Tales of Wonder is the latest anthology from Inklings Press - and the mastermind behind this collection is Ricardo Victoria, who has long been a keen fan of the genre. Ricardo's a familiar face around here, of course, but he sat down for a chat about the new book, his inspirations and what comes next.
Hey
Ricardo, and welcome back to the blog! Now, you’re very much in the
spotlight at the moment thanks to Tales of Wonder. Science fantasy is
very much your genre, so how does it feel to be in the editor in
chief’s chair for the anthology?
Excited and nervous at the same time. It’s a huge responsibility as this is
our 5th anthology and comes after what we
consider a massive success for such a young enterprise, which is Tales From Alternate Earths. This book has to do at least as well as the last
one (I hope better, no offense Brent). And given that the science fantasy genre has been a tough sell lately, and my debut novel lies
in that genre, it motivates me to make it work. It has also been humbling in terms of learning what works, what doesn’t and to
defend my opinion on the matter.
Some
readers might not know a huge amount about science fantasy – though
it’s a genre that’s been around a long time. How do you define
the genre, and what examples can you give of familiar stories within
it?
Tales
of Wonder has a better and more detailed explanation of science
fantasy, so to put it succinctly, it’s the mix of the impossible of
fantasy and the improbable of science fiction to narrate the journeys
of characters towards self-discovery in a setting that is more
flexible and imaginative.
The
genre must be by now close to a century old, believe it or not. But
under different names, such as weird fiction, or the planetary
romances by Burroughs. But the most well known story in the genre is
Star Wars. You have the classic epic fantasy tale but instead of
dragons you have space ships and instead of wizards you have the Jedi
and the Sith. There are other examples, such as Avatar the Last Airbender, most 80s cartoons and the plethora of Japanese RPGs such as Final Fantasy.
So,
really, that’s some of the biggest names in sci-fi, with things
like Star Wars and Avatar and such! What makes you love it so much?
The
creative freedom it provides being able to mix science and magic. It
allows me to cast away any self-imposed restrictions (except creating
a coherent world) and tell a story the way I want. It’s less
clinical and more about feeling what works and what doesn’t. It is
made of dreams and I have pretty vivid, weird and awesome dreams. It
is fair to put them on paper and share them.
This
is a good sample for readers ahead of your novel, Tempest Blades,
which I know is finished and just awaiting an editor’s (cough, my)
pen on it. How well do you think your story in Tales of Wonder,
Kaana, represents your work in your novel?
Kaana
represents, I think, a more mature voice in terms of world and
character building, of taking opposite concepts and making it work in a
way that may feel bonkers but makes sense. It’s a showcase of how I
tackle the fusion of magic and science, as well as the motivations of
the characters for doing what they do on the stories. Because we read
them for the characters.
So in that regard Kaana is in a microcosm
that shows what you can expect from Tempest Blades. And given that
they touch upon similar subjects of friendship, overcoming fear,
learning and breaking the rules, of hoping, of helping others, Kaana
couldn’t have been written without the work I put in on Tempest Blades
and vice versa. Both stories are symbiotic and related in the great
universe inside my head. They are siblings connected by the same
intellectual and spiritual musings about why we are here in the
universe. And I think the answer is to evolve in the search of the
answer. I hope that makes sense.
What
are your favourite science fantasy books? Whose work do you love in
the genre?
I
would say the novelization of Revenge of the Sith by Matt Stover, the
Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett and the manga (Japanese comics)
of Masamune Shirow. But, and it might sound a bit conceited, part of
the reason for me writing Tempest Blades and Kaana is because I want
to be able to offer the kind of science fantasy books I would love to
read.
Not conceited at all - what's the Toni Morrison quote? "If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." I
really liked Kaana – my previous favourite story of yours was
probably Bone Peyote, from Tales From The Mists, but I think Kaana
works on a much grander scale. It really gives a glimpse of a much
bigger, bolder universe. What was your inspiration for the story?
Thanks
for the comments on Bone Peyote, you are too kind. I have two
inspirations. The first, the origin of Kaana, Aditi and Curve World
came from a dream I had when I was at college and wrote it down to
work on it someday. It was a very Seven Samurai-style dream with a girl
finding a buried robot to save her village from invaders and finding
later that they are actually inside a Dyson sphere. I can tell you, I
have really vivid, really weird dreams that have inspired most of my
writing. You can tell, I'm sure.
