To be a part of an interview meme (more info here). So, I got to ask Ekaterina Sedia some questions about her up and coming book, Alchemy of Stone.
Do you consider yourself a political writer?
Of course. I think I’ve said elsewhere that all writing is political. Often when people characterize book as ‘political’ it means that they do not agree with its message, rather than the book is somehow abnormal for having a position on how things ought to be.
Is the relationship between Mattie and her creator in Alchemy of Stone
political?
It has to be — Mattie is a person who IS an object. It, of course, infoms much of the dynamics betwen Mattie and Loharri, the man who made her: think of it as Pinocchio with gender politics. At the same time, as Darin Bradley said, with his usual perspicacity, “This guy is an asshole.” He is right.
How much preparation do you do for a novel? Is it off the cuff? Do
you outline?
This one I had to pre-plan a bit, due to its plottiness. Some books are off the cuff, some are planned, some are some mixture of the two. Different things work for different projects, so I’m trying not to get too committed to any one process.
Is the alchemy mentioned in the based on historical practice from the
real world, or is it fictional?
Much of it is fictional, although I did drag the Doctrine of Signatures into it — what can I say, I love Paracelsus. So it’s a mix. I am working on a book right now which is all based in historically accurate witchcraft and alchemy and magic, if you’re interested in that stuff.
What is your next book, and when can we plan on seeing it?
The House of Discarded Dreams — basically, it’s about colonialism, immigration, and horseshoe crabs. It will be out in the spring of 2009, if all goes as planned.
Whee!!!! PS: I LOVE the Rabbit/Gear logo. Cool! Where did you get it?
Made it myself. It’s actually a big part of an unnamed novel I’m working on right now. I plan on getting a tattoo of it.