Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed our first two sets of Boskone 57 min-interviews last week! We are back again this week with E.C. Ambrose, Liz Delton, and Adam Stemple! Find out who else wants to use the TARDIS,  whose love for sf/f was sparked by The Thirteen Clocks, and whose first convention ever was actually Boskone!

E.C. Ambrose

E. C. Ambrose wrote “The Dark Apostle” series of dark historical fantasy novels about medieval surgery. The Dark Apostle started with Elisha Barber (DAW, 2013), described in a starred Library Journal review as, “beautifully told, painfully elegant”, and continues with Elisha Magus, Elisha Rex, and Elisha Mancer, concluding with Elisha Daemon, in 2018. As Elaine Isaak, she is the author of The Singer’s Crown (Eos, 2005), and its sequels, as well as the “Tales of Bladesend” epic novella series. Her short fiction has won the Tenebris Press Flash Fiction contest and appeared in Fireside magazine and Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. Editorial credits include Love Free or Die, and two additional volumes of the New Hampshire Pulp Fiction series.In the process of researching her books, Elaine learned how to hunt with a falcon, clear a building of possible assailants, and pull traction on a broken limb. The author is a graduate of and an instructor for the Odyssey Writing workshop. In addition to writing, Elaine works as a guide, teaching rock climbing and leading outdoor adventure camps.

Visit Dana on their Facebook, Twitter or website.

Bonus: Up for a challenge? Give us a haiku or limerick about Boskone!

A convention in Boston they say
is the best on a wintery day!
authors galore
art show and more–
For Boskone, it’s hip-hip-hooray!

Authors: Fans often ask authors to talk about their favorite main characters, but what about the side characters? Who is one of your favorite sidekicks or secondary/tertiary characters who have had a lesser role in your work?

Artists: Fans love looking at the portfolio of artwork and asking artists about some of their most well known images. Which of your images, that receives less attention from fans, do you hold dear? What is it about the creation of that piece that makes it so special for you?

Filkers: Listeners often know your most popular music. Which of your other, less well-known songs, affects you deeply? What is it about that song that speaks to your creative spirit?

In my Bone Guard series of international thrillers, one character is the protagonist’s former commanding officer, a jerk everybody calls “Gooney.” He’s large, loud, irreverent, and damn good at his job. He’s a foil to the protagonist in some super fun ways: they really get under each other’s skin.But Gooney’s the guy he needs for an undercover assignment in The Nazi Skull–with some surprising results.I had so much fun writing for Gooney in both of the books–and now in a couple of side stories as well. Can’t wait to get to know him better.

Looking back, what was the first piece of work (whether it be from literature, cinema, art, music, video game, toy, or whatever it may be) that first made you love science-fiction and fantasy?

The Thirteen Clocks, by James Thurber, is a self-aware fairy tale that is both light and moving.I read it with my parents at an early age, and I still love it.Favorite quote:”I can feel a thing I cannot touch and touch a thing I cannot feel. The first is sad and sorry, and the second is your heart.”

If you could bring any object or device into the real world from fiction or film, and it would work perfectly, what would you choose? Why would you choose that item?

The Somebody Else’s Problem Field from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams–so I can reverse-engineer it and use my new “Everybody’s Problem Field” to illuminate some things we all need to pitch in to solve.

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Liz Delton

Liz Delton writes and lives in Connecticut, with her husband and amazing son. She studied Theater Management at the University of the Arts in Philly, always having enjoyed the backstage life of storytelling. She loves reading and writing fantasy, especially the kind with alternate worlds. Liz is the author of the Arcera Trilogy, and the Realm of Camellia series. World-building is her favorite part of writing, and she is always dreaming up new fantastic places. She loves drinking tea and traveling. When she’s not writing you can find her hands full with one of her many craft projects. Visit her website at lizdelton.com

Visit Cat on their Facebook, Twitter, or website.

What is it about Boskone that makes this the convention you choose to attend each year?

Or if this is your first Boskone, what attracted you most to Boskone this year?

This is my first Boskone! I can already tell it’s going to be full of my kind of people: people who love letting their imagination run wild, and who love exploring new worlds on the page or screen. Fantasy and sci-fi are my greatest passion, so I’m very excited to make new reader and author friends. I’m honored to be a part of this convention with so many talented authors and artists.

Authors: Fans often ask authors to talk about their favorite main characters, but what about the side characters? Who is one of your favorite sidekicks or secondary/tertiary characters who have had a lesser role in your work?

