Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #19 October 2015 | Page 25

pulp. I recently had a short story published in Baby
Shoes flash fiction anthology. In retrospect I edited
that one a lot more than I edit novels, because it was
so short that every word had to have an impact.
One process I have done recently is to write
down the stories from my teenage years. I had quite a
few pretty cool adventures when I was growing up in
Montana – as my dad worked for the Geological Survey and he was an avid outdoorsman. We did a lot of
crazy things. Writing down those stories has put me
in-touch with my teenage self. They’re really only for
me and my older brother, but I’ve enjoyed doing it.

Do you prefer the long or short form?
I like both. In the long form, you can really get
to know the characters, but on the downside, I have
read so many novels recently that are mostly dialogue
and romantic interlude. It’s like authors have run
out of ideas for action. A short story can be a way to
explore a really crazy character that you may want to
keep for later. Or maybe you want to avoid that character, get away from him.

Which character in your books do you most
identify with and why?
I identify with Dagr and Ingrid, they’re a bit
like different parts of my personality. Dagr is the
second born son of a noble, and as such he’s always
got the least inheritance and the most tasks put to him.
He’s been forced into a very difficult military unit,
yet he goes along without complaint. That’s how I
was growing up, mom doted on my older brother and
ignored me. I went into the military so I could pay
for college, and I didn’t complain. Dagr is a guy who
grew up in a military culture and it made him who he
is, yet he’s finding that a lot of education got left out.
He does not understand how to relate to women or
how to behave in polite company.

slavery. She’s sensitive and smart, the kind of person
who watches and notices everything. She seems that
ghosts are rising below the city of Othanga Nexus
before anyone else. And she will grow to eventually be
the answer to the problems that their people have.

of?

Which bit of your writing are you most proud

I came up with great monsters and wicked
situations. I am proud I wrote a book where people
can test their imagination and visualization skills. I
tried not to give the whole answer, the whole picture,
but allow the reader to imagine this exotic place for
themselves.

Tell us a bit about how you got published?
Did you go via a slush pile? Get an agent before a
publisher?
I simply queried Zhamae Publishing. They
liked my first twenty pages and we had a deal rather
quickly. But to get to that point, I read a lot of books
on writing. I have a library of maybe thirty books on
writing. Getting those first 5-10 pages down was critical to being published. I do not have an agent.
Gudrod Hanson is a pen name. Gudrod is the
Hunter in Norse mythology.

In one sentence what is your best piece of
advice for new writers?
When something is not working, don’t keep
polishing a turd;