The
other inspiration in terms of aesthetics and maturity was the short
film the European Space Agency released a few years ago about the
Rosetta Mission with Aiden Gillien (Littlefinger on Game of Thrones).
Without
giving anything away about the story, it feels like there’s
potential for more from some of these characters – any kind of
sequel in mind?
Actually
this story, with a few tweaks to be done further down the line was
planned as the first chapter of a standalone novel. I do have the
final chapter plotted in my head but need to work on, well, the rest
of the book. So it is in the planning to rework it, expand it and write
a novel around Kaana & Aditi and their experiences in Curve
World. And in my head at least it’s kinda connected as
prequel/sequel/spiritual successor to Tempest Blades.
Looking
back for a moment, it’s been a productive year and a half for
Inklings Press, what have you been most proud of in the course of
publishing what, now five anthologies? What’s stood out for you in
the process?
It
has been said that writing is a solitary endeavor. But the work
carried out with these anthologies proves that writing can also be a social activity. It has helped me to learn more about the writing
process in general and my own in particular, what works and what
doesn’t. As well, it has given me the opportunity to meet wonderful
writers from whom I have learned so much. Also it has given me the
confidence that my writing actually works, for better or worse. It has
been a process of maturing as a writer, an experience I would not have
gained otherwise. And I’m thankful for that.
I
might often ask who you might cast for your lead characters in your
story – but they have quite the varied look to them in terms of
species, so that might not work best this time, so instead, who would
be your choice of director to make the movie of your story if one
were made? And why?
I
think the answer is clear. My fellow Mexican Guillermo del Toro. I
mean, look at his work, Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim. Have
you seen Pacific Rim? Only he could mix badass ladies, giant robots,
fantastic creatures and eldritch abominations in a single place with
anime-like sensibility. Pretty obvious, in my opinion.
Meanwhile,
as we’re talking movies, let’s take one moment to just say... how
darn good was Rogue One? I know we’re both fans, but I have to say
wow. Wow. What did you most like about the movie?
Rogue
One is a masterpiece and a lesson on how to do spin-offs that enhance
the original material in ways you haven’t considering before.
Aside from explaining obvious arguments such as the vent on the Death Star,
R1 showed us the rarely seen side of the Rebellion. The OT usually
portrayed them as plucky underdog heroes. But here they are more like
desperate partisans that can’t get along between themselves as they have
different ideas of how to topple the Empire. What the R1 crew does is
to push them out of their comfort zone and into true conflict. Before
Scariff, the Alliance was on the brink of falling apart. After that
battle, it has to be united or perish. The movie also gave us the
best five minutes of Vader ever, this side of Empire. That scene at
the end was truly nightmarish. The ending was bittersweet but built
on hope as it should be.
But
what I loved more above all was the R1 crew. It was diverse in terms
of gender, race, probably sexual orientation and motivations. It
showed that our differences are what make us better and stronger
when we work together towards a common goal. I just love that
diversity. Of course, it helps that the co-protagonist was portrayed
by Diego Luna, who is by far my favorite Mexican actor and a fellow
Star Wars junkie. We need more diversity in epic films such as this
to show that evil can be defeated if we work together.
Ok,
fanboyism away. What are your goals for the year in writing, seeing
as we’re still early in January?
Finish
editing Tempest Blades (and by that I mean working on your edits when
you are finally done) so I can start looking at agents and publishers (I do have a couple in mind, though). Start plotting world
domination, I mean the second book of the Tempest Blades universe.
Maybe a few short stories set there. I’m gonna work on that world
for a while. Plus a couple of papers on social responsibility and
action figures. You know, what pays the bills.
Great,
thanks for stopping by. Traditional double question to round out the
chat – what are you reading at the moment, and what is the best
thing you’ve read in the past year?
I’m
gonna start reading (finally!) Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil
Gaiman. And the best thing I read last year? I would have to say that
it was Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. It is well-written,
amusing, educative and insightful. Non-fiction helps to write
realistic characters in fiction, or at least I think that.
Many thanks, Ricardo, and good luck for Tales of Wonder!
Thank
you for the space.
Tales of Wonder is available right now on Amazon - you can pick it up here. You can follow Ricardo on Twitter here, or on Facebook here.
