One of the top science-fiction writers of the 21st century is making her first-ever stop in Iowa next week on the first full day of her new book tour.
Becky Chambers, who earned best-seller status with her two previous series of novels, is embarking on a new journey with “As You Wake, Break the Shell.”
In an interview with Radio Iowa, Chambers says there’s a rogue botanist, giant space-dwelling creatures, and a big debate about space exploration and information as legacy.
“It is equal parts a space story and a love story,” Chambers says. “I’ve been very careful to not describe it as a romance novel because it’s not. It is science fiction through and through, as is everything I write. It is told in two different timelines between two different characters across two different worlds.”
As demonstrated in her acclaimed Wayfarers series and the “Monk and Robot” novellas, Chambers forges her own view of the universe and humankind’s role in it.
The 41-year-old California native is considered a pioneer of the hopepunk genre, one that looks ahead with optimism, radical kindness, and characters who fight for positive change.
“The future shouldn’t be something we only tell scary stories about,” Chambers says. “It’s good to tell cautionary tales. It’s good to be able to express our fears in sort of grimmer, darker, dystopian futures, but it is also important for us to speculate about what a future that is worth reaching toward might actually look like.”
The new novel is being billed as book one of two, and the second installment is still a work in progress. Chambers says her writing process tends toward the rudderless, but she makes it work.
“I write by the seat of my pants. I don’t outline. I tend to not write any of my books in linear order. My process is chaos,” Chambers says. “I get to know the characters. I write dialogue. I write bits and pieces. I probably write another at least half a book for every book I actually write.”
Some authors envision entire worlds and storylines before setting off to create. Filmmaker George Lucas famously had mentally mapped out the entire “Star Wars” saga before beginning work on the first movie in the series, “A New Hope.” Chambers admits she’s nothing like Lucas, and is content with that.
“I just come up with what the meat and potatoes of the world is, and once I reach a critical mass of chapters and ideas, I will literally sort of jigsaw puzzle it together and figure out what it is, sand the edges out in between,” Chambers says. “It’s very much sort of an instinctive process for me.”
The two-time Hugo Award winner says she hopes to see Earth from orbit one day, though in her words, she’s gotten picky about who she’d take a ride from. “As You Wake, Break the Shell” will be released in the U.S. on October 13th, and Chambers will appear at the Temple Theater in Des Moines at 7 PM on October 14th.
