Monthly Archives: September 2015

Fantasy Gender Defaults

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Next week I’m leading a 2 hour workshop at Sirens Studio, the 2 day pre-Sirens Conference workshop. AND I NEED YOUR HELP!

(if you can get yourself to Denver next week you can buy a membership at the door for Sirens Conference, Oct 8 – 11–Rae Carson, Yoon Ha Lee, and myself are Guests of Honor.)

Here’s the description of the workshop:

 

“It all happened TO her, not BECAUSE of her:” Writing Past Defaults.

We all carry societal baggage about gender roles into our writing. That’s inevitable. In this workshop intensive, Kate will analyze how authors (including herself!) who are consciously attempting to expand and center roles for women may unconsciously undermine their female characters by sliding sideways into stereotyped personalities or behaviors and work. Often, male characters act within the plot while women characters—even as the central figures—may be given reactive roles. We’ll discuss typical fantasy gender defaults, ways in which authors who may seem to be subverting them aren’t always, and how to turn around these insidious messages to more fully write women characters as they really are, and have been, in the world.

 

 

Here’s where YOU come in. Yes, YOU!

I’m hoping all you well-read readers can come up with examples of girl/women characters in (preferably well known) fantasy novels who

fit typical gender defaults and why

and ALSO examples who

seem to subvert gender defaults but when examined closely actually fall into some default-ish behaviors or character elements (and why)

and examples who

actually subvert gender defaults (and why)

I welcome any other comments on the subject as well. Thank you in advance, crowd-sourcing friends and colleagues! I can only do so much reading research and I want to cast through as many examples as possible.

BLACK WOLVES – Coming Soon!

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You can now pre-order the first book in Kate Elliott’s new epic fantasy, BLACK WOLVES at Amazon or Barnes & Noble. (Official release date is 3 NOV. 2015 by Orbit US.)

Elliott_BlackWolves-TP
DESCRIPTION:

An exiled captain returns to help the son of the king who died under his protection in this rich and multi-layered first book in an action-packed new series.

Twenty two years have passed since Kellas, once Captain of the legendary Black Wolves, lost his King and with him his honor. With the King murdered and the Black Wolves disbanded, Kellas lives as an exile far from the palace he once guarded with his life.

Until Marshal Dannarah, sister to the dead King, comes to him with a plea-rejoin the palace guard and save her nephew, King Jehosh, before he meets his father’s fate.

Combining the best of Shogun and Netflix’s Marco Polo, Black Wolves is an unmissable treat for epic fantasy lovers everywhere.

QUOTES:

 “Black Wolves is a sweeping tale of loyalty and betrayal, ambition and intrigue, impelled by the mysteries that lie at its heart.”―Jacqueline Carey, bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Kushiel’s Legacy series

“Intricate, fascinating worldbuilding, twisty political intrigue, vivid characters to love and hate — this is Kate Elliott at the top of her epic fantasy game.”―Karen Miller, author of The Tarnished Crown series and Rogue Agent series

“On a vast, colorful canvas, Kate Elliott has drawn dozens of characters who act and react with poetry and grit. Lush and textured, by turns moving, exciting, playful, and contemplative, Black Wolves is a masterpiece that soars with an epic soul.”―Ken Liu, Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy award-winning author of the Grace of Kings

REVIEWS:

“Sophisticated, multifaceted worldbuilding sparked by original flourishes, populated by characters we quickly come to care about and whose motivations drive intricate, absorbing conspiracies.” – Kirkus Review

 

Read for Pixels: Kate Elliott Reading and Q&A — LIVE TONIGHT

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Early_Blogs2Catch Kate Elliott live online TONIGHT (6 PM PST) for The Pixel Project’s “Read for Pixels” campaign. She will be participating in a reading of one of her works, as well as answering questions from viewers.

If you’re interested, please watch and participate in the Google Hangouts Reading tonight at this link!

The Read For Pixels campaign features live Google Hangout Readings with award-winning bestselling authors in support of the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign which aims to raise US$1 million in aid of The Pixel Project and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Code Switching in COURT OF FIVES

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In Kate Elliott’s Court of Fives, Jessamy must navigate between different cultures, classes, and languages, as she competes in an athletic tournament and struggles to save her family. Elliott explains this navigation, or code-switching, in her guest post at Diversity in YA:

Jessamy’s parents come from different ethnicities, Saroese and Efean (also called Patrons and Commoners in the book). She knows both languages, is fluent in both, and can switch easily between the two in contrast to most of the population, who only speak either Saroese or Efean depending on their ethnicity.

