In the lead-up to the release of Hope: The Thing with Feathers, I’m going to be posting mini-interviews with my fellow ToC-mates! You can pre-order Hope: The Thing with Feathers here.
In “A Touch of the Wind,” a successful knight finds a mysterious woman cloaked in feathers sitting in a tree and assumes she’s a woman of the court. But she proves to be much more strange than that, and in his attempt to understand her, he learns a great deal about himself, too.
If you could sit down with one author, from any time in history to today, to get a writing lesson, who would it be?
I would have a hard time deciding between Ursula K. Le Guin and Andre Norton, two of my favorites and both authors whom I admire greatly. Because Le Guin has already left us a very excellent book on writing and many helpful quotes and wise bits of advice, I would likely choose Norton. I spent much of my adolescence lost in her worlds, and if nothing else, I would love to say thank you.
What SF/fantasy fandom are you particularly devoted to and what about it draws you so strongly?
I’m going to really date myself here and say Alien Nation. I adore the movie, of course, but the TV series has my whole heart (hearts?). For its time period, the show dealt with issues of gender, sexuality, racism, sexism, and bigotry while introducing a believable and fascinating alien culture that was in no way a mono-culture. I admire the work and the characters, and though it suffers from some dated approaches, the message was always one of inclusion and acceptance.
It’s the End of the World. Your ideal bunker: what does it have to have in it to make the apocalypse bearable?
Three non-living things: good books, fine tea, and a really nice vintage typewriter. I would also insist on sharing it with my family and pets, but as far as inanimate accessories go. There must be reading, writing, and very excellent tea. Not the bagged stuff. If it’s the end of the world, I want a hearty stock of well-aged puerh or I’m not going.
Frances Pauli writes about animals because she finds them infinitely more interesting than people. She’s not terribly sorry about this, though she understands it might cause some of the latter distress. Still, given the choice between a starship piloted by a human and one with a hippopotamus at the helm, she will inevitably favor the hippo. You can find her work and her associated goodies at: francespauli.com