New Zealand author Philippa (Pip) Ballantine can only be considered a rising star in the world of speculative fiction. From relatively humble beginnings, with her first novel Chasing the Bard, brought out by well-respected independent publisher Dragon Moon Press in 2005, to now two multi-book deals with major houses -- Ace and HarperVoyager, if you please -- she also has gained an extensive and enthusiastic following with her enormously popular podcast novels.
Here, in the run up to her latest release (written with Tee Morris), Ballantine talks the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, last year’s phenomenal Geist, podcasting, and -- as a proud Kiwi -- just what role she would’ve liked to play in The Lord of the Rings…
GS: To kick us off, tell us how you’d describe your new novel, Phoenix Rising.
PB: Phoenix Rising is a steampunk romp. Think The X-files but set in Victorian England. It's about a New Zealand secret agent, Eliza Braun, who works for the clandestine organization the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. After an unfortunate incident involving explosives and Antarctica, she is demoted to the Archives of the Ministry. Here she meets the archivist Wellington Thornhill Books, and a cache of unresolved cases. Before long she's convinced him to look into one that involves a series of grisly murders, a secret society and her previous partner.
GS: This is your first foray into steampunk; what drew you to the genre?
PB: I've always been a history buff; Chasing the Bard explored Shakespeare and the Fey. Steampunk is similar. It is history, but it is not. It's also a genre that has a beautiful esthetic to go with it, as well as being one that is very flexible. It can be dark and dystopian, and then light and fun. It's set in a time where technology was capable of being understood by the common man but the world had still been unexplored; there were wild places where anything could exist.
GS: Wellington and Eliza are two truly enchanting creations, full of wit and determination, and they have this slyly sexy Steed and Peel kind of vibe... do you have a favorite, of the two?
PB: In all honestly... no. I love them both. Wellington is the more tightly wound of the two, and that can be a riot to write for. Eliza is so spontaneous that she gets them often into trouble. She also has an uncomfortable habit of saying what she is thinking. The best bit of all is when they are together and bounce off each other—at least verbally!
GS: I assume Wellington is named after your hometown?
PB:
I'd like to think that was how it happened. However, my
co-writer Tee Morris [of Morevi fame - Ed.] tells me that he wanted to come up
with a tongue twister of a name, and have it sound
extremely British. this is what he came up with. When we
came up with the names for Eliza and Wellington, we
wanted to do a play on the cliché
"Books and Brawn" and
hence came Agents Books and Braun. We even have Dr.
Sound comment on their pairing.GS: I’m always fascinated by how such collaborations actually work. To start with, how did you end up writing this one together? Did one of you have the idea, and then the other one jumped on the bandwagon, or was there a more studied plan? Like, you decided to write a book together, and then The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences came out of that?
PB: Complicated isn't the word for how this thing started. We'd been kicking about an idea on collaborating with a novel Tee had, which involved a person from our time going back to work with this Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. That idea has yet to get off the ground, but it gave me inspiration for when I was contemplating back in 2008 doing a fiction podcast for pay. Another idea that didn't happen. However when our agent got interest in this story concept we were working on, it changed from a podcast to a novel.
The whole thing will be complete if we get to do an audio version—which could happen if sales are good enough.
GS: You’ve worked with Tee a lot over the years; he’s appeared in your podcasts and you seem to have an almost symbiotic relationship, creatively. How did you first meet? And what happened next?
PB:
The joy of podcasting is you develop a lot of personal
relationships with other podcast novelists. We all help
each other out; promoting each other, providing voice
talent for each other. I first talked to Tee back in
2004 before Chasing the Bard came out. We were in the
same independent publisher, and it was he that got me
into podcasting. We didn’t actually meet in person until
2006 when we did a book signing together.However it wasn't until 2008 that we started kicking around the idea of collaborating with each other on a book. All of this done while in different hemispheres. It’s a strange and wonderful thing.
GS: Speaking of podcasts… your first novel was published in 2005, which you then re-published, via podcast, in 2007. How exactly did this come about?
PB: Podcasting Chasing the Bard was a great way to market the sequel; in fact I just wrapped up the podcast of the sequel, Digital Magic. Both projects were hard work, but a lot of fun. And yes, I blame Tee Morris for bringing me into the world of audio production.
GS: What effect do you think the podcasting of first Chasing the Bard, and then Digital Magic, has had on your career as a writer?
PB: I think being a podcast novelist taught me a lot of things about marketing, but it also helped me build an audience. When it came to signing my first New York contract with a publisher, that fan base became a selling point. It also helped me make a lot of friends who have supported me, inspired me and kicked me along the path to being a full-time writer. I honestly don’t know where I would be if I had not got involved with podcasting. I don’t even know if I would be writing at all.
GS: What’s the difference between a podcast novel and an audiobook? Is there one? Does one perhaps have more street cred than the other?
