Jon’s Comments (group member since Jul 20, 2014)

Jon’s comments from the Ask Jon Wallace group.

Those are great - I was reading the Adjacent on the tube and a number of people checked out the cover. (Another reason why hardcopy still beats ebook for me...)

Jon wrote: "What is it about Sci-Fi in general that appeals? the ability for satire and commentary or the world building/technology etc. (which can obviously be part of the satire) or both?" Yes I think it's a mixture really: partly it's the childlike lure of world building: that is the chance to open up new frontiers (not to use a Kirk-ism) for story and adventure - and partly yes it's a great chance to poke fun at the weirder aspects of life today. Barricade has a lot in it about celebrity; I think you could say that the next book has a lot more in it about wealth. One more thing: I do think that all the best scifi has a powerful sense of awe.

I would love to do a good murder mystery book - proper Poirot style only with a twist. Saying it's easy. Doing it's HARD.

Actually, that's kind of given me an idea. Cheers man!

Jon wrote: "yeah GREAT answers across the board sir! this is an awesome Q&A" Thanks man!

Bisquito wrote: "And can ficials share their nanos with human beings or each other?"

Excellent questions, but a bit tricky to answer as some of this stuff strays into book three territory...you;re good, I barely thought about this stuff until I got to book 2! Ficials cannot share their nanos with human beings, that's for sure. When it comes to reproduction I can't tell you if they technically speaking can - but I can say that they wouldn't want to!

Sci-Fi wrote: "what sci-fi comics are you reading at the moment?" On the recommendation of a mate I am reading the image Prophet comics, which are, to put it mildly, completely b*tsh*t crazy in the most brilliant way. I am also planning on revisiting some old 2000AD faves like Strontium Dog, ABC Warriors and Devlin Waugh. Will also swing by GOSh or Forbidden PLanet and scoop up some complete randoms in advance of WorldCon. (I like to judge a comic or book entirely by its cover every now and then). I've been chatting to a few fellow panel members and I need to brush up if I'm going to be any use!

Sci-Fi wrote: "I was wondering what advice you had for a writer with a book who wants to get it published?" I think it depends on the person, but I think there's a few simple ways you can improve your chances:

1.Get some stories published. I think it can only help the strength of a novel submission if it's accompanied by an existing publication history. Plus it hones your skills: I find stories hard freaking work and get a real sense of accomplishment to whip one into a state I like. There remain a number of great online and print publications, some of which even pay for stories. I got my first story published in a (sadly now defunct) site called Absent Willow Review, and built up to mags like Interzone - a mag which has a lot of respect.

2. Get that novel's opening as perfect as you can. My Dad always used to judge a book by its opening paragraph and I'll bet you a whole heap of agents and editors do too.

3. Once you have it as good as it can be, show it to someone you trust and ask for their honest opinion - they will often spot anything from silly typos to gaping plot holes that you just miss when it's your baby.

Jon wrote: "Barricade
As a debut author you have described the roller-coaster ride leading up to the publishing and since publication, over the last month.
What would you say are the top 3 thi..." As always, an ace question. Ed Cox, Den Patrick and I discussed this at our London Film and Comic Con event, albeit briefly.

One thing I've learned is that you need to have serious patience, but be prepared for sudden bursts of activity: when you send off your manuscript to agents you wait AGES to hear anything, then suddenly, there are meetings to go to, you're signing contracts, and you're looking for a publisher. Then, once you get a deal (woo-hoo!), you have to wait a fair while for publication. I had to wait over a year and it can seem very far away.

Then suddenly Boom! it's a couple of weeks to launch and you have to write a stack of blogs, do interviews and attend events - which is all completely brilliant obviously, but a bit of a jolt after all that waiting. I guess the longer you're in the game the more you get used to it.

Second thing I've learned is that it really helps to have good people to run your writing by for advice - besides my excellent editor, Simon, I have a few friends and family who I send my work to for comments. I trust them to give honest feedback and it helps enormously - it might sound a bit obvious but it makes a huge difference to have constructive criticism available from people you respect.

Third thing is that if and when you get a bad review, try and keep in mind that while it seems a big deal at first, in a few weeks you'll wonder why you were so fussed. It stings to get a dodgy review, but like most things in life you ride the wave of emotion and then find yourself back to normal - and if anything a little stronger for it.

Oh yeah! I think the thing I'm most looking forward to is mooching about and soaking up the atmosphere - I have not attended many conventions, and sadly I didn't have the time to explore as much as I wanted to at the London Film and Comic Con, so for August I've taken a few days off work and plan to have a proper experience.

Brilliantly I've also got some panels lined up for Worldcon, which is a real thrill - both are on Sunday: one about scifi comics and one about scifi tropes. I've really enjoyed appearing on panels so far - I am always extremely nervous beforehand then relax once we get going. Also there's the Nineworlds convention, where I'll be attending the Gollancz party on Saturday night - I think alongside fellow debut authors like Den Patrick, Anna Caltabiano, Stephen Hunt, John Honor Jacobs and Ed Cox. Should be great!

