Books
Everything works off of formula.
If you think it doesn’t, then you’re just not looking hard enough.
When Mur Lafferty realized shed signed up to write a mystery, she was terrified.
So she turned to Agatha Christie.
She got the idea in the midst of her research forSix Wakes.
Surely, someone would get suspicious if one person was proximal to crime after crime?
Youve now written two sci-fi murder mysteries.
Whats the process of blending those two genres together like?
I’m more comfortable writing the space part.
I have to remember that there’s a murder to be solved.
The scale, the point-of-view is a lot smaller in murder mystery than in science fiction.
That’s one big difference that I struggle with.
Mysteries, not so much.
That is hard to balance.
Mallory moves toEternityto get away from people because she sees herself as a danger to others.
Did you draw that parallel intentionally?
Not intentionally, no, but I see it.
It’s absolutely very similar to those of us who decided to take the pandemic seriously and isolate ourselves.
That takes a toll on everybody.
We’re still finding out how much of a toll that’s taking.
I don’t do a lot of intentionally thematic things.
I’ve discovered my brain doesn’t work that way.
I tried, in elementary school, learning about theme in stories and books.
I could never actively pick out a theme.
The central casts of bothSix WakesandStation Eternityare very ethnically diverse.
How do you approach writing these diverse casts as a white author?
There’s a character fromSix Wakeswho’s in a wheelchair.
I can’t tell their story that’s uniquely theirs because of who they are.
That’s not my story.
It is something that you have to do carefully and I may get it wrong.
All I can do is apologize and have a go at learn.
I want my books to reflect the world as well as I can see the world.
That is a fascinating question.
What do you think humanity’s biggest challenge will be if we ever make first contact?
Everybody takes a look at what’s foreign and thinks that it’s a threat.
It’sfear of the other.
There will be nothing more other than aliens if we ever make contact.
That will be the hardest thing to overcome.
What do you say to people who deride genre fiction as being formulaic?
Your house needs a frame.
Beyond that, you’re free to take a house in any direction.
Fiction is like that.
Everything works off of formula.
If you think it doesn’t, then you’re just not looking hard enough.
The thing about genre is its not just the authors handing the reader a formula.
It’s the reader coming to the author going, OK, I’m a romance reader.
I need a happily ever after or a happy for now.
I’m a mystery reader.
So the reader also comes with expectations.
If you pooh-pooh the genre, you’re also pooh-poohing the fans.
Is there any sub-genre you haven’t been published in that you want to tackle?
Oh, yeah Christmas romance.
I’ve got a full pitch for a gay Christmas romance that I’ve wanted to write for years.
She finds the real meaning of Christmas, leaves her dirtbag boyfriend, and moves in with the lumberjack.
A lot of times those guys, back in the big city, aren’t bad.
They’re not cheating or abusive or anything.
They’re possibly neglectful, and they definitely don’t understand her, but they’re not evil people.
Basically calling it the Hallmark Survivor Support Group without actually saying the word Hallmark.
And then from then it just turned into, What if these dudes fell for each other after that?
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
This article was originally published onOct.