PB: A podcast novel is serialized in a way similar to old time radio shows. An audiobook is usually one file that isn't broken up. Podcast novels when they are being produced usually drop on a set schedule, say once a week. Both have their advantages, but I like to think podcast fiction increases that appetite of an audience. Like a dinner where each course is bought out one at a time. You can find some great published and unpublished works, in their entirety for free on podiobooks.com
GS:
You also have the new “official” Anthology of the
Ministry, Tales from the Archives, which you have just
begun podcasting. The first short story is yours (and
it’s awesome), but to follow you have a raft of writers
lined up to bring episodes of Ministry doings…
before the first book establishing this world is
even published. It’s nice to see a writer so confident
in their own creation. Indeed, your 2010 novel,
Geist,
also has its own anthology podcast series,
The
Chronicles of the Order. Tell me what the process is
like for you, soliciting and then reading this kind of
author-sanctioned fan fiction. Have you received any
submission that enraged you with the merry hell someone
played with either of your worlds?PB: Luckily I have been blessed with a core of fine friends and fellow writers to call on for both anthologies. So I don't really call it fan fiction—since fan fiction is generally unauthorized, and we are deeply involved in this anthology. Since I know these people and their writing Tee and I trusted them to jump into our world. However we did reserve the right to edit the stories to keep them within the parameters of our creation. It has actually been lots of fun seeing what people have come up with, and we always love reading the stories as they come in. Every writer has different styles and ideas, but it is remarkable how they have fitted into our mythos. We are very lucky to have these kind of friends.
GS: I have to tell you that I am absolutely in love with Geist. In it you have created such a wonderfully unusual fantasy realm. It’s all High Kings and runes and swordplay -- but also airships and guns! Was this something you had long considered… that there just weren’t enough bullets flying in Fantasy?
PB: I have always adored Fantasy, but anchoring it purely in some pseudo-medieval setting has always seemed rather limiting to me. I wanted to shove my historical touchstone forward a little bit for Geist. Bullets and guns really make as much difference on the supernatural as do swords -- not at all! However they do change the flavor of the world, and make warfare (should there be some) far more of a high stakes business. We shall see how that unfolds in future books.
GS:
You also give us quite an unusual heroine: nearing
forty, powerful but prickly, in an unhappy marriage,
beautiful but more scary than anything, Deacon Sorcha
Faris isn’t exactly in the common way. Where did she
come from? PB: Sorcha is how I imagine the strong young heroines of other fantasy might have aged. Being all powerful has consequences, and Sorcha's initial arrogance is an example of it. She isn't an easy person to live with, and her new partner Merrick is on the receiving end of it for a bit of the first book. Her upbringing in a closeted environment within the Order, and her natural power and abilities have shaped her into this prickly person. However you are never too old to change, and as she spends time with Merrick, he begins to open her eyes to many things.
GS: I used to live in Singapore, so I loved that you had a merlion as the symbol of the royal house. (The mythological creature was made up by the Singapore Tourist Board in the 1960’s.) Is that where you got the idea?
PB: It probably is. Honestly writers are such magpies, picking up ideas, dropping them into their nest of a brain and leaving them there for awhile. I know I wanted a cat-based shape shifter, but one that had advantages in land, sea and air. And I have been to Singapore, so probably that imagery stuck.
GS: Geist also has a simply beautiful cover, as does its sequel, Spectyr (due out later this year). And when you made your earlier books available as e-books, they received new cover designs. Just how important do you think a book’s cover is? And how much say do you get in them?
PB: Covers are important. Even in e-books people do judge the quality of what is inside on what they first see. I was really lucky with Geist in that my editor and the artist the amazing Jason Chan, worked together so that the cover made sense in the context of the book. Jason also go Sorcha's expression just right.
I had always heard about how authors in New York publishers don’t get a say, and I don’t know if this is a recent change, but both with Ace and Harper Voyager I (and Tee) had input. We got to give them ideas, send them imagery to inspire the artists, and even color palettes. The marketing team are professionals, and know what sells and what makes a good cover, but it was certainly very pleasant to have input as we did.
GS:
Speaking of Spectyr… without spoiling anything,
what can you tell us about it?PB: Spectyr examines the role of gods in a world full of the supernatural. Sorcha, Merrick and Raed must also deal with the consequences of the Bond they created in Geist. We get to see another part of the Empire, and we get a little insight into Merrick’s past, plus a hint at his future.
I can’t say however that the characters have a fun time…well, not for the entire book!
GS: How many books of the Order do you plan? Do you have a definite ending in mind, or could this be one of those endless series that never sees a conclusion? (*cough*Song of Ice and Fire*cough*)
PB: Orginally it was a two book deal, but shortly after Geist came out, they signed me for another two. So that is four in total. Geist, Spectyr, Wrayth, and Harbinger. However, I would never say no to a few more adventures there, so if Ace needs some more time with Merrick, Sorcha and Raed I'd be happy to oblige.
