Interview with Gail Z. Martin

Q: Honestly, do you believe that the speculative fiction genre will ever come to be recognized as veritable literature? Truth be told, in my opinion there has never been this many good books/series as we have right now, and yet there is still very little respect (not to say none) associated with the genre.

Whose opinion are you courting and why? I tended to shy away from literature classes in school because I figured I could read books just as well on my own without having to answer essays about them! That said, I remember some books that I did not enjoy that have attained the status of "literature"-Moby Dick and Lord Jim come immediately to mind. I think that SF/F has succeeded in becoming more "mainstream" than ever before-we live in the world that the SF greats of the 30s and 40s imagined, for good or ill. So plots that today get shelved with "action/adventure"-about high tech weapons, mutated viruses, the supernatural, etc. would have been called "SciFi" 40 years ago.

In terms of "respect," I think SF/F has had the last laugh because we foretold the future, inspired the futurians who made it happen and now live in that brave new world-for good and bad. I’d rather have readers read my books because they enjoy them than because they’re on a moldy reading list as "literature." Or, to put it more simply-I’d rather have the respect of people whom I respect. And those people are SF/F readers.

Q: The fact that there is a website dedicated to your work is an indication that interaction with your readers is important to you as an author. How special is it to have the chance to interact directly with your fans?

Hearing from readers is absolutely awesome! Writing a book is a very private, solo effort. At best, a few people in your inner circle see the book before it’s launched. So finding out that you’ve written something that touches people all over the world is just amazing. Finding out that people want to share this private world you’ve created and that they experience the world and the characters as "real" is as good as it gets!

Q: I have to admit that I've never seen anyone do as much self-promotion as you've been doing, particularly online. Did you want to be involved in that process from the very beginning?

For over 20 years, my "day job" has been marketing, and I own my own marketing and PR company, so the promotion piece comes pretty naturally to me. Solaris Books has done a great job of promoting the book, and I’ve been very well supported by them. I offered to go above and beyond that because I wanted to know that I gave this opportunity my best shot. I didn’t want to look back and think that there was something else I could have done better. I really want to have the chance to write these stories for a very long time. That requires getting the word out!

Q: THE SUMMONER is the living proof that the internet can provide a lot of exposure for a book. Do you feel that most publishers don't yet understand the full potential of this tool, in terms of exploiting the wealth of fantasy-related websites, message boards, and blogs?

Traditional publishers have been slow to go online, but I think that’s changing. Book videos are becoming popular on YouTube and MySpace. There are more and more Podcasts. I think that many book people weren’t traditionally into technology, but as that changes-part of which is generational-I think we’ll see more authors and publishers online. The sad thing is that it will probably reshape the online venues in a more corporate way, which I think takes away from the fan-generated and user-run nature of a lot of book sites today. So there’s a good and bad side to seeing technology become better utilized.

Q: Solaris being a new imprint, are there any of their titles you feel we should keep an eye on?

I’ve been very impressed with the other authors I’ve met and the books I’ve read or skimmed. The folks at Solaris Books really love the genre, so I think that carries over into the types of books they choose to present. I’ve been very pleased and I don’t think you’ll go wrong with any of the new titles coming out!

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Interview by Patrick
fantasyhotlist.blogspot