Author2Author: Mike Brotherton & Jonathan Lyons, Bonus Round

(The discussion between science fiction authors Jonathan Lyons and Mike Brotherton that took place all this week on Beatrice concludes with a few more questions about what's in their ears and their minds when they sit down to write...)

Mike Brotherton: I thought it was interesting that Machina has a "soundtrack,” as I write with a soundtrack myself. It has been too long since writing the first draft of Star Dragon to recall what I was listening to specifically for that book, but my more recent novel, Spider Star, relies on Greek mythology in part, and I've been listening to heavy metal songs by Manowar and Iron Maiden based on such mythology while writing some sections. Sometimes I listen to classical music, rock, or electronica: The associations I have with the music are more important than the style of the music or the style of the piece. What are your preferences for music, if any, while writing and how is the selection dependent on the project?

Jonathan Lyons: Yes, music is very important to me. I'm working to integrate it more and more into my writing. I've never been much of a metal fan, though it's always lurking there, at the edges of what I do listen to--I've always tended toward more industrial/experimental and atmospheric music. Skinny Puppy are my heroes, and Austin space-rock legends ST-37 are not to be missed. But industrial crosses over with metal at times: Ministry comes to mind, and who can account for the metal/industrial/nightmare-anime-come-to-life antics of GWAR? Skinny Puppy's "Tin Omen" dances close to the line, to say nothing of how much they use actual metal on metal in their music, as opposed to metal as a music genre. Metal-on-metal brings Einsturzende Neubauten to mind ...

Without affectation--and to the occasional chagrin of my wife when she's trying to work--I honestly write at all times with music of some sort going in the background. Most often something atmospheric, but dark, such as O Yuki Conjugate, or Lustmord, Raison D'Etre, Lycia and/or Mike Vanportfleet (his new stuff is amazing!). I love the newest work from Lithivm, a group on the amazing Swedish label Cold Meat Industry. And sometimes, when I need to just get it all out of my system, grunge-when-grunge-wasn't-cool pioneers Mudhoney, Iowa City metalcore legends of yesteryear Iowa Beef Experience and old-school industrial monstrosity Stickdog help me get it all out of my system. I also have to admit a closet love for Iron Maiden's "Run to the hills"--it was on MTV when we first got cable growing up.

About the theme of big game hunting in Star Dragon: Was that simply a nod to Hemingway, or something more?

Mike Brotherton: I started off with the idea of "hunting" for a star dragon, and decided that Hemingway resonated with that idea. Initially the ship was just going to be decorated with a Hemingway motif, but then, as we discussed earlier, that grew into the ship's AI being patterned off of Hemingway’s personality. I read a bunch of his hunting stories, and bought a rifle and learned to shoot.

One thing that motivates me as a writer is playing fair with the universe. I mean, I have my own particular biases as a human being, but are they all fair? Probably not. I went vegetarian for over a year while involved with Star Dragon (okay, vegequarian, since sushi is too good to skip), while at the same time writing some hunting scenes. There are six billion people on Earth, and there are at least six billion perspectives on living a human life. I reduced the six billion to six, and placed ridiculous restrictions on them. I bet nearly everyone would kill to live. A smaller number would kill animals if it weren't needed. What's an animal? A soulless thing here for the eating to some, a fellow creature equal to us to others. To me, I don't really know, but I could see both sides and tried to put that in the book. If I can see the perspectives fairly, I can present some complex ideas and help people grow their perceptions. Perhaps that's pretentious, but isn't all writing at least a bit pretentious?