Like the Asimov pic I've just added?

It's probably a bit too soon to be honest - but I can tell you it started out as an idea for a story about people I knew when growing up, then morphed into something with more fantastic leanings. It just went that way. I am itching to get writing and have a central story idea that I am really excited about - it's in the research stage at the moment: confusing scrawls on a white board and half read books.

Brilliant cover art for A Man Lies Dreaming has got me thinking about other great covers. I was thrilled with Barricade's blue and yellow scheme when I saw it - I've added some other great covers to the Groups' photos (I haven't read most of these, but hey we're talking art, right?) You have any favourites?

Hamble wrote: "I loved Barricade, especially the buddy story between Fatty and Kenstibec. But was it tricky writing a narrative voice of a non-emotional, non-human character? Did you have to keep checking yoursel..." Hey Hamble! Yes it's hard to strip out emotional language, which I decided Kenstibec would avoid as a rule. But it's a writing challenge too - I was a bit worried when I started writing him that his cold, calculated viewpoint would lose the reader - he doesn't feel anything about killing for instance. But as you say I think his buddy thing with Fatty rescues that - Fatty is a kind of anti-Kenstibec - emotional, a physical wreck, unpredictable. It gives the human and Ficial sides a chance to bounce off each other in what I hope is an interesting and maybe funny way, and means that K's brutal view of the world is challenged throughout. Thanks for your Q!

Lucinda wrote: "Great!" What are you reading at the moment, Lucinda? What's your favourite book this year? Best novel so far for me was The Drowned World by JG Ballard, best nonfiction "Command and Control" by Eric Schlosser - terrifying account of near accidents with nuclear weapons and mind-boggling cold war MADness. You?

Hey Nick! Thanks so much for your awesome questions, thrilled you enjoyed the book.

I was drawn to science fiction because I wanted to find some focus for my writing. Before Barricade, at Uni and beyond, I constantly bounced from writing one thing to another - screenplays, stories stories, comedy sketches - and just not progressing. I decided I wanted to focus on producing a novel. I wanted to choose a genre I loved, and having been brought up on a diet of Star Wars, Star Trek, Red Dwarf and 2000AD/Transformers comics, I chose SciFi. I put all my energy into a definite plan - get some stories published in mags like Interzone, then shoot for the novel.

When I was at school my favourite authors were a mix of 20C writers like Orwell, Graham Greene, Joseph Heller and Wodehouse, fun scifi like Red Dwarf and the Robert Rankin Brentford books, classic fare like HG Wells and John Wyndham - then newer stuff, often borrowed from my brother - like Only Forward by MM Smith, which blew my mind at the time, and Iain Banks novels like The Bridge. Currently reading E.J Swift's Cataveiro, which is excellent.

I think one of the biggest influences on Barricade stylistically is Raymond Chandler, just because I always thought Marlowe's delivery, and his reactions to perilous situations, were inhumanly cool - the perfect model for Kenstibec. Maybe that's what gives it its retro feel.

Yeah I love my cars. I have bene known to talk to them and name them. (Does that make me a crazy person?) I have a short, unremarkable history of car ownership: I bought my first car, an Escort, off a complete chancer in an Edinburgh car park. It smelt of boot polish. The handbrake didn't work (bit of an issue in Edinburgh, that). The gearbox was full of washers. There was a fuel leak. I LOVED it. Some swine broke into it and wrote it off years later, which was traumatic...yeah, I guess K's regard for his car probably reflects me in that respect, but also it was a character device to show some spark of emotional potential in him: while his creators have screwed with his mind to burn out his capacity for human relations, perhaps some vestige of emotion remains in his appreciation for things: buildings, cars etc.

There's definitely more to tell in K's story - there are two more books coming, tracing his arc from Ficial to...something else. If Barricade had been a stand alone book it might well have been rewritten as a longer book, but with two more to come I liked the idea of keeping it short and fierce. I'll definitely keep writing science fiction - couple of stories on the boil at the moment, and an idea for a completely different, slightly more fantasy-edged book up my sleeve which I am very excited about.

Thanks so much for your questions! A fantastic start to the day.

Sci-Fi wrote: "What time will you start?"
Hey, sorry not to get back until now - I am up and running and will answer questions til midnight

By the way, if you do have a question you can start a new discussion thread if you like...

Or just a good old chat about scifi, writing, whatever you like.

Dear all, I am up and at them, coffee on standby and ready for any questions.

Welcome one and welcome all! On july 25 2014 it will be about a month since I was published - it has been an action packed time with a sold-out launch at Fiorbidden Planet in London, conventions, first reviews etc - a busy time after a long wait for publication. I'd love to answer any questions about getting published or the book itself. so do send me a question if you have one! I'll be back on July 25 but for now welcome one and all!