But because Efea is a conquered country, and because the Saroese are the conquerers, she also must negotiate a far trickier form of code-switching: That between the class divide created by the privileged and powerful Patrons and the conquered and looked-down-upon Commoners.

Read more and enter to win a copy of COURT OF FIVES and four other YA SFF novels at Diversity in YA.

COURT OF FIVES Audiobook Available

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Kate Elliott’s YA debut novel, COURT OF FIVES, is now available in audiobook format by Hachette Audio of Little, Brown Young Readers.

CoF-coverIn this imaginative escape into an enthralling new world, World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott begins a new trilogy with her debut young adult novel, weaving an epic story of a girl struggling to do what she loves in a society suffocated by rules of class and privilege.

Jessamy’s life is a balance between acting like an upper class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners. But at night she can be whomever she wants when she sneaks out to train for The Fives, an intricate, multi-level athletic competition that offers a chance for glory to the kingdom’s best competitors. Then Jes meets Kalliarkos, and an unlikely friendship between a girl of mixed race and a Patron boy causes heads to turn. When a scheming lord tears Jes’s family apart, she’ll have to test Kal’s loyalty and risk the vengeance of a powerful clan to save her mother and sisters from certain death.

 

“Jes will remind readers of fearless Katniss with her skill and strategy for games. But it’s the fascinating descriptions of traditions, royal interactions, and, of course, the intensities of the Fives that will enthrall readers most of all. Let the games continue!”―Booklist, starred review

“This series opener, the auspicious teen debut of a seasoned author of adult fantasy and World Fantasy Award finalist, features a gripping, original plot; vivid, complicated characters; and layered, convincingly detailed worldbuilding. A compelling look at racial and social identity wrapped in a page-turning adventure.” -Kirkus Review

“An imaginative journey…Elliott creates an intricate and intriguing story, conjuring a world of mysticism and centuries-old customs. Jessamy’s boldness and impulsiveness make her a striking heroine in a male-dominated land.” -Publishers Weekly

Also available in hardcover and ebook formats at your local independent bookstore, Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other online and bricks and mortar stores.

Court of Fives: Mapping it Out

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Let Kate Elliott guide you through five real-life visual inspirations for the world of COURT OF FIVES for Novl’s new feature, Mapping It Out.

Map of Saryenia from The Novl.

Map of Saryenia from Novl.

I’m a visual writer, and when it came time to imagine Saryenia and what sights my heroine Jes would see as she walked the streets of the city she grew up in, I relied on images of places I have seen and places I’d like to visit.
[…] I often think of reading fantasy as being a form of travel, because you are journeying to a place you’ve never before visited. I hope you enjoy the trip!


Find out what real-life visuals inspired COURT OF FIVES at NOVL.

 

 

BLACK WOLVES Giveaway

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I am giving away TWO copies of the ARC (Advance Reviewer Copy) of BLACK WOLVES. Official publication date in the US/Canada/UK/Australia/NZ is 3 November 2015. Rules below!
Elliott_BlackWolves-TPABOUT BLACK WOLVES:

An exiled captain returns to help the son of the king who died under his protection in this rich and multi-layered first book in an action-packed new series.

Set in the same universe as the Crossroads Trilogy, Black Wolves begins a new, standalone trilogy in which two old people have to find and face the truth about their past, and three young people get caught up in the unexpected repercussions from a long-ago act of violence.

One early reader calls it: “a murder mystery at the heart of a political thriller wrapped up in an epic fantasy setting.”

Another likened the book to “Jane Austen’s Persuasion meets Dragon Age, played in family saga mode.”

3 November 2015
Orbit US, Hachette Book Group

“Sophisticated, multifaceted worldbuilding sparked by original flourishes, populated by characters we quickly come to care about and whose motivations drive intricate, absorbing conspiracies.” -Kirkus Review

“Black Wolves is a sweeping tale of loyalty and betrayal, ambition and intrigue, impelled by the mysteries that lie at its heart.”―Jacqueline Carey, bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Kushiel’s Legacy series

“Intricate, fascinating worldbuilding, twisty political intrigue, vivid characters to love and hate — this is Kate Elliott at the top of her epic fantasy game.”―Karen Miller, author of The Tarnished Crown series and Rogue Agent series

“On a vast, colorful canvas, Kate Elliott has drawn dozens of characters who act and react with poetry and grit. Lush and textured, by turns moving, exciting, playful, and contemplative, Black Wolves is a masterpiece that soars with an epic soul.”―Ken Liu, Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy award-winning author of the Grace of Kings

TO ENTER:
1. Leave a comment telling me about your favorite villain, either from one of my books or from another work of fiction (any medium).

