Lace and Blade 5 Author Interview: Harry Turtledove

From lands distant or nearby, familiar or utterly strange, historical or imaginary, from ancient times to the Belle Époque comes a treasury of luscious, elegant, romantic fantasy. Come with us on a journey through time and across boundaries, inspired by the longings of the heart and the courage residing in even the meekest person.

The release date is Valentine's Day 2019, but you can pre-order it now:

Kindle: https://amzn.to/2PBzyj6ePub: https://www.books2read.com/u/bwYJwP

With typical modesty and succinctness, Harry Turtledove responded to my questions as follows:

Deborah J. Ross: Tell us a little about yourself.  How did you come to be a writer?

Harry Turtledove: I wrote.  Eventually, people started buying stuff.  It was more enjoyable than working in Dilbertland, so I kept at it.

DJR: What inspired your story in Lace and Blade 5?

HT: I was thinking about correspondences between lands and sovereigns. Once I had the idea of both going wrong at the same time, the story came pretty easily.

DJR: What authors have most influenced your writing?

HT: L. Sprague de Camp and Poul Anderson.

DJR: What’s the most memorable fan mail you’ve ever received?

HT: There was the fellow named "Thorstein" (I'm changing it) who complained that no one named Thorstein was ever a heroic figure.  I have thus far resisted the impulse to name a child-molesting axe murderer Thorstein, but I still may yield to it one day.

DJR: How does your writing process work?

HT: I do first drafts in longhand, which saves me a lot of rewriting. Then I clean things up on the computer and submit.

DJR: What have you written recently? What lies ahead?

HT: I just sold a novelette about evolved dinosaurs to ANALOG, and have another under submission there. I'm also working on a new Hellenistic historical after a long hiatus.

DJR: What advice would you give an aspiring writer?

HT: Write. Finish. Submit. Keep submitting. Keep doing all that stuff. It's how you learn your licks.

DJR: Any thoughts on the Lace and Blade series or this being its final volume?

HT: The series has been highly enjoyable.  I wish there were more.

Harry Turtledove says he is an escaped Byzantine historian. He has made a poor but none too honest living writing fantasy, science fiction, and, when he can get away with it, historical fiction. Being named “The Master of Alternative History” by Publisher’s Weekly has not impacted his modesty in the least. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife — fellow writer Laura Frankos (who is equally but differently delightful) — and three overprivileged cats.  Three daughters and two granddaughters round out the brood.  If you like, he can annoy you on Twitter @HNTurtledove.

I should add that he's very tall. Or I'm very short.