 2000, and I've been working on SEARCHING FOR MALUMBA in my head for nearly all of that time. I currently live in northern Indiana, and spent five years teaching in Chicago as well. I spend most of my time with my wife and son, blogging at my website, infinitefreetime.com, or shouting into the void on Twitter at@nfinitefreetime. 2. This book is about your experiences teaching. What got you into teaching in the first place?It was basically an accident, believe it or not. I was in grad school at the University of Chicago from 1998-2000, and had a beer-and-pizza-money job tutoring Algebra and helping out in the computer lab at a local Chicago Public Schools school while I was there. I decided after my MA that I didn't want to continue on to the Ph.D, and applied for a job teaching computer classes at a Catholic school that, somehow, I got. And now it's fifteen years later. It really shouldn't have happened that way. 3. What does the title of the book refer to?I ain't sayin'. The last essay in the book is the title essay, and it's last for a reason. The full title of the book is SEARCHING FOR MALUMBA: WHY TEACHING IS TERRIBLE... AND WHY WE DO IT ANYWAY, and I'm hoping the post-colonic part of the title is clear enough that the slightly confusing main title gets overlooked. :-) (It's $4.95 for the ebook or $15.99 for the print edition, and is nearly 500 pages long, by the way, so I promise either way you're getting your money's worth!) 4. Do you feel like teaching as a profession is undervalued?Lord, yes, and in some ways that's what half the book is about. I'll go farther, actually: education itself is massively undervalued in America, which may be the most anti-intellectual first world country on Earth. So people whose sole purpose is to provide a service that lots of people don't really think is necessary (the number of times I've heard "I never could do XXX, and I turned out fine!" from someone who clearly DID NOT turn out fine...) are highly likely to be themselves undervalued. That said, this book is mostly about my experiences in the classroom. I'm a surface-level thinker and writer in a lot of ways and the book isn't super existential. I'm just telling stories for most of it. I just hope they're entertaining, or at least horrible in a way that keeps people reading. 5. What do you hope readers take away from this book about teaching in America?I just basically want people more aware of the bullshit we have to put up with, and to be aware of the way education law over the last fifteen years (and, to be clear, this is ABSOLUTELY a bipartisan issue-- I voted for Obama twice, but he is NOT on our side on this) has taken what was already a historically difficult profession and made it virtually impossible. Standardized testing has polluted every aspect of the teaching profession and, worse, the teacher-student relationship, and it's not going to get better until parents start picking up pitchforks and waving them at government officials. 6. Most of your published writing has been science fiction, what was the transition to writing non-fiction like?A piece of cake, actually. Okay, granted, I really am telling the truth about this book taking 15 years to write, but in some other ways it's the easiest thing I've ever done. Writing about education comes incredibly easy to me, as does telling stories about my life, and that's basically all SEARCHING FOR MALUMBA is. I once wrote a thirty-page essay in grad school in something like two hours, because it was an issue I knew a hell of a lot about and felt pretty passionately about. Writing nonfiction is much, much easier for me than writing fiction ever has been. 7. What are your other books about?My series THE BENEVOLENCE ARCHIVES is a short story novella and a full-length novel called THE SANCTUM OF THE SPHERE. They're space opera, very Star Wars and SAGA inspired, although I'm breaking away from the roots as I get farther into writing the stories. The elevator pitch, which I've never been hugely fond of but is reasonably accurate, is "Star Wars with D&D characters." The three main characters are a gnome smuggler, her husband and their halfogre enforcer. I'm trying to layer in some thematic complexity that doesn't come through in that pitch, but hell, if a Star Wars/D&D mashup appeals to you, you're gonna like it. My other novel is a near-future science fiction book called SKYLIGHTS, about the second human mission to Mars. It has a monkey in it. If you liked THE MARTIAN and were hoping for something not quite as good but with a monkey, you'll love it. (I know I'm not supposed to say other books are better than my book, but THE MARTIAN was wonderful. Read it after you read SKYLIGHTS if you haven't yet.) My next project is a sequel to SKYLIGHTS, called either STARLIGHT or SUNLIGHT depending on my mood, and once that comes out the series will retroactively become known as THE JOHANNES CYCLE. After that, another BENEVOLENCE ARCHIVES book, this one a novel-length short story collection. Then something unconnected to either of them. It's weird to have my books planned out to 2017 already. 8. Do you think any of your students will be reading this book?At least three of them definitely will, and those three have big mouths. None of my current students will see it, but there are a bunch who are either high school graduates now or close enough who I'm still in touch with. There are even stories about some of them in there. So, yeah, there's gonna be some former kids reading it. 9. What would you say is the best and worst thing about teaching?The best thing is the actual teaching. I still, even with all my issues with burnout over the years, love the process of helping people (of any age) understand things that they don't get. The worst thing is everything else. Actually, no. The worst part is being a grown-ass man who can't go to the bathroom whenever he wants because the 28 adolescents he's in charge of will eat each other if he leaves them alone for five minutes. Everything else is second-worst. 10. Is there a chapter of this book that is your favorite?Ooh. There is a piece called WHY I WILL NEVER BE A PRINCIPAL at the end that is about one of my more eye-opening days as the building designee, and there's another one called MITCH DANIELS CAN <GO ON A LOVELY PICNIC WITH HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY> that is a massively reedited version of one of the most profane and insulting things I've ever written. I swear in this book, by the way. If you're the type of person who believes that teachers should be pristine sinless virgins (another pet peeve about the job) in their private lives, this may not be the book for you. 11. Is there anything else you'd like to talk about we missed? <Ponders>
If you happen to be in the Midwest, and specifically a Hoosier, I'll have a dealer table at Starbase Indy in Indianapolis during Thanksgiving weekend. You can come grab signed versions of any of my books for less than they'll be at Amazon, and spend some time staring at people in cool costumes too! There will probably be an audio version for MALUMBA coming sooner or later, too, and if you want to read this digitally but don't have a Kindle, get in touch with me via my website up there and chances are there's a way I can magically put an .epub version in your hands. I will come up with some other Important Thing Everyone Needs to Know the second I hit send on this, I'm sure... Thanks so much for the interview! I really appreciate it, and I hope everyone (yes, EVERYONE, including you!) enjoys the book! Luther Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us Luther! You can find Searching for Malumba at the link below: http://www.amazon.com/Searching-Malumba-Teaching-Terrible-Anyway-ebook/dp/B014ZF618U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1441549322&sr=8-2&keywords=searching+for+malumba |
James Wylder
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