The Joy Factory Weekly - Issue #5 (5/7/2021)
Alright! You've got your tickets. Let's get to this!
It has been a week, y'all. The newsletter is late. And why might that be? Well, it's the end of the semester here, and as a professor of nerdly things, that means I'm buried in final papers, final grade petitions, and other things. This combined with a (very late) editing gig (I'm sorry), job application stuff (so many interviews), and podcasting duties (also very late), and you'll understand why I've just been dying here!
At least I got to do some exercise and read a book!
In terms of things I have managed to do in the last week or so, the big one would be the release of the latest episode of Skiffy and Fanty's Torture Cinema, which featured myself, Paul Weimer (noted Hugo Finalist for fan writer and fancast), and special guest Tonia Ransom (of Nightlight Pod fame). And what film did we cover? Why, none other than the absolutely classic, Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter (2001). Check it out!
Once this week is over, I'll be on summer vacation, and I'm going to use that to read a lot more, write a lot more, and record more podcasts. But we'll get to some of that in the Fin and Dockets section!
For now, let's jump over to one of my favorite things in the world...books!
It's time for some books, y'all! There are quite a few fascinating works out this week, from anticipated SF/F/H titles to academic books on fascinating topics to odd and unusual stuff you should probably check out.
Let's take a look!
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; May 4, 2021)
The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel (HMH Books; May 4, 2021)
The Confession of a False Soul by Ilarie Voronca and translated by Sue Boswell (Snuggly Books; May 4, 2021)
Wings of Fire: Forge Your Dragon World by Tui T. Sutherland and illustrated by Mike Holmes (Scholastic; May 4, 2021)
The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng by K.S. Villoso (Orbit; May 4, 2021)
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell (Random House; May 4, 2021)
Wake Up by Alejandro Marron (Atmosphere Press; May 5, 2021)
Transhumanism and Posthumanism in Twenty-First Century Narrative edited by Sonia Baelo-Allué and Mónica Calvo-Pascual (Routledge; May 6, 2021)
To say that I've been hotly awaiting Solomon's Sorrowland is an understatement. This book has had mouths screaming for a while now, and it comes from an shockingly good writer. If you've not heard about this book yet, go read the description. Then read everything Solomon has released to date. You won't be disappointed.
Also in the "hotly awaiting" camp is Mitchell's newest novel. Cloud Atlas is one of my favorite books, and Mitchell has been writing some interesting genre-bending stuff throughout his whole career. This book, now in re-release as a paperback, is right up there. The blurb describes us as "kaleidoscopic," so you know it's gonna be weird and compelling!
The other fiction works here are bound to get folks jumping. K.S. Villoso's conclusion to their fantasy series with Orbit has already grabbed some attention for the way it draws to conclusion. Having not read it yet, I can't comment, but if the buzz is any indicator, I'm definitely in. Then there's Marron's Wake Up and Varonca's The Confession of a False Soul, both works which fit firmly in the "weird" camp, with interdimensional travelers and transplanting souls and more. The latter is an older work that deserves some love now that it has been translated while the other deserves love for its genre-bending and time-bending nature, which will certainly challenge SF/F readers.
The last fiction work is a novel for the younglings: it's an official journal for writing and drawing stories themed to Sutherland's hit, Wings of Fire. I'm tempted to grab this just for the joy of having a dragon-themed journal to stick ideas in. It looks adorbs!
And now we come to the non-fiction. The transhumanism book looks at some more recent narrative work in the field of posthumanities. What interests me here is the "broader" focus of the chapters. Most don't explicitly reference individual works, and so there's an expectation here that we'll see a sweeping exploration of posthumanism and transhumanism in literature and other narrative forms. Tell your library to grab it. And lastly, there's Bechdel's latest graphic memoir about fitness, the 60s, and more! If you've never read Fun Home, I highly recommend it. This new work will bring us back into the mind of a writer and illustrator that should be required reading in American literature classes.
And there you have it. BOOKS! Your TBR pile will thank you...
Now on to...interviews!
The first interview for this edition features the fabulously brilliant Alex Brown, noted SF/F/H critic, writer, and historian! Thanks to Alex for agreeing to talk briefly about literary criticism, history, and more! And I hope you all enjoy what Alex had to say, too!
Here goes!
Hello, and welcome to this Joy Factory Interview! Thanks for agreeing to join me on this short adventure! The first question will always be an evil question: If you could recommend one book not written by you (in any genre) that everyone should read, what would you recommend and why?
Kindred by Octavia E Butler. It's intense and powerful and vividly written, the kind of story that haunts you long after you finish it.
As a critic of speculative fiction, how do you see your role in the broader SF/F community, especially given your particular interest in YA? Or, to put it another way, what motivates you to keep producing critical content?
The practical answer is that I got into reviewing professionally because I like getting paid to talk about and read books. The more personal answer is that I see being a critic as a way to spotlight books and authors that might not normally get spotlighted. I have a platform, so might as well use it. Books by and about white people tend to get pages and pages and pages of critical analysis. These books end up in curriculum and talked about as if they singlehandedly defined the genre. But we don't often do that with books by and about marginalized people, or if we do, we pick a couple and then recommend them for everything for years to come. There are so many amazing queer, trans/nonbinary, BIPOC, disabled, fat, etc. authors out there who can't even get through the door. By promoting the books that do, I can help crack open that publishing door a little more by demonstrating interest and hopefully inspiring people to buy those books. I love reading and analyzing books by and about marginalized voices! Whether they reflect aspects of my identity or not, I revel in the chance to see stories told in new and different ways. It's exciting, seeing the breadth of diversity on display.
As a reviewer and critic, I imagine you've spent a considerable amount of time doing by learning. What were some of the defining experiences as a reviewer and critic that helped you develop your "voice"? And what is something you wish you had known when you first started that you know now?
When I started out, I read a lot of reviews for inspiration and examples of how the work could be done well. This sounds obvious, but I quickly realized that there was a big difference between recapping an episode or movie or just squeeing for 800 words and doing critical analysis. Each of those types of writing are valid, but I am personally more interested in the analysis part. But what really kicked me into gear was, as silly as it sounds, writing weekly reviews of The Walking Dead. I started off enjoying the show, but by season 7 hated it. Coming up with new things to say every week was a big challenge, especially as the quality plummeted. It forced me to look beneath the surface and find the context and subtext. Skill- and craft-wise, it also helped a lot. I didn't have screeners, so I was watching it live with everyone else while taking notes, then often watching it again while I wrote the review. Since I had to get up early for work the next day, that meant learning how to think critically and write well more or less on the fly - I only had about 2.5 hours to get the reviews written, edited, and uploaded before bed.
One of the cool features on Punk-Ass Book Jockey is your annual high school summer reading lists, which collect together a diverse selection of works for each of the grade levels. Thought the answer might be obvious, what do you hope these lists will do for those who use them (especially younger readers)? (They're great lists, by the way. My TBR pile thanks you!)
A lot of high schools have required summer reading, and those lists are usually full of "classics" with a couple of books by BIPOC authors jammed in for faux-diversity (and those books are often problematic or by problematic authors or not ownvoices). Those lists tend to be less about inspiring a love of reading in the student and more about bandaiding over the "summer slide." Parents also often want reading recommendations for their kids, and they end up with these same fuddy duddy old school lists that have barely been updated in years that don't actually speak to the kids. I started building these summer reading recommendations for a school I worked at previously, and they were a big hit. So I kept doing them and posting on my blog. I like to pick a variety of genres, lengths, and formats to make sure there's at least 1 thing on each list for just about everyone. We should meet kids where they are.
You've also written a couple non-fiction books, one of which, Hidden History of Napa Valley, looks at the region's first Chinatown. What first interested you in this topic, and what is one thing you wish more people knew about this period of Napa Valley's history?
