Celeste Chaney's Blog

Celeste Chaney was recognized as a Utah Book Award finalist during the Utah Humanities Book Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Established in 1999 by the Salt Lake City Public Library, the annual Utah Book Award honors exceptional achievements by Utah writers and recognizes outstanding literature written with a Utah theme or setting.This year's Utah Book Award honored In Absence of Fearfor its representation of the literary culture of the state in fiction.

IN ABSENCE OF FEAR was awarded Honorable Mention during the 18th annual Foreword Reviews' INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards. Previously recognized as 2015 Book of the Year finalist for both the science fiction and fiction categories,IAOF was the only title authored by a woman to be recognized in the science fiction genre.

Narrowed down from nearly 2,000 entries by a panel of librarians and booksellers, along with Foreword Reviews’ editorial staff, the winners in 66 categories are considered th...

Foreword Reviews named Celeste Chaney's debut novel, IN ABSENCE OF FEAR, a 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards Finalist in two,separate categories: General Fiction and Science Fiction.

Each year, Foreword Reviews shines a light on a select group of indie publishers, university presses, and self-published authors whose work stands out from the crowd. In the next three months, a panel of more than 100 volunteer librarians and booksellers will determine the winners in 63 categories based on t...

The radio personalities from The Morning Zoo,97.1 ZHT's very own Frankie, Dangerboy, and Jessica, hosted author Celeste Chaney last week to discuss her debut novel In Absence of Fear (as well as her terrible driving),the state of technology today, mass surveillance, and how Frankie is screwed if NSA monitors his Googling habits.

Listen to the interview:

Frankie, DB, Jess & Celeste discuss In Absence of Fear

The radio personalities from The Morning Zoo,97.1 ZHT's very own Frankie, Dangerboy, and Jessica, hosted author Celeste Chaney last week to discuss her debut novel In Absence of Fear (as well as her terrible driving),the state of technology today, mass surveillance, and how Frankie is screwed if NSA monitors his Googling habits.

Take a listen!

Frankie, DB, Jess & Celeste discuss In Absence of Fear

This interview originally appeared on the Corner Canyon Press website.

Where did you grow up?

My family is from Southern California, but we moved to Utah, about 30 minutes outside of Salt Lake City,when I was very young. It was all dairy farms and fields back then. My mom used to say that they'd drive thirty minutes for Taco Bell because it was the only "Mexican" food they could find. Utah was a lot smaller and more conservative then.I was one of two non-Mormons in my entire grade. It was an in...

This interview originally appeared on the Corner Canyon Press website.

Where did you grow up?

My family is from Southern California, but we moved to Utah, about 30 minutes outside of Salt Lake City,when I was very young. It was all dairy farms and fields back then. My mom used to say that they'd drive thirty minutes for Taco Bell because it was the only "Mexican" food they could find. Utah was a lot smaller and more conservative then.I was one of two non-Mormons in my entire grade. It was an in...

Kirkus Reviews is a respected book review journal and website that provides unbiased reviews for books of all genres. They reviewed In Absence of Fear in late November. Here's what they had to say.

Chaney imagines a society under total surveillance in this debut sci-fi thriller.“Why do most boys wish to be firemen?” wonders Marus Winde as he thinks back to his boyhood dream. “It was noble to put out fires, yes. But, it was nobler to prevent them.” Prevention is Marus’ task: he’s a Protecto...

"The story is not a surprising one to anyone who has read Orwell or Huxley, but it feels far more relevant and immediate." - Craig Hanks, The Legendarium Podcast

Craig and Todd interview author Celeste Chaneyabout her debut novel, In Absence of Fear . Wrist-embedded microchips, mass-surveillance, predictive policing … It may be where we’re headed, and this book helps us explore just how good are the good ideas we’re coming up with to rid us of inconvenience and fear.Pick it up on Amazon, you w...

I met Alan for the first time nearly a year ago. It was an overcast afternoon in November and I'd flown to Northern California for the day. Parking my rental car on the hilly,tree-lined street, I double-checked Alan's address. His house number matched the one on the beautiful Spanish colonial nestled into the hill above me.Grabbing my computer bag, I took a deep breath,got out of the car and unlatched the gate.

This was taken at the end of our final meeting, at his home in Berkeley, in April...