Fanning the media flames

I work for Texas State University, in the media relations department. We put out new releases when our professors have books published, or present research papers, or are invited into certain literary anthologies. Well, as of now, we also put out releases when media relations staff members publish science fiction books:

Voices of Vision examines speculative fiction with a Texas State lens

SAN MARCOS – Science fiction, fantasy and graphic novels are among today’s hottest properties nationwide in bookstores and cinemas alike, and the new interview collection, Voices of Vision: Creators of Science Fiction and Fantasy Speak, works to peel back the curtain and expose the inner working of what makes the genre tick.

Authored by Texas State University-San Marcos media relations specialist Jayme Lynn Blaschke, the book gathers 17 conversations conducted with some of the top writers and editors working today. The book was recently published by the University of Nebraska Press, as part of its Bison Frontiers of the Imagination Series.

“I’ve been very, very privileged to sit down with so many talented artists over the years,” Blaschke said. “It’s humbling, frankly, to look at the table of contents and see all those important names. I still find the discussions fascinating. These aren’t people reciting the same tired answers time again--they have something to say.”

Several interviews have been revised and significantly expanded for publication, and the interview with current Science Fiction Weekly and former Science Fiction Age editor Scott Edelman appears in print for the first time.

“Occasionally you run up against length limits when you’re writing for a magazine, and have to make edits to fit the space available. I always hate to do that, but sometimes there’s no way to avoid it,” Blaschke said. “Fortunately, preparing the interviews for the book offered me the perfect opportunity to restore the missing sections.

“Now readers and fans will finally get to see the thoughts Harlan Ellison shared with me about working on the TV series Babylon 5 and Hollywood in general. Elizabeth Moon gets to discuss her novel Once a Hero and some other projects,” he said. “The biggest addition, of course, is the Edelman interview. I don’t think a full account of the origins and launch of Science Fiction Age has appeared anywhere before.”

The wide-ranging interviews are by turns intimate and thought provoking, irreverent and outrageous. Blaschke talks shop with writers such as Robin Hobb, Charles de Lint and Patricia Anthony; revered authors of comic books and graphic novels, including Neil Gaiman, Frank Cho and Brad Meltzer; and icons such as Samuel R. Delany, Gene Wolfe and Jack Williamson. Editors such as Gardner Dozois, formerly of Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine and Gordon van Gelder, of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, discuss their publishing philosophies and strategies, the origins and probable directions of their magazines and the broader influence of such ventures. For devoted reader, aspiring writer, and curious onlooker alike, these interviews open a largely hidden, endlessly engrossing world.

All I can say is that it's nice to have resources such as these to draw upon. Hopefully, I'll have some positive news to report here before too long regarding my efforts to set up some book siginings in the area.

Now Playing: Aerosmith Greatest Hits