2. PLEASE INCLUDE whether you are USA or International.

3. I will pick one USA and one International winner using a random number generator.

4. Giveaway ends 20 Sept., 10 PM Hawaii Time.

Good luck!

The Book Smugglers’ SFF Roundtable

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Kate Elliott is one of five fantasy authors, all of whom have new novels out, who participated in The Book Smugglers’ recent SFF in Conversation roundtable. Together with Zen Cho (Sorcerer to the Crown), Aliette de Bodard (The House of Shattered Wings), Cindy Pon (Serpentine), and Tade Thompson (Making Wolf), Elliott discusses how culture and history inform their respective writing, expectations of SFF Western audiences, and diversity within the genre.

We have curiosity, imagination, and empathy for a reason: To build gates and windows into places that aren’t us. Story creates connection.

Court of Fives is set in a fantasy world inspired by Greco-Roman Egypt, the history of Hawaii’s annexation and cultural renaissance, the sports/obstacle course game show Sasuke/American Ninja Warrior, and the 19th century novel Little Women. Across time and regions, cultures have met and mingled and influenced each other, and as the child of an immigrant I think that mindset of how things connect and how they change each other is what I often bring to my writing. I’m always exploring the crossroads.

Read more at The Book Smugglers.
SFF in Conversation is a new monthly feature on The Book Smugglers where guests talk about a variety of topics important to speculative fiction fans, authors, and readers. “Our vision is to create a safe (moderated) space for thoughtful conversation about the genre, with a special focus on inclusivity and diversity in SFF.”

Kate Elliott Guest Post: Ptolemaic Egypt & COURT OF FIVES

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A big thank-you to Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of the Parasol Protectorate and the Finishing School series, for hosting Kate Elliott’s most recent guest post in her Intellectual Salon blog series. Elliott gives an in-depth look at the many historical aspects of the Egyptian dynasty, culture, and Greco-Roman influence in her Young Adult debut novel, COURT OF FIVES:

[W]hen my spouse and his co-director received the concession (permit) from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities to work at the site of Tell Timai, I was both excited and a tiny bit disappointed.

Tell Timai has no pyramids or massive, monumental statues.

In fact, Timai became important long after the Old and New Kingdom Egypt famous for its monumental architecture and elaborate tombs. […] However, the more I learned about Ptolemaic Egypt, the more I began to see the cultural interaction of that time as fertile ground for a fantasy setting.


Read more at Gail Carriger’s website.

You can also enter a giveaway for COURT OF FIVES, along with Waistcoats & Weaponry, and the Beka Cooper series by Tamora Pierce through September 13 at this link to Carriger’s website.

Deadly Destinations w/ Kate Elliott at Dark Faerie Tales

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Take a visit to the royal city of Saryenia with Kate Elliott as your personal tour guide to offer tourist tips, local observations, and even a detailed map of the districts! (You can also enter to win a free copy of COURT OF FIVES at the link!)

Enter the royal city of Saryenia. You will see such wonders here as you never knew existed in your tour of the many countries bordering the Three Seas.

It’s true this magnificent city began as a humble Efean fishing village built between Mist Lake and the Fire Sea. The narrow, twisting lanes of the oldest part of the city, the Warrens, are all that remain of the village, and of course only Commoners–that’s what we call people of Efean ancestry–live there now.  Because the streets have no names, the only way to figure out where you are is by your proximity to the fountains at each intersection of three or four or five alleys (we can’t really call such narrow passageways “streets”). Each fountain bears the statue of an animal atop it, so the Commoners who live in the Warrens will give you directions according to how close they live to the “cat fountain” or the “scorpion fountain.” We won’t go there today, nor do we recommend you attempt to navigate that maze alone or, in truth, at all.

Saryenia has much more interesting and splendid things to see.

Read more at Dark Faerie Tales’ Deadly Destinations…

Thank you to Dark Faerie Tales for continuing this leg of the blog tour. Deadly Destinations at Dark Faerie Tales takes readers on intimate journeys into their favorite paranormal/supernatural and SFF Young Adult novels.

 

P.S. Kate Elliott’s live Worldcon Ditch Diggers podcast, along with Fonda Lee, Linda Nagata, Aliette de Bodard, and Lee Harris is now available for your listening pleasure.