When you've put your heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears into building a world -- what happens when you then have to leave it behind? Most SFF authors will, at some point, close up their work in one world and start building a new one, but that comes with its own set of challenges! You know the old world so well; it's become comfy and familiar. The new world still has all its work yet to be done, and while it has the shiny lure of new discoveries, it also may seem daunting to start the process of figuring out how a world works all over again.
In this episode, Fonda Lee and Melissa Caruso re-join us to discuss shifting focus from one world to another! Where do you start? How different do you need the world to be? We also chat about not just the mental challenges of clearing out one world to make room for the new one, but the emotional challenge of pulling yourself away from a place you love and know so well!
Our Guests:
Melissa Caruso writes books of murder, magic, and mayhem. Her published fantasy novels include the Swords & Fire trilogy (THE TETHERED MAGE, THE DEFIANT HEIR, THE UNBOUND EMPIRE) and the Rooks & Ruin trilogy (THE OBSIDIAN TOWER, THE QUICKSILVER COURT, THE IVORY TOMB), all from Orbit Books. Her debut novel was shortlisted for the Gemmell Morningstar Award in 2017, and her books have received starred reviews and made countless Best Of lists. Melissa is a tea drinker, larper, and mom, and lives in Massachusetts with her video game designer husband, two superlative daughters, and assorted pets.
Fonda Lee is the author of the epic fantasy Green Bone Saga, consisting of the novels Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy, along with a prequel novella The Jade Setter of Janloon and a short story collection, Jade Shards. She is also the author of the science fiction novels Zeroboxer, Exo and Cross Fire. Her most recent work is the fantasy novella, Untethered Sky.
Fonda is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and a five-time winner of the Aurora Award (Canada’s national science fiction and fantasy award), as well as a multiple finalist for the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Oregon Book Award. Her novels have garnered multiple starred reviews and appeared on Best of Year lists from NPR, Barnes & Noble, Syfy Wire, and others. Jade City has been translated in a dozen languages, named to TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time, and optioned for television development.
She has also written acclaimed short fiction and been an instructor at writing workshops including Clarion West, Viable Paradise, and Aspen Words. Fonda is a former corporate strategist and black belt martial artist who loves action movies and Eggs Benedict. Born and raised in Canada, she currently resides in the Pacific Northwest.
Episode 88: Hashtag Aesthetic, ft. MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL
Episode 87: Building Up Hope, ft BRANDON CRILLY
Episode 86: Live at WorldCon!
Episode 85: Falling in Love Again… with Worldbuilding Ft SARA MUELLER
Episode 84: Make or Break Worldbuilding Deep Dive: The MNG
Episode 83: Using Our Vacation Time
Episode 82.5: Live at ArmadilloCon!
Episode 82: From One-Note Worlds to Complete Space Operas, ft. Valerie Valdes
Episode 81: That’s Just Good Policy feat. VICTOR MANIBO
Episode 80: Festivus for the Rest Of Us
Episode 79: Building Past the Horizon
Episode 78: Reimagining Relationships w/ FOZ MEADOWS
Episode 77: Pull a Thread, Build A World w/ KRITIKA H. RAO
Episode 76: Farm to Table Fantasy ft. SARAH GAILEY
Episode 75: Worldbuilding Beyond Borders
Episode 74: FMK Worldbuilding Edition
Episode 73: In-Line Worldbuilding ft. MELISSA CARUSO
Episode 72: This is Cerulean, Right?: Fashion, Politics, and Power, ft. NATANIA BARRON
Episode 71: X Marks The Spot ft. PENG SHEPHERD
Episode 70: Magical Ethics and Ethical Magics ft. KATE HEARTFIELD
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
Pollyanna
Great Expectations
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends