Inish Carraig with Naomi Foyle

08/08/22 • 122 min

Chronscast - The Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror Podcast

This month we're joined by the award-winning British-Canadian author, poet and essayist Naomi Foyle, to talk about Inish Carraig, the alien-invasion-cum-prison break thriller by our very own @Jo Zebedee.

Among the topics we cover is the quintessential "Norn Irishness" of the book, conveyed without ever lapsing into cliché, but yet acknowledging the unique history and culture of the place in a subtle and different manner. We also talk about the physiology of alien species, robots, the gothic setting, and the different identities and representations the book plays with.

Elsewhere we also discuss the possibilities and processes that enable writers to access Arts Council funding (England only) to further their writing careers. Specifically we talk about adapting one's own work for other media; Naomi recently adapted her own Gaia Chronicles quartet of SF novels into a multimedia stage show, Astra, featuring cutting-edge puppetry, acting, music, and technical effects, and she discusses the mammoth effort this has entailed.

@The Judge corners us with another fascinating talk, this time about privacy. Her Honour also relates her winning entry from the July 75-word challenge, The Eternal Scapegoat, and (we think) Sally Rooney is having trouble with the accuracy - and the characters - of her latest, er, science fiction epic.

Next Month

In September's episode we'll be talking to fantasy author Juliet E. McKenna about Hope Mirrlees's 1926 prototypical fantasy novel, Lud-In-The-Mist.

Index

[0:00:00 - 55:30] Naomi Foyle Interview Part 1

[55:30 - 56:42] Voicemail 1

[56:43 - 1:12:33] The Judge's Corner

[1:12:38 - 1:13:45] Voicemail 2

[1:13:45 - 1:14:53] Writing Challenge Winner

[1:14:54 - 1:15:35] Voicemail 3

[1:15:37 - 2:00:44] Naomi Foyle Interview Part 2

[2:00:45 - 2:02:49] Credits and Close

Next Month

In September's episode we'll be talking to fantasy author Juliet E. McKenna about Hope Mirrlees's 1926 prototypical fantasy novel, Lud-In-The-Mist.

Index

[0:00:00 - 55:30] Naomi Foyle Interview Part 1

[55:30 - 56:42] Voicemail 1

[56:43 - 1:12:33] The Judge's Corner

[1:12:38 - 1:13:45] Voicemail 2

[1:13:45 - 1:14:53] Writing Challenge Winner

[1:14:54 - 1:15:35] Voicemail 3

[1:15:37 - 2:00:44] Naomi Foyle Interview Part 2

[2:00:45 - 2:02:49] Credits and Close

Previous Episode

Mythago Wood with John Jarrold

We're joined by one of the kings of UK science-fiction and fantasy, the literary agent John Jarrold, to talk about Rob Holdstock's majestic 1984 novel Mythago Wood, winner of the World Fantasy Award.

Over a career spanning almost fifty years John has become one of the leading lights and champions for British genre fiction, and a household name within that community. In the publishing industry he has run three SFF imprints: Legend at Random House; Earthlight at Simon & Schuster, and Orbit books, where one of his authors was none other than Rob Holdstock. These days he runs the John Jarrold Literary Agency, with and continues to be a hugely influential and popular figure in the industry and SFF community.

We talk about the peculiar Englishness of Mythago Wood, with respect to its post-war setting, which informs the damaged male characters at the heart of the book and how this in turn has an impact on the representation of the female characters present. We also touch upon the cycle of myth and history, the myth of the hostile brothers, and Holdstock's wonderful writing style.

John brings his enormous experience to bear as we talk at length about the publishing industry and how it has changed over the last fifty years. He is armed with great anecdotes, and the list of people he's worked with over the years read like a Who's Who of international SFF.

Elsewhere Damaris Browne dishes up some salacious details on how to handle the issue of privacy, and how to approach using real-life people in your stories (spoiler alert: very, very carefully). Christine Wheelwright reads Weeping Willows, her winning 75-word entry from June's writing challenge, and the trees in Slish Wood are not - I repeat not - of interest to the CIA.

Join us next month when our guest will be the novelist, poet and essayist Naomi Foyle, who'll be talking with us about Jo Zebedee's alien invasion-cum-prison break thriller Inish Carraig .

Further Reading

There'll Always Be An England in Mythago Wood

Index

[0:00:00 - 49:15] John Jarrold Interview Part 1

[49:16 - 50:24] Voicemail 1

[50:25 - 1:05:10] The Judge's Corner

[1:05:16 - 1:06:14] Voicemail 2

[1:06:15 - 1:07:20] Writing Challenge Winner

[1:07:21 - 1:08:36] Voicemail 3

[1:08:37 - 2:02:12] John Jarrold Interview Part 2

[2:02:13 - 2:04:18] Credits and Close

Next Episode

Lud In The Mist with Juliet E. McKenna

This month we're joined by the author fantasy author Juliet E. McKenna, creator of several epic series including The Tales of Einarinn, The Aldabreshin Compass sequence, The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, and The Hadrumal Crisis trilogy. Juliet talks to us about one of the very first examples of what we might term "modern fantasy" - Hope Mirrlees' 192 novel Lud In The Mist. Juliet and I talk about where Lud sits in the canon of fantasy - we compare it to Tolkien, for example, and Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast books, as well as other modernist literature from the post-WW1 years of the 1920s.

There is talk about borders, the liminal spaces between spaces, and the reconciliation of our own prejudices and biases, as well as of silly names and Mirrlees's "interesting" approach to worldbuilding. Juliet talks to us about her own writing experiences, with particular reference to English folklore, myth, and the countryside, which is prevalent throughout her work and none more so than her current Green Man cycle of novels and her forthcoming Arthurian novel The Cleaving. We also discuss fantasy emerging from other cultures and parts of the world, and how writers should approach the writing and representation of other cultures.

Elsewhere, The Judge takes a break from her advisory talks and gives her own opinion and analysis of Lud In The Mist, which places the idea of laws, frameworks, and legal structures at the heart of the novel. We have two writing challenge winners in Doug Van Aarten and Jo Zebedee. Lastly, to coincide with the 40th anniversary release of Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Captain Kirk is having trouble getting hold of the Division 4 football results, and lays the blame squarely on a certain green-blooded, pointy-eared crew member.

Next Month
In October we'll be joined by the author Steven Hall to discuss his smash hit debut novel The Raw Shark Texts.

Index
[00:00 - 43:53] Juliet E McKenna interview Part 1
[43:53 - 45:17] Voicemail 1
[45:17 - 1:01:13] The Judge's Corner
[1:01:13 - 1:02:24] Voicemail 2
[1:02:24 - 1:05:47] Writing Challenge Winners
[1:05:7 - 1:07:09] Voicemail 3
[1:07:09 - 1:48:55] Juliet E McKenna interview part 2
[1:48:55 - 1:51:01] Credits and close