GS: What about the Ministry? How many books can we expect detailing its peculiar occurrences?
PB: As with anything it’s a matter of how well the books are received. Harper Voyager has us contracted for two books, but hopefully people like them enough that we'll get more. We certainly have plenty of ideas for more Ministry books -- including a couple of spin off ideas.
GS: What got you started writing… and, in particular, writing science fiction and fantasy. What was your gateway fandom or who was your inspirational author; what made you realize that this was where you wanted to play?
PB: My favorite authors fluctuate, but from an early age I loved the work of CJ Cherryh, Katharine Kerr, Elizabeth Moon, Tad Williams and David Gemmell.
I always give credit to my Dad. He nurtured a love of fantasy for me at a young age, by reading The Lord of the Rings as a bedtime story. Really, after that there was only one thing I wanted to do. Write my own stories.
GS:
It’s funny you mention Lord of the Rings, since
it’s difficult nowadays to think of New Zealand and
not think of Tolkien: I was in Wellington for the
premiere of Return of the King, and I overheard
someone say jokingly that everyone in New Zealand knew
someone who was in those movies. Do you?PB: Indeed I do. I worked in the library with a lady of Rohan and a couple of hobbits. I also have an ex-boyfriend who was a rider of Rohan, and a landlord who was a hobbit, too. It's a small country, and I think that is why we have really taken Peter Jackson’s work to heart.
GS: If you had been an extra in a Lord of the Rings movie, what part would you like to have played?
PB: I would loved to have been an elf, but unlikely to have got the chance at 5'2". Yes, far more likely to be a hobbit!
GS: Once you’d begun to write, how long was the road to publication? Did you find being from a small nation like New Zealand helpful, or a hindrance?
PB: I've been steadily working on getting published since 1997. I got my first novel e-published back in 2002, and then sold my next two books to Dragon Moon Press until finally I landed my first contract with Ace Books for Geist and Spectyr. Being a writer from New Zealander has never been an issue—thanks to the wonders of modern technology. In fact there is a bit of a flurry of New Zealand authors getting contracts in the States. I am hoping that eventually there will even be a place
for my fiction set in New Zealand to be published
there. I have podcast my magical alternate history, set
in New Zealand between the two World Wars, and there
seemed to be a real interest in it—but my agent and I
are still working on getting it published.GS: Elsewhere, you contributed to A Taste of True Blood: A Fangbanger’s Guide, one of those Smart Pop scholarly explorations of popular culture. (Big fan of Smart Pop here: Finding Serenity, Neptune Noir, etc.) Are there any other TV shows you’d like to write about for such a collection, or wish you’d written about? And what would you like to say?
PB: I'd love to write something about Doctor Who. I've been watching that series since I was a kid, and the changes from the old episodes to the new series would be fun to explore. I am also a fan of the TV series Spartacus. It’s probably a New Zealand thing, since it was shot here!
The Final 5 with Philippa Ballantine
Trek or Wars? Wars, but only the original three.
Marvel or DC? Marvel -- I always nurtured a desire to be Storm.
Vampires or Werewolves? Werewolves -- because I prefer warmth to the chill of the undead.
Dragons or Unicorns? That’s a hard one. When I was ten years old, unicorns, but now I would have to say dragons... who doesn't want to fly?!
Time Travel: Pro or Con? Pro. I would love to go back and see what really happened in several different time periods, meet my literary heroes and visit Shakespearian London. If I create a distortion in the space/time continuum, so be it!
--
Rachel HylandGeek Speak Magazine would like to thank Philippa Ballantine for her participation in this interview.
Further Reading:
Visit Philippa at her website: www.pjballantine.com
A review of Phoenix Rising
Other Author Interviews
♦ JACK CAMPBELL: Black Jack Calling, Issue 1, March 2010
♦ SHARON LEE AND STEVE MILLER: Val Con Came First, Issue 3, May 2010
♦ D. B. REYNOLDS: The Seduction Factor, Issue 4, June 2010
♦ DAVID WEBER: No One Gets a Free Pass, Issue 5, July 2010
♦ SEANAN MCGUIRE: Living the Fairy Tale, Issue 7, September 2010
♦ LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD: Inspiration is Everywhere, Issue 9, November 2010
♦ JASPER FFORDE: Confused? Excellent!, Issue 13, March 2011
Author Special Guest Contributors
♦ MOLLY HARPER: Funny, Southern and Undead-Centric, on writing vampire romance, Issue 4, June 2010
♦ MARIANNE DE PIERRES: Working for the Woman, on independent publishing, Issue 8, October 2010
♦ SEANAN MCGUIRE: Strangers No More, We Sing, on filking, Issue 11, January 2011
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