March 2006--Volume IV, Issue 3
In 2006, Steven Savile has no less than four books coming out from major publishers here in the US: Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology: Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Inheritance, Dominion, and the first book in his Slaine Trilogy.

Alethea Kontis: Mr. Savile, you were the very first interview for the Genre Chick's column. In the immortal words of Virginia Slim: you've come a long way, baby. What has happened for you in the last year and a half?
Steven Savile: Wow, the last 18 months? It has all been a bit of a blur I have to admit. Let's put it this way, if you had told me back then that I'd have 4 mass market novels in the UK (Inheritance, Dominion, and Redemption--collectively making up The von Carstein Trilogy--and Slaine: The Exile) and one hardcover anthology, introduced by Arthur C. Clarke (Elemental) out from Tor in the US within three years, I think I would have called the men in long white coats to have you taken away. If you'd dared suggest I would be working with Stel Pavlou, a New York Times bestselling author on a TV series and a graphic novel/novelisation, I'd have rattled on your noggin (that's BritSpeak for head) to check if it was hollow. If you'd dared to suggest I'd be sharing a Table of Contents with Stephen King, Peter Straub, Joyce Carol Oates and Harlan Ellison (Writing Horror: Handbook of the Horror Writer's Association, Revised & Expanded Edition), I'd have asked to see your passport to make sure you weren't in fact invaders from Mars. If, after all, you had had the temerity to suggest that I'd be working on Dr Who, seeing myself translated into Swedish, Spanish, French and German within another year and be holding contracts for four more books with negotiations going on for two new projects I would have known then, for sure, that I had stumbled into The Twilight Zone. That's been my life over the last 18 months. Reading it now, it boggles my mind. I think I am in the process of becoming an overnight success--pretty good going for a guy who has been writing for 15 years, wouldn't you say?

AK: Do you attend a lot of conventions?
SS: I go to a few regularly, like the British Fantasy Society Convention, which is a humble little thing where no one dresses up and we all sit in the bar talking rubbish. Very writerly. I do Games Day--which is the big Games Workshop convention where they do the tabletop wargaming. And I've done Dragon*con and Chattacon. Writing is a very isolated business. Having been a teacher for 10 years, I still crave that human contact and love an audience. What can I say, I've got a bit of a performer in me...

AK: When do you find time to write?
SS: I now write full time--it's my day job. It pays the bills. It has stopped being a thing of love and become a way of life. I work in a fairly structured manner. I like to get up, do my e-mails, catch up with friends on the net and clear my head while I have that first caffeinated drink of the day. Then I will stick on some music and bop around while I wash, dress, and get ready (and yes I sing while doing the bopping). With the rituals done, I settle down and write four pages before lunch. Then I eat and get some fresh air. I'll walk down to my local coffee shop for a vanilla latte (it's an addiction) and take the laptop, catch up on e-mails, talk to my editor, and plot and scheme for books well off over the event horizon. Then I will write another four pages before heading home to eat and sprawl out on the couch watching TV. Well, not quite true. I watch DVDs, not TV. I have a few series of shows from the BBC I love, like Teachers and Coupling. I tend to shy away from genre shows now that I spend my day immersed in fantasies. After that, I probably write another two or three hours before bed and it all begins again. It isn't very romantic really. And certainly I push myself harder than I ever did as a teacher. It's the threat of starvation. It has that effect on you.

AK: What new obsessions have you discovered that you have?
SS: Oh boy. Obsessions? Have you seen that little counter on Amazon that tells you how popular you are? It goes up and down hourly. Fascinating stuff. Soul suckingly fascinating stuff. I found myself watching Elemental as it hit the Amazon bestsellers list when it was first announced. I couldn't take my eyes off it, watching those numbers ticking over. Then there is this neat little feature on my Web site where I can see what country visitors come from. I am amazed at the diversity of readers I have these days. And don't talk about Google. Put your name in and see what happens. The last time I did that there were 36,300 hits for my name. That's a lot of people talking about your work, reviewing your work. Then you have Feedster.com. A friend introduced me to it. You can see who is talking about you on their blogs. The net is ridiculous. I am thinking of hiding my Internet connection so I can get more work done! But there are perks as well. Some kids in England built me a castle on the Internet as a Christmas present. And I have just launched http://www.stevensavile.com. Obsessions? Nah, not when I come to think of it. You know, apart from looking to see who is picking up Inheritance and Elemental, and talking about--I'll shut up now on the grounds that anything else I say may incriminate me.