Risingshadow has had the honour of interviewing Melanie R. Meadors.
Melanie R. Meadors is an author of science fiction and fantasy, blogger at theonceandfuturepodcast.com, and a professional author publicist. She is also the editor of Hath No Fury, an anthology currently on Kickstarter. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, and on Facebook and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.
AN INTERVIEW WITH MELANIE R. MEADORS ABOUT THE HATH NO FURY ANTHOLOGY
- Could you tell us something about yourself in your own words?
I’m a writer/publicist/blogger (and now editor!) who is a big science geek and a fan of so many things. I really get excited about fiction, games, movies… which I think helps me in all my professional areas. I’m a geek and proud of it.
- You're the co-editor of the forthcoming anthology, Hath No Fury (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jmmartin/hath-no-fury-an-anthology-where-women-take-the-lea). What inspired you to co-edit this anthology with J.M. Martin?
This is a subject about which I’m pretty passionate, so when Joe Martin invited me to take part, it was almost an immediate yes from me. Speculative fiction with awesome female characters? Sign me up!
- What kind of an anthology is Hath No Fury? How does it differ from other new speculative fiction anthologies?
Hath No Fury features speculative fiction stories that showcase strong female characters. And these characters aren’t just strong in the physical sense. Stories in this collection have women taking control of their lives, fighting for what they believe and love, and protecting that which is important to them, all in different ways. Some are strong and silent, some are outspoken and take action, some hold quiet fury until the right moment. These are stories that are by both women and men, that everyone can enjoy. This book will also have some essays by some great people in the industry (Robin Hobb, Sarah Kuhn, K Tempest Bradford, and more!), and then some micro tales of real women in history who proved that these strong women don’t just exist in fiction. It’s my hope that not only are women inspired by these characters, and that girls can see the things women are capable of, but that men will be as well. It’s a book for everyone.
- What can speculative fiction readers expect from this anthology?
We invited some of the top people in the genre to take part in this book. So there will be top quality stories by Seanan McGuire, Carol Berg, William C. Dietz, Lian Hearn, Elaine Cunningham and many more. We have epic fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction, and stories with monsters. There are stories with laughter and those with tears. I’m really proud of the collection we have—I think almost everyone will find something that appeals to them within its pages.
- How did you choose the stories that are featured in Hath No Fury? Did you have open story submissions or did you approach authors directly?
We approached the authors directly. It was important to us that we had top notch quality in this book to begin with, and also we wanted to make sure we invited authors who really embraced the spirit of the anthology with their prior works. We wanted there to be a blend of bestselling authors with mid-list people as well as a couple of newer people. If we reach a stretch goal of $26,000 with the Kickstarter, however, there WILL be open submissions, where we will accept a couple new stories.
- Did you give any guidelines to the authors?
Yes: Write a really awesome story that features a female protagonist. Guy characters are fine, but we really wanted women in the driver’s seat for this one. We had the authors think of characters like Ellen Ripley from Alien, Furiosa from Mad Max Fury Road, Joan of Arc, Hermione from Harry Potter. And we wanted a target of about 7,000 words or so. As far as guidelines for content, as long as it was necessary for the story, we were open to pretty much anything, but if it crossed the line into gratuitous, we’d make a note, but it really wasn’t an issue. This is part of why we chose authors who were really good at what they do. Good writers have a sixth sense about what is necessary for a story.
- What has been the most challenging part of editing and producing this anthology? And what has been the most rewarding part of this project?
I think cultivating the author list was one of the most difficult things. We invited so many authors who just couldn’t take part, and often these were the authors we most wanted. Women and minorities were a very high priority of mine, and so many people responded that they were very excited about the project, but they just had too many commitments with family and other projects and day jobs. We had some great folks lined up who had to cancel due to timing, and that was tough. But at the same time, the challenge also made it the most rewarding part for me. I worked hard to get the balance that is in the book, and I am proud of it. Could it be better? Yes. But looking at my invitation list, I think I can say that I really did the best I could.
- When will this anthology be published?
We are looking at Spring of 2017.
- Will you edit similar kind of anthologies in the near future?
I hope so! I have some great ideas and would love to see them come to fruition.
- Is there anything you'd like to add?
I hope, if people liked what they read here, they will consider backing the Kickstarter for Hath No Fury. We are fully funded but have some awesome things still coming up as stretch goals. I’m really excited to watch this campaign grow!