Artists: Fans love looking at the portfolio of artwork and asking artists about some of their most well known images. Which of your images, that receives less attention from fans, do you hold dear? What is it about the creation of that piece that makes it so special for you?

Filkers: Listeners often know your most popular music. Which of your other, less well-known songs, affects you deeply? What is it about that song that speaks to your creative spirit?

One of my favorite sidekicks is Thistle, from my latest book The Starless Girl (Realm of Camellia Book 1). He is a flying squirrel with a little bit of magic and a lot a bit of sass. He tries to help Kira, our leading lady, after she gets tricked into an agreement with the local mountain spirit. When writing a magical flying squirrel, it would be easy to pull off a squirrel-ex-machina and have him fly in and solve every problem–so I made sure to give his magic some limitations, and give him a bit of an attitude that gets in his way.

Artwork by Shellsweet
Link here: http://www.lizdelton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Liz-Delton-Squirrel-Sticker-Commission-PNG-Transparent.png

What will you be working on in 2020? Any new releases or dates that fans should be looking forward to hearing about?

The next book in the Realm of Camellia series should be released in 2020; it’s tentatively titled The Storm King. At the moment I don’t have a release date, but ask me at Boskone: I’m hoping I’ll know by then! I’m also working on writing the third book in this series right now.

If you could bring any object or device into the real world from fiction or film, and it would work perfectly, what would you choose? Why would you choose that item?

The TARDIS, without a doubt (From Doctor Who!) I just love the idea of being able to explore history, the future, and other worlds, but still be able to return home as if no time has passed and make a cup of tea afterward. Of course, I would love it if it came with the Doctor (Matt Smith is my Doctor), but that definitely always seems to invite all kinds of shenanigans and danger, so bring it on!

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Adam Stemple

Adam Stemple is a writer/poet/musician/web designer/poker player who grew up in Western Mass but has lived the past 30 years in Minneapolis, MN. His three most recent publications are Crow, Not Crow, a picture book with Cornell Library of Natural Sounds,the short story, The Ghost of Lady Rei, in the anthology Lace & Blade 5, and a poem for Reckoning 3 entitled “The World Ended in Ice.”

Visit Grady on their Facebook,  Twitter, or website.

What is it about Boskone that makes this the convention you choose to attend each year?

Or if this is your first Boskone, what attracted you most to Boskone this year?

Boskone was my very first convention. So even though I moved to the Midwest thirty years ago, I love coming back to Boskone.

What topics are you most looking forward to talking about at Boskone?

Mental illness and creativity is always a favorite topic of mine (bummer right?).

Authors: Fans often ask authors to talk about their favorite main characters, but what about the side characters? Who is one of your favorite sidekicks or secondary/tertiary characters who have had a lesser role in your work?

Artists: Fans love looking at the portfolio of artwork and asking artists about some of their most well known images. Which of your images, that receives less attention from fans, do you hold dear? What is it about the creation of that piece that makes it so special for you?

Filkers: Listeners often know your most popular music. Which of your other, less well-known songs, affects you deeply? What is it about that song that speaks to your creative spirit?

Grandma McClaren and Martes from Singer of Souls for very different reasons. And the dwarves in The Seelie Wars trilogy.

Looking back, what was the first piece of work (whether it be from literature, cinema, art, music, video game, toy, or whatever it may be) that first made you love science-fiction and fantasy?

For movies, Forbidden Planet started me down the road and Star Wars solidified it. Meanwhile, I had an anthology of the greatest science fiction stories of all time (may even have been titled that) that I devoured. Who Goes There?—which was the basis for John Carpenter’s The Thing absolutely gutted me.

What was your first book event or literary convention? Tell us about it! Perhaps you even have a photo to share?

Boskone! I encountered the very wild early days of Boskone as a teenager.

What will you be working on in 2020? Any new releases or dates that fans should be looking forward to hearing about?

So much! I have stories out with Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores (cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com) and Orca Literary Magazine (orcalit.com). I have a Patreon (www.patreon.com/adamstemple) where I’m putting up stories and songs constantly. I’m self-publishing a fantasy novel, which is a new kind of adventure for me. So, basically doing the same as always: writing and playing music.

If you could bring any object or device into the real world from fiction or film, and it would work perfectly, what would you choose? Why would you choose that item?

The Improbability Drive from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Because of course I would.

Register for Boskone 57 today!