The fabulous, funny Phoebe Wray

Interview by Ann Wilkes

I met the fabulous Phoebe Wray through Broad Universe - well, virtually anyway. We'll meet sometime soon at a convention, I'm sure. We also share a TOC in Defending the Future IV: No Man's Land, a military sci-fi anthology put out by Dark Quest Books a year ago.

Phoebe has been writing all her life. She started out as a journalist, but instead, became a stand-up comic, eventually writing material for others as well. Then it was off to the Theatre as an actress, appearing in off-off-Broadway and regional plays for many years. She continued to write: plays, theatre reviews, travel brochures, promotional material, educational material, scholarly essays, etc.

AW: When did you start writing SF?

PW: I started in 2000. It seemed the perfect year.

AW: What prompted you to choose SF?

PW: I READ sci-fi and love it . . . ergo . . . .

AW: Are there particular themes that run strongly throughout most of your fiction?

PW: Feminism. I have a real burr under my saddle about unfairness in all its forms. Political stuff, how we govern ourselves, or not. People standing up for what they know is right and not backing down.

AW: I've been mentioning Broad Universe every chance I get here. You were the President for quite a while. Were you a founding member?

PW: Yes. I attended the WisCon panel "World Domination 101" in 2000, where the idea of a "club" of serious writers to demand equal space, equal thought started. A couple of years later, Amy Hanson asked me to be on the Advisory Board. And then, I stepped in as President when she stepped down.

AW: How many members were there in the beginning?

PW: I think maybe 50-70 members. Most of them women who attended WisCon. We had some very lean years, with dwindling memberships, until we figured out just how and what we could do. It's been growing ever since.

AW: Would you say there are some differences between the way men and women write?

PW: Yes, I think so. There is a gender difference in what is immediately important in a given situation. And we plan differently. At least that's true among my many friends over the years. I've read a lot of excellent books by men, and believe we analyze things differently. There's incoming!!! Do you run? Protect the people next to you? Reach for a gun? Cover your head and get under the desk? Curse the universe? What is your take on a dark doorway in unfamiliar surroundings? Not that women can't do anything a man can do (read the obvious exceptions). We still will very likely do it differently. I saw that reading the wonderful stories in [Defending the Future IV:] No Man's Land.

AW: I try to keep romance to a bare minimum. You know, the Chick Flick effect. Guys might enjoy a chick flick now and then, but they'll never go to one without one - a chick. What's your take on romance in sci-fi?

PW: My characters have all definitely had someone to love. J2, the novel that's about the come out -- the sequel to Jemma7729 -- doesn't have a romance element, although it has a pretty specific, I hope, rather charming sex scene.

AW: What are you working on now?

PW: Promotion! Jemma7729 is coming out in ebook and J2 in print and ebook, both before March, so I'm gearing up for that. AND there is a third and last in this series. I have lots of notes and about 20 pages written on Jemma: The Legacy. Then, I hope on to another something . . . I really like dystopias.

AW: Yes, those have been quite popular since the economy tanked.

PW: I liked them before the economy tanked. Something about over-coming. The nasty something that is really beyond one's control but you fight it anyway . . . Lost causes, maybe? I don't know.

No Man's Land - Now you, too, can go there

cover art by Mike McPhail

Defending the Future IV: No Man's Land is now available for pre-order at Amazon! This kick-butt military science fiction anthology written entirely by women comes to you from Dark Quest Books and is edited by Mike McPhail.

In my story, "Immunity Project," Donie is a pilot working for Allied Home Worlds Directorate, trying to make enough money to buy his own ship. He's on assignment monitoring the Immunity Project on the devastated world of Kradon. Rather than coming to their rescue, AHWD capitalized on their misfortune and continues to keep the survivors herded in six villages and their radiation levels constant to develop an immunity in the survivor's descendents. But the Krads don't know they're in a petrie dish. When a psionic fence goes down Donie's team has to land on the surface for repairs. That's when his world is turned upside down by a couple of the guinea pigs. (chapter icon also by Mike McPhail)

No Man's Land - final stages before publication!

This cover for No Man's Land was released last weekend. Awesome, huh?

