Timaru, New Zealand!

I discovered my book is now in the Timaru Library in New Zealand. That is so cool to know THE BLENDING TIME is in some corner of Kiwi Land.

Stereotyping "Science Fiction"

A website reviewed my book and the writer (I think) has a great take on what "science fiction" can be beyond the stereotype of the genre. Check it out:
http://buddyhollywood.com/2010/11/blending-time/

Crappy First Drafts

To writers struggling with and early draft of a story--don't sweat it.
Anne Lamott (in her wonderful "Bird by bird") has a chapter called "Shitty First Drafts." She says even the best writers' first drafts are crappy. Let the first draft pout in a drawer for a few days, then take a look at it and turn out a better 2nd draft. Repeat the above, and you may have an admirable third draft.
But by all means crank out "shitty" first drafts. They are essential, because without them you can't go to the 2nd, 3rd... Gold will come, but rarely at first.

More on Writing

I'm going to be more active in updating my Q&A page in my website-- michaelkinch.com
At the moment I'm commenting on the writing process, e.g., which is most important? Plot, Character, or Setting. Then I'm going to dig deeper into each of those elements.

What do Young Adults want to hear from authors?

Suddenly I have several speaking/signing engagements since THE BLENDING TIME (Book 1) was published in October. I'd love to hear speaking ideas to a teen/YA audience, e.g.-- crafting character; plot; point-of-view; beginnings, the middle, endings; writing drafts; etc, etc. What would be of more interest than others?

Thanks!

New Reviews of THE BLENDING TIME

Here are clips of recent reviews (pretty good!):

The Blending Time by Michael Kinch will be reviewed in the November 1, 2010 issue of Booklist [circ. 24,150].

The Blending Time.

Kinch, Michael (Author)

Oct 2010. 288 p. Flux, paperback, $9.95. (9780738720678).

Set in a dystopian future in which young heroes and heroines are pursued and harassed by corrupt government officials, Kinch’s first novel calls to mind Suzanne Collins and Cory Doctorow. It’s 2054, and plagues, devastating pollution, and predetermined (and deadly) jobs are the norm. Seventeen-year-olds Reya, D’Shay, and Jaym meet during a sea voyage to Africa, where they are to become “blenders,” creating offspring with native Africans (who can no longer reproduce with each other). Each blender encounters horrific experiences, including rape and attempted murder, but all find sympathetic allies and make their way to the underground resistance movement. While this debut title lacks the tight construction of Collins’ Hunger Games series, Kinch’s depiction of the many different landscapes is a nice distinction. Determinedly multi-ethnic, fast-paced, and with plentiful gore and violence, the book will draw reluctant readers who enjoy action and adventure. Sequels are definitely in order, as the protagonists are left hanging on several cliffs. — Debbie Carton

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The Blending Time by Michael Kinch is reviewed in the Sept 15 issue of Kirkus Reviews

THE BLENDING TIME
Author: Kinch, Michael

A well-realized, harsh dystopia provides the setting for this exciting debut. Sometime in the late 21st century, three 17-year-olds face a future dictated by their corrupt global government. All might be sent to work on the “canal,” a death sentence, so they take measures to get any other job possible. The three wind up in Africa, where they are supposed to marry local people and produce offspring—the entire population of the continent has been sterilized by an intense solar flare. One finds herself captured by the “gades” (presumably short for “renegades”), bandits who raid the back country and keep captured women as sex slaves. After some hair-raising adventures, the other two boys find themselves battling the “gades” as well. Kinch invents a plethora of abbreviated jargon that heightens the credibility of his awful future world. His three main characters will easily convince readers that they’re real, distinct people. Full of action, this is a compelling, realistic and exciting thriller for more mature young readers. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

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NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS (ONLINE)

Friday, October 1, 2010

The Blending Time by Michael Kinch

(Flux, October 1, 2010)


...This is not a book for the tenderhearted, because it doesn’t flinch at showing us how an already terrible situation could continue to get worse, and how that situation affects real people who are stuck in the middle of it. It’s brutal and enraging, and yet The Blending Time makes the reader simultaneously happy not to be there, and uncomfortably aware that events like those that occur in this book are actually happening now.

