SPSFC 3 Author Interview—Joyce Reynolds-Ward

1.       What inspired the world, characters, or core concepts of your story? Was it a particular event, piece of media, or a speculative scientific idea?

This story has been in development in one form or another since the early ‘90s. I have a lot of allergies, and at some point had this thought…what if sensitivities/allergies allowed certain people to be early warning signs of environmental pollution problems? That plus a number of issues around Portland brought this story to life. An earlier, short story version, Canaries, earned a Writers of the Future Honorable Mention placement in…oh, I don’t remember, sometime around 2009-2010 or so. An additional novelette version involving running from the Pink Cats was also circulating. Then I combined the two stories for a publication that didn’t do very well. After that, I decided to completely rewrite the story, going back further than the original version to the discovery of Rianna and—not kill Bobby (which was part of the original version). I still struggled with the story until a couple of years ago, when I decided to do an even bigger rewrite and incorporate Mark LeBrand’s POV. That, along with Bobby’s survival and Bobby’s POV, really made the story come together.

2.       How did you approach the creation of your main characters? Were they modelled after real-life figures, or did they evolve organically as you explored the world of your story?

I rarely if ever model my characters after real-life figures. I’ll come up with a concept, then noodle around thinking about what motivates them, what they want or need, what skills they have, and then…throw them into the story and let them grow.

For example—Rianna’s extra-sensitive hearing came into the story late, but it had a use.

Often character development comes about through scenes. LeBrand’s being haunted by memories of his baby sister Carrie. Bobby’s search for his surviving family. Rianna’s desire to be the best at programming. All of those popped up in scenes, and became necessary parts of the story.

3.       Science fiction often delves into questions of ethics, technology, and humanity. What central theme or moral question does your story grapple with, and why did you feel it was essential to explore?

I spend a lot of time throughout my various works exploring the dynamics of political and personal power. In Beating the Apocalypse, a strong undercurrent and theme is the abuse of power to benefit those in charge, primarily for their profit. However, another dynamic I frequently write about is the ability and strength that exists in community, and the fact that it often takes a team to defeat the villain(s). Not a solo superhero or quasi-superhero, but a group cooperating to do their individual parts to overcome the problems of the story.

Essentially, however, Beating the Apocalypse is about the less powerful uniting to defeat the aims of the powerful—even within the dynamics of a homeless camp. It is a story where cooperation wins over competition.

4.       How did you approach the integration of futuristic technology or scientific concepts in your story? Did you base them on existing theories or let your imagination run wild?

Beating the Apocalypse has a lot of handwavium in it. The enclosure of North America is one thing that is probably never going to be feasible. The genetic modifications of the Canaries, the formation of the Clouds, all of that is my imagination running wild.

5.       The sci-fi genre provides a canvas to depict diverse cultures, species, and worlds. How have you incorporated representation and diversity in your work, and why do you think it's vital for the future of science fiction?

I absolutely believe that representation and diversity is crucial in science fiction. One of the reasons I extensively rewrote Beating the Apocalypse from its previous version was the death of Bobby in those earlier versions—who is Black, involved with a white woman, Rianna. That rewrite reflects my changing awareness with regard to diversity, influenced by reading Steven Barnes, Nnedi Okorafor, and N.K. Jemisin, amongst others. The book is better with Bobby in it and with his point of view.

In my other works, I also try to represent diversity not just in reflecting phenotype differences (i.e., skin color, conformation, etc, what is generally termed as “race”) but gender, sexual orientation, and class differences, when I can. It’s an evolving process as I evolve and grow—and, as a person in my mid-sixties, I firmly believe that age is no limitation, either. I do my best to be aware and broaden my acceptance of differences.

There are some things I would like to write that I won’t, simply because it is not my place to appropriate those voices. I also wrestle with the realities of my settler heritage and try to reconcile the reality of my descent from early North American Western settlers with my growing awareness. I like to think that this awareness shapes my writing—at least, I hope it does.

6.       Every author has a unique writing process. Can you share a bit about yours? How do you manage world-building, plot progression, and character dynamics in such a complex genre?

It really depends on the project and what is going on in my life at the moment. I’m heading into some times when I’m going to be juggling a bunch of things, so I’m currently writing chapter synopses for two different trilogies, one science fiction western, the other fantasy.

I start by building characters in a world. I do enough worldbuilding to keep the story consistent, but I’m much more concerned about plot progression and character dynamics than I am about the minute details of the world I’m creating. Those are actually easier for me, and I just keep track of them in relevant folders under the Research tab in Scrivener.

Depending on the world, I may create a timeline. These days, anything that I might need to have in a quick, on-the-fly reference for drafting goes under Research in Scrivener. I have Scriv open to check with synopses and with previous chapters, and do chapter drafting in Word. Then I put the chapter into Scriv and go to the next one.

Plot progression is the incorporation of character arcs into the story being told. I’ve written enough books that I pretty much have the pacing of sub-plots and problem solutions somewhat figured out.

Characters—well, sometimes I come up with short snippets about what they’re doing in relatively mundane situations, which will happen whether you’re in the far future, a fantastical world, or near future. People still have to think about clothing. About what they’re going to do that way. Preparing food. Doing chores. How they approach those details of their lives is going to reflect in how their characters act in other situations—does Fred lose his temper easily? Can Joan scroll by a shoe ad? How do they approach feeding themselves? Dressing? All of that stuff fits into daily life of a character, but it also provides a clue as to how that character is going to react to the big stuff. Or…it draws attention when they don’t react in the way you would expect.

7.       What's next for you after SPSFC? Are there any upcoming projects you can share with us?

I am currently preparing to be working on two drastically different projects, both involving at least three books. One is set in my Martiniere Multiverse world, and is intended to be the final word in resolving the assorted situations there with digital thought clones crossing multiverses, a megalomaniac out to kill less toxic versions of himself in other universes so that he can dominate the Multiverse (never a good thing), mind control technology, all against a near-future contemporary Western setting.

The other trilogy is a continuation of my Goddess’s Honor series, called Goddess’s Vision. It picks up some loose threads from Goddess’s Honor, where the fallout from a war between the Seven Crowned Gods that happened to pull in humans continues to reverberate in that world—including the fall of an empire, the creation of new political alliances, and dealing with an old but still quite malign threat that triggered the war between the Seven Crowned Gods in the first place.

Beyond that? Who knows? I suspect these projects will keep me busy into 2025. However, I reserve the right to be surprised by something my brain pops up at me. The Martiniere books happened to disrupt previous long-term writing plans. I can’t guarantee that something else like that might not occur. I may dip into some Weird West stories—I have some on the back burner that I keep poking at, but none have said that they’re ready to roll. Yet. We shall see what happens.