galactichat

Coming soon! All new Galactic Chat

You may have noticed a slight lull in activity around these parts, everyone is just so gosh darn busy.  Well here's a post to let you know that we are relaunching in July with some new additions to the team. Fond farewells The podcast says goodbye to two of its founders and its post production crew of one.

• Alisa Krasnostein is set to have a busy year with growing a new human, running a small press and starting a Phd.
• Tansy Rayner Roberts is busy shocking us with her writing brilliance and taking on the role of the SFWA's overseas coordinator
• Andrew Finch is having a long deserved rest and only doing the post production work on one podcast.

We wish them all the best and know that we will be keeping an ear out for us on the internet. Fear Not Not wanting to pull the rug from under you feet entirely Sean Wright will be staying on as Co-ordinator, Interviewer and Post-production crew.  He eagerly anticipates fulfilling the roles. New Arrivals Joining Sean in bringing to you wonderful interviews from around Australia and the world are the talented:

• David McDonald, author and winner of the Ditmar Award for Best New Talent 2013
• Alex Pierce, Ditmar and Chronos Award winning reviewer and member of Galactic Suburbia.
• Mark Webb, author and Australian SpecFic  reviewer.
• Sarah Lee Parker, award winning short fiction author and dedicated SpecFic fan.
• Helen Stubbs, author and member of the Gold Coast Speckies

We will be expanding our team with a particular focus on female interviewers.  Negotiations are underway. That's it for now.  We'll keep you informed. You can send feedback to Galactichat at gmail or follow us on twitter at @GalactiChat.

Galactic Chat 18: Nina D'Aleo

This week Sean interviews debut novelist Nina D'Aleo.  Nina has just released her first novel, The Last City,  through the PanMacmillan digital offshoot Momentum.

They talk about Digital Rights management, the process of being picked up by Momentum and the necessity of social media when your first book is a digital release.

Nina can be found on her  website or on Twitter.

Galactic Chat 17: Joe Abercrombie

This week Sean interviews International Best Selling Fantasy novelist Joe Abercrombie.  Joe was on a whirlwind tour of Australia promoting his latest work Red Country.

In this interview Sean asks Joe about the research required for writing a western and Joe is adamant it had nothing to do with the Whisky Death Match posts at his website.  They discuss the recent industry focussed Genrecon and when its a good idea to use maps in your fantasy novel.

Sean possibly starts a blood feud with the Coode Street Podcast by paraphrasing and taking out of context something that Gary and Jonathan probably never said about Fantasy.  But Joe's answer is informative and witty.  They talk film and the transference of skillsets needed in documentary film editing to writing.  Finally, Joe lets slip about his  up and coming Zombie Romance decology.

Joe can be found on his website.

Galactic Chat 16: Rowena Cory Daniells

This week Sean interviews Australian Fantasy novelist Rowena Cory Daniells.  Rowena has long history of involvement in Australian fantasy and science fiction and has released 4 novels this year.  Sean asks Rowena about the pressure of releasing so many books in such a short time.  What drives the exploration of Gender and Sexuality in her most recent series, The Outcast Chronicles and what she has planned for the very near future? They also discuss the potential for self publishing and the benefit of being picked up by overseas publishers.

(Note: In recording this interview we encountered everything the Gods of the Internets could throw at us. The final product has been cut and edited together from about 5 parts. Sean apologises for the less than optimal listening experience).

Rowena can be found on her  website or on Twitter.

Galactic Chat 15: Tor Roxburgh

This week Sean interviews Australian Fantasy novelist Tor Roxburgh, author of The Light Heart of Stone.  Tor has long history in publishing Non-Fiction and Teen romance but Light Heart of Stone sees her delving into her life long love of fantasy and science fiction.  ABC Radio Ballarat said of The Light Heart of Stone, that "It's very Australian. A lot of fantasy novels are very European, even very British... but this is very much Australian."  In the podcast Sean and Tor discuss the journey from traditional publishing to self publishing, the Australian themes that flow through The Light Heart of Stone and the fresh and engaging ideas that make the book an original work of Australian fantasy fiction.

Tor can be found online at The Light Heart of Stone website or on Twitter.

Galactic Chat 14: Trudi Canavan

Sean interviews Australian and International Best Selling Fantasy novelist,  Trudi Canavan.  They discuss her new book, The Traitor Queen, the response to Gay relationships in her fiction and differences in the perceptions of fantasy writing between Australia and Poland.  Trudi candidly reveals that even being a best selling novelist, she still gets nervous with the release of each book. Trudi can be found at her website and  on Twitter

From Continuum 8

Where Are All The Wonder Women? There's no shortage of female superheroes (or villains!) but few have attained the iconic status of, say, Wonder Woman. Why is this? Which characters deserve better? A discussion of female representation in comics. This panel was recorded at Continuum 8, the National Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, in Melbourne, on 10 June 2012. Panellists: Russell Blackford, Alice Clarke, Tansy Rayner Roberts and Grant Watson. Reproduced with permission of those involved.

Galactic Chat 13: Deborah Kalin

Sean interviews Australian Novelist  Deborah Kalin. They discuss her Binding Duology and her latest project, an as yet unnamed title from the Twelve Planets Series.  Deborah also talks about her experiences at Clarion South and how the workshop was of fundamental importance to her career.  The "dominance"by women of Australian fantasy gets a mention and they talk about the single mould approach to strong female characters.

Deborah can be found at her website and  on Twitter.

Galactic Chat 12: Kate Forsyth

Sean interviews best selling and award-winning author of more than twenty books, Kate Forsyth,. They discuss Kate's latest book Bitter Greens - a wonderful book mixing the historical with the fantastic.  A retelling of the Rapunzel story, Bitter Greens gives life to the memory of Charlotte-rose de la Force, Rapunzel's original author, who has until now been largely lost to history.  The discussion also covers the sanitizing of fairy tales for modern audiences and the resurgence of the original darker tales.

Kate can be found at her website and sometimes on Twitter.

Galactic Chat 11: Helen Lowe

Sean interviews  New Zealand author Helen Lowe. It's a lengthy conversational interview in which they discuss Helen's career as both an award winning YA novelist and epic fantasy author, the influence of Lord of the Rings on speculative fiction writing scene in New Zealand and the effects of the Christchurch earthquakes.

Helen is launching the second book in the acclaimed Wall of Night Series,  hosting blog parties and guest posting on a number of well known sites like SF Signal.  She can be found at her blog or on Twitter.