Author Interview: Ekaterina Sedia

Listen to the interview here!

Tell me a little about yourself and your writing.
I teach at a state liberal arts college (I'm a biologist by trade), and I write lots of fantasy and SF – both short stories and books. My third novel is coming out this June, and my fourth one – early in 2009, both from Prime books.

[Editor's note: Her novel A Secret History of Moscow was published in 2007. Ekaterina’s short stories have appeared in Baen’s Universe and Fantasy Magazine, and she is the editor of Paper Cities: The Anthology of Urban Fantasy.]

Tell me about the story that you've created a soundtrack/playlist for.
It's for THE ALCHEMY OF STONE, the novel comes out this month. It's really a love story with anarchy, automatons and gargoyles, and alchemy. I guess it could be classified as steampunk or clockpunk, and I think it is a good book.

What is your playlist? Why did you choose these songs?
Since it's a novel, I should probably list entire albums.

1. Vivaldi - Four Seasons
2. Tom Waits- Raindogs
3. Elvis Costello and The Brodsky Quartet - The Juliet Letters
4. Tom Waits - The Black Rider
5. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads
6. JS Bach - Well-Tempered Clavier (all of it)
7. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Boatman's Call
8. The Clash - London Calling
9. Henry Purcell - Te Deum and Jubilate

I chose these because I like them, and they all create a dense melancholy atmosphere. Plus, many of them are either about horrible love or decay, both of which feature prominently in the book.

What does music mean to you? To your writing?
I like it. I never became a connoisseur, but I do enjoy quite a bit of it. I worked in a record store at some point in my youth, and basically ended up grabbing whatever played in the store and sounded good to me. I prefer to write to instrumental music or no music at all, but occasionally I play other things, especially when I'm trying to get myself into a certain frame of mind.

What kind of music do you like to write to?
Instrumental and baroque – pleasant and not intrusive. Or, you know, really heavy industrial music. Depends on the moods and/or project.

If this story was made into a movie, who would you want to do the soundtrack?
Michael Nyman, of course, although I do object to the notion that books should be made into movies.

To learn more about Ekaterina, visit her website.

Next week, I interview author Mark Teppo.