An Interview With Kristin Landon!

Here, as promised, is the interview with Kristin Landon, author of THE HIDDEN WORLDS, which has been the featured debut for the past year.

I found the cultures of Nexus and Santandru to be fascinating. Did you have any particular real-world influences for these cultures?

Wellllll. . . my husband has been to Las Vegas. . . .

An Irish friend assured me that I clearly had parts of Ireland in mind when I described Santandru. That’s interesting, as I’ve never been there; but in theme I don’t think he’s far off—I respect human tenacity in harsh places, the shifts people are put to in order to survive. It’s a theme SF addresses more often than contemporary fiction can.

As for Nexus, I built that mostly by contrast to Santandru. Plenty, luxury, leisure, wealth. Yes, they have earned it by dangerous work, but there is a lack of compassion, a lack of understanding, that definitely features in the next book.

What is your favorite scene in THE HIDDEN WORLDS?

This took some thought, but I would have to say it’s the death of my male protagonist’s (Iain’s) father. It was such a pleasure to write, bringing together so many threads of plot and feeling. And I'm pleased with how well it works, and how it pays off.

What scene gave you the most trouble?

I had to rewrite the last third of the book extensively, because I’d submitted one book and in the end sold two. I’d left what I assumed was an open door for a sequel, but I discovered that that’s very different from actually planning and executing a sequel. My superb editor at Ace, Anne Sowards, was wonderfully helpful in suggesting ways to turn a fairly closed book into one that satisfies but leaves more to be told.

Of course, I’ve been told by some of my friends that the satisfaction is not quite enough, that they want more right now . . . but that’s good.

Can you give us a teaser about the sequel, THE COLD MINDS?

What happens when the Cold Minds find and use the greatest weakness of the Pilot Masters? When Iain is torn between old loyalties and new realities? When Linnea must choose between duty and family—when love pulls her in two directions?

Can you tell us the release date, if you know it?

It’s not yet set. The manuscript has been turned in, but there is still plenty of work to be done.

Is this an open-ended series? If not, can you say how many books you plan on writing in THE HIDDEN WORLDS setting?

I can’t yet say, because I don’t yet know. THE HIDDEN WORLDS has only been out for six weeks. I certainly have stories to tell beyond two books, if that works out.

Have you finished any other novels besides THE HIDDEN WORLDS and THE COLD MINDS and can we expect to see them in print?

I have one other finished novel stored away. It’s set in a completely different future from THE HIDDEN WORLDS—not related at all. But at this point my agent (Donald Maass) and I agree that I should focus on writing new books. Perhaps in future we’ll give it a look, and see what potential it might have.

It was my first novel, my journeyman piece, and I'm proud of it—but I know my agent’s advice is good.

Your bio mentions that H. G. Wells prompted your love of science and science fiction. Which other authors have you admired?

Goodness, after reading Connie Willis’s wonderful tribute to Heinlein in the latest LOCUS, I know I have to say, Heinlein—specifically his juveniles, such as TUNNEL IN THE SKY, THE ROLLING STONES, and CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY. And I share Connie Willis’s judgment that the best of all of them is HAVE SPACESUIT, WILL TRAVEL. I’ve loved that book since I was nine, and I still love it decades later.

I also deeply admire Ursula Le Guin, a fellow Oregonian. I don’t want to claim her as an influence, because I wouldn’t want anyone to think I imagine I write like her. But THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS is not the only book of hers that I find unforgettable and revisit regularly.

There are plenty of others, a pretty wild mix—Vernor Vinge, Kim Stanley Robinson, oh, goodness! Lois McMaster Bujold, I love her books! Maureen McHugh, Greg Bear— Too many to name.

Please share your publishing story and any writing advice that you may have.

I had been writing seriously for about fourteen years, and submitting off and on for ten. I entered THE HIDDEN WORLDS in a regional writing contest (Colorado Gold, run by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers—a marvelous group and a truly enjoyable conference). It and my other novel were both finalists in the SF category, so I went to the conference. HIDDEN WORLDS won. The judge was an editor from Ace, who asked me to submit the complete book.

It took me a while to work through it all, as I hadn’t looked at it in at least a year. I submitted it the following spring . . . and waited. I had health problems that fall and winter (now completely resolved, thank goodness), so it was actually a surprise to receive an email the following spring, from a different Ace editor (the original had left the company) asking, was the book still available? And could we talk?

It took off from there, to my surprise and delight. In fact, I am still surprised. And still delighted.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Persist at all costs! 

