Science fiction and fantasy author Anthony W. Eichenlaub joins me in an in-depth discussion on the writing craft and writing life in Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick episode 081.
Anthony W. Eichenlaub is the author of a wide range of science fiction and fantasy. His novels are a hodgepodge of cyberpunk westerns, space opera, and technothrillers. His short stories have appeared in numerous publications, including Daily Science Fiction, Little Blue Marble, and On-Spec Magazine.
Anthony is a member and volunteer with SFWA, a member of the Rochester Writers Group, and a teaching artist at the Loft Literary Center. In his spare time, he enjoys landscaping, woodworking, and long walks with his lazy dog.
Anthony has been writing for nearly twenty years, and he brings that expertise and experience to our conversation as we discuss…
- Beginning writing as an adult
- The influence of role playing games on fiction
- Story structure and “the dreaded middle”
- Marketing, goals, and planning
- Teaching
- Growing and developing as a writer and author
…and a whole lot more.
This episode was recorded on April 26th, 2023. The conversation with Anthony W. Eichenlaub was recorded on January 24th, 2023.
Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode
- My day job? I’m a creative services provider helping authors, podcasters and other creators. How can I help you?
- My first novel, Brave Men Run, comes up as an example of a first book performing better than later works.
- I mention one of my favorite James Baldwin quotes.
- I recommend The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell.
- Anthony makes pens! There are pen-making kits you can use with a bit of woodturning / woodworking skill.
- Anthony was inspired to write fiction after leading fantasy role playing gaming sessions. He’s far from the first author similarly driven!
- Books2Read is a service for authors that provides a “links page” to various online marketplaces.
- BookFunnel is an author marketing service that connects readers to authors via mailing list newsletter exchanges, among other methods.
- Humble Bundle offers collections of books, games, software, and other goodies for greatly reduced prices, with a portion of sales going to charity.
- Story Bundle is similar to Humble Bundle, with a focus on collections of books curated by authors, editors, and publishers.
- You probably know about Patreon — it’s what I use to run my Multiversalists member community — but did you know co-founder Jack Conte and his partner Nataly Dawn have a cool band called Pomplamoose?
- When this episode was recorded, Anthony was working on a noir book, and so he was reading classic noir fiction authors like Raymond Chandler.
- Similarly, when I was preparing to write my literary fantasy novel Light of the Outsider, I read Theodore Sturgeon, Philip Roth, and Ursula K. Le Guin to get a particular tone and lyricism in my head.
- Maybe you would like to be a future guest on Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick? Learn more!
- Big thanks to my Multiversalists patron community, including Amelia Bowen, Ted Leonhardt, Chuck Anderson, and J. C. Hutchins! This episode took thirteen hours and forty-nine minutes to record, edit, produce, and publish, so I’m incredibly grateful for the support of my patrons. If Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick brings you joy, become a patron!
- The Multiversalists patron member community receives the uncut, unedited version of every episode. For this episode, patrons get almost forty five minutes of additional content! Want in on that? Become a patron for at least $5.00 per month (cancel any time) and get a bunch of other perks and special access, too.
- Every month the member community has at least twenty members, I will donate 10% of net patron revenue to 826 National in support of literacy and creative writing advocacy for children. Let’s go!
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