Well, I grew up in Napa and spent the majority of my life in the North Bay. I also ran the Napa County Historical Society research library and archives for 4 years. My librarian career actually began in archives - it was the track I focused on in grad school. I got a second master's, this one in US History, and wrote my thesis on Black history in Napa County. Hidden History grew out of that (the chapter on Black history is a super condensed version of my thesis). I'm very interested in local history. We tend to focus on national or state-wide events, but less on local. Those that do write on local history are often older white residents, and they tend to focus on wealthy white people who "made" the region without acknowledging the BIPOC, immigrants, women, and others who did the labor while that rich white dude raked in the cash. Napa Valley literally would not exist without the efforts of immigrants, Indigenous, Chinese, Black, Japanese, Mexican and Latinx people, and other marginalized groups, yet everyone focuses only on the rich white winemakers and vineyardists. I wanted to highlight the lives of the marginalized and show not just how they resisted oppression but how they built communities and families and celebrated their cultural traditions.
OK. So the pet rats. You've got them. They're furry. They're (usually) pretty darn social and friendly. And even though I'm a snake dork, I think they're pretty cute. What's your fascination with the little critters? (I'm basically asking you to pitch rats to us :P).
I've had rats since I was 12 (save 3 years during undergrad). So yeah, I like them. A lot. They're hella smart and social. They're attentive and intuitive, as well as easy to train. They have the personality of a big dog but shrunk down into rat size. I also tend to adopt the rats with "issues," whether physical, medical, or psychological. The rats that need experienced care and someone willing to spend a lot of money on care (I once had a rat who needed weekly acupuncture, and that was not cheap!). A lot of people think rats are just like hamsters or mice without realizing they have different needs and care, so when it bites them, gets sick, or they fail to properly socialize them they get rid of them (whereas if they had just treated them properly to begin with the rat would be fine). One of the most rewarding experiences is convincing a nervous, undersocialized pet to trust you. Of the two boys I have now, it took one of them almost 6 months to come around to me, but now he's the one who sleeps at the foot of my bed every night.
Thanks for answering these questions. Now for our ending and quite silly question! While on a flight across the pond, you awaken to discover that your plane has landed on a mysterious island. The crew and passengers are gone (but they left a note, so they're OK). There are three things on the island with you: one object of your choice, one book of your choice, and one nemesis of your choice. What are your three things?
Object: my cell phone with full internet access. Book: Pride & Prejudice. Nemesis: I don't have a nemesis! I've destroyed many people in my day, but once they're cut down I lose all interest in them. I don't give shitty people any of my emotional bandwidth.
Alexandria Brown is a queer Black librarian, local historian, writer, and author of two books on the history Napa County, California’s marginalized communities. They have a BA with honors in Anthropology and Sociology, a Master’s of Library and Information Science, and a Master’s in US History. They write about speculative fiction and young adult literature for Tor.com and Locus Magazine, as well as on their blog, bookjockeyalex.com. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access set the foundation of all their work. You can also find them on Twitter at @queenofrats.
And now for a second interview! TWO! Two wonderfully perfect interviews to fill your brain with ideas. Here, I'm joined by J.C. Hart, who shares many thoughts on space opera, collaboration, and so much more. There's so much to unpack here, so look upon it as a teaser!
Here goes!
Hello, and welcome to this Joy Factory Interview! Thanks for agreeing to join me on this short adventure! The first question will always be an evil question: If you could recommend one book not written by you (in any genre) that everyone should read, what would you recommend and why?
OOh that IS evil! I'm so torn here because I want to say House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (preferably the edition with the different ink colors), but it's HUGE and not necessarily the easiest of reading, inaccessible to some. It's just...impossible to explain. It's a 'house' book, it is bigger on the inside. It breathes. It is alive. It is growing. And it wants you. It will haunt you. There are stories within stories in this book, in the same way that there seems to be an entire world through the doors in this house.
So, yeah, that one! It's worth it.
BUT, for those who just can't do that, I'm going to recommend Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant because scary mermaids.
As a writer of the fantastic, I am obligated to ask (by the Council of Intergalactic Writers, which is totally legit): What are some of your biggest influences, whether they're writers, movies, other creatives, or even an experience you might have had with a kea?
Just to state the facts, I adore kea. They were one of my first favorite birds (there have been many), so thank you for mentioning them! They deserve it.