And—thank you, Tia, for choosing to feature THE HIDDEN WORLDS on Fantasy Debut!

Links!

Amazon USA, Canada and UK

Kristin Landon's website

THE HIDDEN WORLDS by Kristin Landon - Final Review

My one word description of THE HIDDEN WORLDS? Tense.

From the time Linnea first set foot on Nexus, the novel held my attention to the last page. I'm not saying that the first few chapters were slow -- not at all. But the novel's true conflict and action only started when Linnea set Iain's life into a tailspin by showing up unannounced, claiming to be his servant.

The novel starts when a ship is lost at sea, thus dooming the village that depends on it for its survival. Linnea and her family evacuate the village, going to an overcrowded city where jobs are scarce. Then, Linnea's sister tells her of a family secret in the form of a mysterious cylinder. Linnea takes the secret to a government bureaucrat with whom she has become friendly, and together they hatch a scheme to use the secret as leverage against the Pilot-Masters to compel them to renew a trade contract with her world.

In short, she wants to bribe them.

Well, it turns out that the government bureaucrat has just the thing she needs to get to Nexus, and it has been waiting for someone in her family to claim it for years. It is a labor contract. With Iain. Who has no idea of its existence.

I'm still not sure of the motives behind the labor contract storyline. But then, neither does Linnea, so I can hardly quibble with that.

In earlier posts, I mentioned that I found the birth restrictions that the Pilot-Masters utilized unrealistic. Well, as it turns out, the plot does address this discrepancy, but it still leaves much a mystery. However, I can hardly find fault with that, since this book is the first of a series. I must be patient. All will be explained in time. I'm also interested in finding out why a society of men would agree to the restrictions that they live under, not to mention why women would agree to be shut out, entirely.

I found Landon's prose utilitarian, in keeping with the gritty story. Her writing was entirely transparent and her dialog flowed effortlessly. I would call it a character-driven story, except that term usually relates to the protagonist and his or her motivations. The characters who drive this story are definitely the villains. Throughout much of the story, the protagonists seem like driftwood in a maelstrom, almost powerless to resist the forces around them. Through the self-sacrificing actions of those around them, they finally find a way to prevail, at least in a small way.

And something that I wondered about turned out to be true. The Pilot-Masters are guilty of perpetuating more than one lie. I was particularly happy with Iain's response to the discovery of this second lie. It made me like him more.

As for the contents of that mysterious cylinder? At the end of the novel, it is still a mystery.

Links!

Amazon USA, Canada and UK

Kristin Landon's website

THE HIDDEN WORLDS - The Secret of Two Families

By the time Linnea's family secret is revealed, both Linnea and Iain have been put through so much hell that one wonders if they will mentally survive it. They are both entirely too trusting of their enemies, but their innocence will soon be shattered.

The secret is a lie that is so ancient that most people believe it as the truth. It asks the question, when is a lie a lie? If the teller believes it is the truth, then is he still lying? The lie didn't seem terribly shattering to me at first until I thought about the contentious United States political environment. Then I realized that any lie discovered of a powerful and hated political entity would be terribly damaging. Especially if it is a lie upon which they base their power.

The lie revealed begins a string of sacrifices to keep the lie alive. More lies are told. Bargains are struck only to be betrayed. Linnea gets what she wanted, but with a terrible price for Iain. It's almost painful to read.

And in the meantime, the Cold Minds are set to devour one of the Hidden Worlds, and the Pilot Masters are about to commit the biggest betrayal of all.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS - Leaves in a Hurricane

Leaves in a hurricane is my attempt to describe how the two protagonists, Linnea and Iain, are getting on by the middle of THE HIDDEN WORLDS.

In other words, they are caught up in circumstances so overwhelming that you wonder how on earth they are ever going to prevail. Secrets, betrayals and lies beset them at every turn. Safe places turn into traps where they are watched by their enemies. Friends are few and seemingly powerless. This is the point where the book truly hooked me (or perhaps a little before this point); where the book did not get put down unless the real world intervened. I got some great rest for my broken toe (which is doing much better thank you), thanks to this book.

Landon kept piling on the problems. And just when you thought that things might be taking a turn for the better, someone would betray them. And all the while, the Cold Minds -- which are much more terrifying than I originally envisioned -- have discovered one of the Hidden Worlds where humanity has taken refuge.