I can't wait to read the other stories in this Defending the Future IV anthology from Dark Quest Books. Lots of talent therein. Not to mention reading the bit about my story in David Weber's forward. The publisher also released this promo and blurb:

There hasn't been a conflict in known history where there weren't women somewhere on the front lines, caring for the men, or fighting beside them. No Man's Land sends up a battle cry, giving voice to the women warriors following that fine military tradition throughout all time. Strong female characters written by talented authors, with all the action and high-tech toys readers have come to expect of the military science fiction genre.

"This collection has a lot going for it […] there's not a single piece here that isn't well worth reading. I modestly — but confidently — predict that I will be very far from the only man who's very, very glad he's read this collection." —David Weber, best-selling author of the Honor Harrington series.

No Man's Land launches at the end of May with launch parties on both coasts.

I just sent off my galley all proofed. I'll hear from Mike McPhail soon about my chapter icon. You can see the authors and the finished icons on the project website.

And as if I needed more good news…
Last weekend I received a rewrite request for my story, "Long Term Memory". It's one of my favorite stories. What's not to love about a sentient elephant with too many memories? The changes they requested were very minor and that's been turned around, too. I don't have a publication date, so I can't share where it's going to appear yet.

I also had two story rejections, but one said how much they liked the story at least. Beats a form letter, for sure.

Staying in the military sci-fi vein, I will post an interview with E.E. Knight next week.

And I did my taxes Monday afternoon and I get money back! I just had to share. ;)

REDOUBTABLE leaves little doubt

Kris Longknife: Redoubtable

by Mike Shepherd

Penguin USA (ACE) - Oct. 2010

Review by Clare Deming

In a spirited and fun science fiction romp, Mike Shepherd takes us along with Princess Kris Longknife and her troop of marines in a hunt for space pirates. Don't worry - despite the noble title, Kris is no coddled damsel. Recently promoted to Lieutenant Commander, she is there to get a job done - one that usually involves explosives, bullets, subterfuge, and political wrangling.

Kris Longknife: Redoubtable is the eighth volume in the series of this plucky princess' adventures. After dispatching an amateur pirate raid on her ship, Kris leads her marines onto the planet of Kaskatos, where an over-the-top sadistic leader has enslaved the locals with her band of ruthless henchmen. If the novel merely covered the conflict with this ridiculous overlord, I may have been disappointed. However, the situation on Kaskatos is rapidly controlled, while the enemy meets an appropriately inglorious end.

Just as Kris begins to organize the reestablishment of vital services on Kaskatos, Kris' nemesis Lieutenant Victoria Peterwald, heiress of a rival empire , summons her to a meeting. With Kaskatos located on the periphery of the Peterwald's empire, Kris has already grown concerned that her humanitarian efforts would be construed as a takeover of the planet. However, the meeting reveals that there are larger problems looming within the Peterwald empire. Never quite sure who to trust, Kris delves deeper into the pirate problem, trying to track down their ultimate base, while continuing to negotiate with Victoria. When the pirates kidnap the twelve-year-old daughter of one of the crew, the stakes become more personal and desperate for Kris.

As a newcomer to this series, I initially had trouble following the chain-of-command, with marines, navy, and "civilians" all present on one ship. However, it turns out that this assortment of personnel confuses Kris also. While Kris has her own ideas about their purpose, I suspect that they may become important in future volumes.

While the eighth volume can certainly stand alone, this is an open-ended series. Someone - or something - is lurking on the edge of known space, and they don't seem friendly. Unknown to Victoria Peterwald, Kris has secretly communicated with the alien Iteeche and is itching to investigate some jump points that have consumed recent Iteeche scout ships. This larger overarching plot began prior to this book, and while it is not advanced much here, I think this volume is a bridge that puts everyone in place to explore this mystery in a future installment.

Despite the fighting, kidnapping, and sinister mysteries, I found this book to be fun and light, with quite a few lines and scenes that made me chuckle. Though lacking in speculative ideas and innovative fictional technologies that fill some science fiction worlds, I cared about the characters and the pacing never foundered. Overall, this was an exciting and enjoyable book.