Now, influences. Growing up there was a family library, so it would have been the likes of Terry Pratchett, David Eddings, Raymond E. Feist, Ray Bradbury, Guy Gavriel Kay, Stephen King. As well as the delightful horror books of the time, like anything by R.L Stine and Christopher Pike. I gorged myself on fantasy and horror growing up, and that's probably been the biggest influence for me. I love SF too, but I think that came later in life. I read the Dune series, of course, and grew up watching Star Wars and other SF movies like Flight of the Navigator. (This walk down memory lane has been so fun).
Recently, I'm enjoying reading a lot less cis-white-male fiction! And this has expanded my horizons infinitely. Thank heavens for the internet, and no longer being confined to what bookstores in NZ think readers want.
Aside from this, I think my family, friends, and culture have been pretty big influences on me. It wasn't until the last few years that I could look back and see just how clearly. To be clear, they don't influence WHAT I write lol, but they certainly influence the stories and the way I tell them. As I get older and wiser, I am sure more influences will reveal themselves to me.
Now, ah, how does one get an invite to this particular Council?
Much of your work draws heavily on the fantastic, from quite overt magic to slightly more subtle works like Hexes & Vexes (extra emphasis on slightly, of course). What do you think keeps drawing you into the realms of the fantastic?
It's in my blood. Hard wired.
My whole family devoured the fantastical growing up and there was a library of books for me to snack on. And snack I did. Aside from the paperbacks stacked precariously on my bedside table, I grew up listening to the stories of my culture, with our sky father Ranginui and earth mother Papatūānuku, who were separated by their children to create our world. We learned of the atua who are associated with everything in this world such as Tāwhirimātea, atua of weather and winds, Tangaroa, atua of the sea. Tane, atua of the forest and birds. Hine-nui-te-pō, atua of life and death, among many more. These atua and their descendants populated the earth and had many adventures, most well-known are those of Māui who fished up the north island of Aotearoa (Te Ika a Maui which I reimagined in my story Te Ika), slowed the sun so there was enough time in the day to get everything done, and stole the flames from the fingers of Mahuika.
I think sometimes when you're from an indigenous culture, the line between reality and fantasy is less definite than for other peoples. For instance, Mount Taranaki was recently recognised officially as a person, but he has been a very real and important figure for my whole life, his steady presence and handsome visage there for anyone to see (apart from the days when he draws his cloak of clouds close, but even then, you can still feel him there, standing guard.). He is very much a beloved person for myself, and many others, along with other things present in our natural environment. To quote Queen, 'Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?'
Maybe it can be both.
In June 2021, you'll release The Archer Queen, the 9th book in the Royal Celestials series, which is a zodiac themed shared fantasy world featuring novels by R.L. Caulder, M.F. Adele, Lacuna Reid, and many more. How did you get involved in this project? And what did you find most challenging about writing in a universe shared by so many different authors?
I love shared worlds! There is so much to love about collaboration, but you asked about the challenges. I think it's stickability. Collabs often stretch over long periods of time, so sustaining the energy and commitment can be really challenging. Life throws us curveballs, situations change, and more often than not you lose some writers along the way, for any number of reasons. Sometimes you can spend a lot of time, only to have a project fall apart.
I like to think that nothing is ever wasted though. Stories can be rewritten and made into something new, authors can be added to the project to fill in the gaps. I like how it forces you to stay nimble, to be flexible, to think outside of your own worldview. It’s exciting to brainstorm and create things with others for that reason.
Many if not all of your works draw heavily upon explorations of relationships, whether romantic or otherwise. Naturally, this leads you into stories that explore the complexities of people, themselves eccentric, odd, complex, strange, and wondrous. What fascinates you most about people and their myriad relationships?
I guess I've always been a people watcher, and I am deeply invested in my family and friends. Relationships are really important in my day-to-day life, so it’s no surprise that they are in my writing as well.
People are so complex, brains are strange and wonderful, and I really like to explore things that interest me. It helps me unpick a lot of what I see and think and feel as well. Like that Whitman saying about containing multitudes. I put my multitudes onto the page and let them interact with each other.
