Quick Six Interview: Chuck Wendig
Chuck Wendig has written a lot of great stuff. Everything from Young Adult novels (The Atlanta Burns series, the Heartland Trilogy) to more actual adult series like the Miriam Black books, Zer0es and Invasive, Star Wars books and so many more. His blog is widely read and shared everywhere, even by Margaret Atwood.
His most recent book we’ve reviewed is Invasive, and it was a creepy crawly suspense masterpiece.
We caught up with him for a Quick Six Interview:
What inspires you recently?
The terror of modern life!
Who decides on your book cover art?
Generally, the publisher, though they’re usually very good about giving me a say.
What is an artist’s relationship to their publisher? What is yours?
The publisher is an ally and an agitator in (ideally) the best way – helping to direct and agitate the best story. And the best story for me and the readers translates hopefully to more sales for the publisher.
What do you do when you aren’t actively writing?
I’m passively writing inside my head.
How do you know when a book is finished?
As the saying goes, a book is never finished, but merely abandoned. My deadlines tend to dictate when I abandon it.
What book is your touchstone?
As in, of my own? Blackbirds. Of someone else’s? That changes day to day.
If you could spend a weekend with a fictional character in your world or theirs, who would it be?
I’d spend time with the Star Wars universe, hanging out with Han Solo. Because c’mon.
Any film/tv adaptations either make you cringe or make you think, they nailed it?
The Expanse series on SyFy totally nails the books. They should be the model by which all are compared.
What’s next for you?
Three more Miriam Black books, coming up in 2017…
Invasive review excerpt from Pop Culture Beast, 2016:
Hannah Stander is a futurist working as a consultant for the FBI. She gets a call from Agent Hollis Copper about a grisly scene that they’re not even sure is murder–but it’s weird enough that she needs to have a look.
A dead body stripped of much of its skin and about a thousand dead ants await her at the crime scene–ants that after examination, an entomologist tells her they shouldn’t exist. Someone has genetically engineered these ants and used them for murder. (Click to Continue)
Zer0es review excerpt from Pop Culture Beast, 2015:
Five hackers are shanghaied by the government. An Anonymous style exposer-of-secrets, an arab spring hacktivist, a black hat thief, a troll, and a conspiracy theory loving cypherpunk–an odd group, certainly. But they were chosen carefully.
After their abduction to a location known as ‘The Lodge”, they are told they can hack for the government for a year, or go to federal prison. They dub themselves ‘The Zeroes’. (Click to Continue)
Quick Six Interview: Pop Culture Beast lets artists choose from our standard ten questions – and we let them tell you what they’d like you to know.
Check out our other Quick Six Interviews.
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Cherie Priest does housework on the weekends
Dar Williams admits she wishes she wrote “Endless Love”
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.