2D Appearances

• Part one of a video interview with The Storiers, which they've titillatingly titled Sex, Culture & Homework.
• An ongoing discussion with the Novelociraptors, a group of sci-fi and fantasy novelists who discuss writing, reading, etc. New topics crop up every week. Some faves: What’s your favorite alien race? What’s your favorite fantasy world? What would your office look like if it were made out of LEGO?

• A chat with SFSignal about doing philosophy through fiction, and about what happens when Cinderella gets a ninja master instead of a fairy godmother.

• The latest interview with Fantasy Book Critic, where I reveal the title of book three of the Fated Blades!

• An interview with Literal Addiction, in which Plato, Mark Twain, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Darth Vader, and the Buddha all make cameo appearances.

• Introductions to Tokyo’s only female police detective and to the pearl diver with the heart of a lion, courtesy of Christine Amsden’s Characters Welcome series.

• The latest interview with The Qwillery. (I did an interview about Daughter of the Sword too.) This time we talk about how much of Year of the Demon is historically accurate and how much is pure fiction. Also, we talk about why I wish I could get Mariko to behave herself.

• An interview with E.J. Stevens at From the Shadows, where I offer my two cents on using the Force in the UFC circuit and why I’d like to resurrect Alec Guinness.

• An interview with Book Chick City as a part of their Debut Author Spotlightseries. This interview holds the record for the shortest question asked of me, followed by the shortest answer I’ve ever given (about verbosity, ironically enough).

• Born in Japan: a short essay on how weathering a typhoon in a rickety apartment in Japan gave birth to the Fated Blades--plus, better yet, the first two chapters of Daughter of the Sword for free!

• An interview at Sci Fi Fan Letter with Jessica Strider, possibly a relative of Aragorn’s, and definitely a bookseller at the World’s Biggest Bookstore in Toronto.

• Storyweaving: A little ditty on George R.R. Martin, The Wire, and how they opened the door for Daughter of the Sword, which isn’t really one story, but more like four stories woven into one.

• How to write historical fiction without being a history major: A guest post on All Things Urban Fantasy. The title is pretty self-explanatory.

• Japanese Police Work 101: A brief overview on how law enforcement is different in Japan than it is in the States, and why that was really important in writing Daughter of the Sword.

• Eating Authors: Not a recommendation for how to get ahead in publishing by devouring your competition. Author and editor Lawrence M. Schoen runs a series called “Eating Authors” on his blog, where he asks authors to recall their most memorable meal. You’ll find mine by clicking on the link.

• An interview with Fantasy Book Critic about influences, what makes for good fantasy (in my opinion, anyway), and what I’ll be writing next.

• The Fighter in the Writer: a three-part series on how making a hobby of getting punched, kicked, stabbed, smashed, and choked has made me a better writer. Find the three installments at Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, A Book Obsession, and Night Owl Reviews.

• A little Q&A on how to juggle writing as a scholar and as a novelist at the same time. (On the same page with Justin Cronin and Iain M. Banks! Pretty sweet!)

• An interview with Matt Mikalatos about how I researched the Fated Blades stories, plus two beautiful things I admire about Japanese culture.

• An interview with the Qwillery (which chose me as the October entry for their very cool Debut Author Challenge), about swinging swords around in my house, and about what inspired Daughter of the Sword.

• One Sword to Rule Them All? A little ditty for a Tolkien Week celebration, posted on Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday, about how J.R.R. Tolkien has influenced my writing.

• Why Swords? A guest post on the Qwillery about why I think swords still have the power to fascinate us.

• An interview with Luc Reid about how to handle diverse characters with very different worldviews.