Because I like to dream, I just have to ask: Do you think you'll write a far future work such as a space opera which draws upon your cultural heritage (something which appears in some of your fantasy work)
Yes! I'm reworking a young adult science fiction which draws on my cultural perspective. A young woman opts to travel through space to help set up a colony on a new planet, so it involves themes of colonization, connection with our land and environment, as well as the planet as a whole (all very relevant to my culture as well as others!). I don't want to give too much away though!
I think the biggest barrier for me to this point has been the science of it all - I'm not naturally wired for that kind of information, and I know that in something longer than a short story, getting it at least a little plausible is important for readers. Hard sci-fi writers are geniuses in my mind!
When there is magic you can brush over some things as they don't need explanations. I think you can in some science fiction too, but it's a matter of finding the right balance - as always, my bigger focus is on relationships though, in this particular book between the main character and others, the planet, the society she has been raised in, and the one she wants to help create. I've grown a lot in so many ways since I wrote the first draft, so I am really excited to see what things I can pull into the second draft to make it much richer and more complex.
Thanks for answering these questions. Now for our ending and quite silly question! While on a flight across the pond, you awaken to discover that your plane has landed on a mysterious island. The crew and passengers are gone (but they left a note, so they're OK). There are three things on the island with you: one object of your choice, one book of your choice, and one nemesis of your choice. What are your three things?
Well, I'm glad they're okay, but why didn't they take me with them??
Hmmm. For the object, I'm going to say a machete. It's got plenty of uses and would help with survival. I like to have one handy in case of a zombie apocalypse - though, if I'm truly abandoned, maybe that's not such a problem. Hell, I might not even know there IS a zombie apocalypse! For the book, I'm going to go with Pūrākau. I haven't read all of it yet, it's HUGE so would keep me going for a while, and all the stories inside are inspired by Maori myths and legends, which would be a comfort.
Now, for the nemesis... Can I pick a fictional one? I don't know that I have any, aside from a childhood one, and I think in that case I was the nemesis. I got the impression she was always competing with me, but I was never actually competing... Which is actually probably pretty sad, to find out your nemesis doesn't feel the same way. Now I feel kind of guilty, though in the end, I think she did really well as a result of this strange relationship I wasn't aware of at the time!
Anyway, I would pick Victor, from Vicious by V. E. Schwab. I think he counts. He's a fantastic character, and I would not want to be on his bad side! I'm sure we could find a way to get along. I can manage with *just* about anyone. And if it has to be a real life one, then I guess it’s you and me Lianne!
J.C. Hart is a lover of pizza, coffee, and zombies (in no particular order). She was raised on a healthy diet of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and despite many attempts by various English teachers has refused to budge on her position that these are the best genres ever. Her work includes Serafina's Flame, Sun Touched, and The Way the Sky Curves (as J.C. Hart) and By My hand, Ebony Slumbers, and Sekhmet's Desire (as Nova Blake). You can find her and her work on her website and @JCHart on Twitter.
And so we come to the end. It'll be a week for sure, so I hope you enjoyed this interview-filled edition!
Here's what is on the docket over the next seven days:
There will be TWO Skiffy and Fanty podcasts out: today, we'll drop our discussion about Falcon and the Winter Soldier with two fantastic guests; on Monday or Tuesday, we'll hopefully drop a discussion about Wonder Egg Priority, a bizarre and triggery anime!
On The Joy Factory Monthly podcast, I'll release an episode on worldbuilding and SF/F/H w/ Premee Mohamed. It'll be pretty awesome!
This being grading hell week, I'll be scheduling new stuff for podcasts and other activities, but those will come out in later weeks. Summer is gonna rock!
And there you have it... I shall leave you with a bit of Deathscythe. You're welcome!
Joyful Transmission Concluded!
Thanks for reading The Joy Factory Weekly newsletter! As always, if you want to support the project or my other work, head over to patreon.com/thejoyfactory. You can find me @shaunduke on Twitter and at shaunduke.net!