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Jaine Fenn in conversation with Maurie Breust |
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Written by Specusphere
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Tuesday, 28 October 2008 |
 Jaine Fenn lives in rural England and her novel, Principles of Angels, is published by Gollancz. This novel is the first of a planned series of three, linking far-future SF action-intrigues. She maintains a web site at www.jainefenn.com
MB: Did you do any special research in writing Principles of Angels?
Jaine Fenn: The background and set-up are totally unlike anything on Earth today or in the past, and much of the technology obeys Clarke’s third law so no, not really. It was also my first novel, taking seven years to write, and with a good decade of ideas-gathering before that, which meant things tended to coalesce slowly. Because I lived with it for so long I actually have a lot more detail on Khesh City than ever made it into the book, but that’s fine, as it’s a place I plan to revisit at some point.
MB: Democracy by Assassination is a stand-out concept in Principles of Angels. Was assassination meant in the novel to be a means to bring order to chaos or just a way of keeping politicians on their toes?
Jaine Fenn: A bit of both. And some wish-fulfillment on my part (just kidding). It is an odd system, but it works. And you need to remember who set it up, which you’ll know if you’ve read the book – we’re not talking human morality here.
MB: In the future world of Principles of Angels, it is interesting that ethical issues (by our present day standards) are not raised by this practice of assassination. Did you consider this aspect in the writing of Principles of Angels?
Jaine Fenn: See my answer to 2 above. Also, I think every writer needs to decide on their own rules of reality when they set out to create a believable novel (or even a short story). This is particularly true in science fiction, where we’ve operating in a far wider sphere. I certainly do not condone state-sanctioned murder (including the forms practiced in the real world today), but I’ve no qualms about creating a world that features it.
I also believe that people are capable of accepting the most outrageous situations as normal if their culture tells them to. The idea for a democracy by assassination was one of the first ones I had (though actually it came from an offhand comment by a friend – writers are terrible mental magpies); this was back when the concept of spying on people who were wife-swapping or living off bugs in the jungle purely so we could watch them do so would have sounded pretty insane. But, like the participants in reality-TV shows, the politicians in the Three Cities know what they’re getting into, and they’ve decided that the potential cost is worth the possible prize.
MB:Given that your previous short stories have been published in various sources, have you thought of putting a collection together?
Jaine Fenn: I would like to, at some point. At the moment it’s not something my publisher is considering, and I think I need to get a few more shorts out there first. What I’d really like is a compilation of the various related short stories related to Principles of Angels, all set in Khesh City.
MB: The next novel in the Hidden Empire Series is Consorts of Heaven. Can you tell us a little more about this second novel and its planned release?
Jaine Fenn: Consorts isn’t exactly a sequel to Principles, though there is a close causal link. It takes place at the same time, but on a distant and very different world. For this novel I did do a lot of research, on subjects as varied as cattle droving, space elevators and hypnosis (including getting myself hypnotised so I could write about how it feels). I’d rather not say more at this stage, as otherwise I’ll be throwing out spoilers.
The book’s complete and with my editor; I believe the scheduled release date is 21st May next year.
MB: I love what you said in a previous interview: “other things that ease the trials of everyday life for me include: wild, green places; dancing like nobody's watching; serious chocolate and fortean phenomena” Have you noticed any Fortean phenomena lately?
Jaine Fenn: Sadly, no. Spending my days bashing at a keyboard up in my garret doesn’t leave me much time for witnessing the weirdness of the world, unless any of it happens to pass through the bit of sky I can see from the window above my desk (so far nothing but oddly shaped clouds have appeared there, but that doesn’t stop me spending more time than I should staring at it).
However I’m pleased and proud to say that I do have an article in November’s Fortean Times. It’s about Easter Island, which I visited back in 2005, when I got out rather more than I do now.
MB: Who are some of your favourite authors and do any particularly inspire you?
Jaine Fenn: Where to start? Here’s a few that spring to mind: Iain M Banks (for the worlds), John Le Carre (for the plotting), Mary Gentle (for the feel), Geoff Ryman (for the prose), Phillip K Dick (for the weird), Bob Shaw (for the story-telling), William Gibson (for the glitter and flash), CJ Cherryh (for the angst), Stephen Baxter (for the brain-expanding concepts) and Ursula Le Guin (for everything). |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 23 December 2008 )
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