Yes, The Blending Time could easily be the start of a series. This is Kinch’s first book, and it’s a rough one, but a good one. He’s certainly a name to follow.

Reviewer Samantha Holloway is a freelance writer and editor, and is working on her first novel. Her most recent short story is in Fiction International’s FREAK issue and an upcoming anthology, and her academic work has appeared in The Essential Science Fiction Television Reader, and at various conferences.

FLASH! LATE NEWS!. TRILOGY IN THE WORKS

My novel, "The Blending Time" is the first volume of a trilogy. My fingers have been at the keyboard this summer finishing the draft of volume 2.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Art and illustration

A great annual series with the best in sci-fi illustration (and some dynamite art) is the SPECTRUM series edited by the Fenners. The most recent years are more inclusive and include all sorts of media from sculpture, graphic art, and fine paintings. Some are a bit sexy, like the cover girl here juggling orbs and floating above the ground (though tethered)--while others are anime-like, comic book art, retro sci-fi, and dragons galore. I can look thru these a dozen times and just sort of buzz off to other worlds and times. Check 'em out.

On Graphic Novels

I have a love-hate relationship with graphic novels. I love the ones that are works of art, like "The 300." But for me, many are little more than comic books (I love a good comic book--provided the drawing is great and original). Non-graphic novels allow the reader to create their own picture of the characters and their world. Many g-novels and anime are like TV-- you are a passive viewer and you can't feel you are part of the creative process.

Here is a 1935 "Graphic novel" called "Song without Words" by the famous graphic artist, Lynn Ward.

If you haven't read this YA/Adult dystopian novel...

A great book that kinda went under the radar is Jean Hegland's, Into the Forest. I've read it 2 or 3 times and her writing and the world and characters she creates are amazing. It's probably aimed at a YA audience, but older readers (like me) should find it enthralling. Here's a clip from Amazon:

Jean Hegland's prose in Into the Forest is as breathtaking as one of the musty, ancient redwoods that share the woodland with Nell and Eva, two sisters who must learn to live in harmony with the northern California forest when the electricity shuts off, the phones go out, their parents die, and all civilization beyond them seems to grind to a halt. At first, the girls rely on stores of food left in their parents' pantry, but when those supplies begin to dwindle, their only option is to turn to each other and the forest's plants and animals for friendship, courage, and sustenance. Into the Forest, an apocalyptic coming-of-age story, will fill readers (both teens and adults) with a profound sense of the human spirit's strength and beauty.

My new (and first!) YA novel

My YA novel, The Blending Time, will debut in early October 2010 by Flux Books. I am new at blogging, so forgive the underlining and whatever other garbage falls out of my posts.
It took me years--eons--to learn to write a decent manuscript, so this may be my 15 minutes of fame. Beneath the image I've posted an excerpt from Amazon's listing. Get your friends to rush out and buy dozens of copies! It's not a bad book, if I say so myself. (Blush). I'd be curious how many of you like dystopian fiction (where the near future is really messed up and people have to survive).

Congratulations on turning age seventeen. You are now ready for placement by the Council government.

"For kids in the year 2069, turning seventeen means they’re ripe for Global Alliance work assignments that range from backbreaking drudgery to deadly canal labor. Trying to survive in a desiccated world that’s been ravaged by plagues, AIDS III, and environmental disasters, three “s’teeners” from very different backgrounds think they’ve gotten lucky. Jaym, Reya, and D’Shay are chosen to be among thousands of blenders whose task is to help repopulate Africa after a solar flare left its people sterile.

But the continent itself—roiling with civil war and mercenaries intent on crushing the blending program at any cost—poses the gravest danger of all. Separated, the three friends struggle to escape horrific situations, somehow reunite, and reach a camp in the mountains that promises salvation from the harsh and threatening world."

"Shocking and unrelenting--Kinch delivers a blistering, no-holds-barred tale of a dystopian future that feels all too real"

(Arthur Slade, Governor General Award-winning author of The Hunchback Assignments.)