Iain is becoming more human, and Linnea sticks firmly to her original goal. However, more betrayals await them, especially a huge one that should have been obvious, but it walloped me on the side of the head, anyway. At this point, my quibbles with the plot died away, and all I could do was turn the pages.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS - First Few Chapters

Ok, I admit it. I've finished THE HIDDEN WORLDS. It lived up to its promise of a fast read. However, I will continue to post on it in parts as I ruminate over the plot.

Linnea has discovered a family secret that affects the family of Pilot-Masters on Nexus, the hub of the Hidden Worlds. With the help of a govenrment bureaucrat, she finds the means to leave her world and go to Nexus as an indentured servant, where she intends to offer the secret in return for certain help from them. However, she has no idea that the family secret is the reason behind her world's desperate condition, and when she arrives at Nexus, she steps into a huge spider web of deceit, backstabbing and just pain evil.

While she travels to Nexus, we get to meet Iain, one of the Pilot-Masters, and we get to learn a bit about his mysterious world. Here is where I have a quibble with the plot. It doesn't seem like the Pilot-Masters reproduce often enough to sustain their population. I won't go into all the details because I don't want to give away too much plot. However, I can say that population is strictly controlled (or so they think) and it's a major honor for a man to be selected to father a child. We're talking ceremonies and orgy-like parties, here. Since not every son can become a Pilot-Master, one would think that all Pilot-Masters would be encouraged to have many sons.

However, I found the story absorbing enough to set aside my doubts. Linnea arrives onto Nexus to find that her master had no idea that she was to be his servant. He suspects that his father knows something of it, however his father orders him to turn Linnea over to him and pursue the matter no further.

The society on Nexus reminds me a great deal of ancient Rome, especially the father-son relationship. In Rome, the father's word had the force of law. It seems much the same on Nexus. Therefore, it's a shocking thing when Iain disobeys his father and goes to his treacherous cousin for the truth -- thus unleashing the momentum for the rest of the book.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS - First Chapter

I figured that I'd better put up a first chapter post before I finish the whole book. This book promises to be a fast read. Here's the first sentence:

"At dawn, at the slack of ebb tide, they all went out again to search the beach outside the harbor mouth."

Search for what? And why again? It soon becomes clear that there has been a disaster: a ship has sunk. With the sinking of the ship, the village that depends upon it is doomed. Linnea, who is considered a spinster at nineteen, is one of the only ones who does not appear to be personally touched by the disaster. She lost her brother-in-law.

Linnea, her sister, and her sister's children flee the doomed village to the planet's only city. We get the impression early on that there's something wrong with the society in which Linnea lives. An unmarried nineteen-year-old is almost a freak. Why? I' don't yet know. She lives on a dying world, with little beauty and little hope.

Linnea's world is a sterile one, except for the seas. The only things that grows in the soil are potatoes. The weather is harsh, and life is barely above the sustenance level. There is little beauty and few pleasures. It doesn't make for pleasant reading, but it is gripping.

New Featured Debut - THE HIDDEN WORLDS

I took a trip to the bookstore today, intending to buy THE HIDDEN WORLDS by Kristin Landon and THE HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA by Richard Taylor. However, only the Landon book was in stock. Therefore, I will feature her book first.

I considered featuring Marr's WICKED, LOVELY and Grossman's SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBIE, but they seem to be getting plenty of attention and are on the bestseller lists. It is my intention with this blog to feature the lesser-known gems.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS was placed cover-out, and there were about seven copies. It piqued my interest because its been a while since I've read any science fiction and because I'm in the mood for a love story.

The cover is good, but not spectacular. I would have been more interested in seeing a rendering of one of the cold minds than a guy and a girl, even if the girl has a cool gun. The city in the background is intriguing.

Here is the cover blurb:

After the Earth was destroyed by ruthless machine intelligences known as the Cold Minds, the remnants of the human race sought refuge on far-flung planets. Humanity was saved by a hereditary guild of jump pilots who now control all travel and communication among the Hidden Worlds.…

Nineteen-year-old Linnea Kiaho lives on a backwater hostile planet, one of the poorest of the Hidden Worlds. To save her family, Linnea does the unspeakable: She accepts an indenture on the decadent home world of the Pilot Masters, hoping that she will be able to barter an old family secret into a future for her loved ones—and perhaps her planet as well.

Linnea's unwilling master, the pilot Iain sen Paolo, knows nothing about her secret. But to spite his father, he joins her in uncovering a truth that could throw the Pilot masters into chaos at a time when they can least afford weakness. For after six centuries, the Cold Minds have discovered the Hidden Worlds.…

I probably won't get all my usual links up until later tonight. For now, it's reading time!