Jeremy Szal - Four Way Interview

Jeremy Szal was born in 1995 and was raised by wild dingoes, which should explain a lot. He spent his childhood exploring beaches, bookstores, and the limits of people's patience. He's the author of over forty science-fiction short stories, many of which have been translated into multiple languages. He was the editor for the Hugo-winning StarShipSofa until 2020 and has a BA in Film Studies and Creative Writing from UNSW. He carves out a living in Sydney, Australia with his family. He loves watching weird movies, collecting boutique gins, exploring cities, cold weather, and dark humour. Stormblood is his first novel.

Why SF?

It’s a genre I’ve loved since I was a kid watching Star Wars on a wet Sunday afternoon. Giant spaceships, laser cannons, desert planets, bizarre aliens, mind-bending weapons, the outlandish nature and weirdness of all it just struck a chord with me, and I know it always will.

Why this book?

I wanted to try something first-person, something voice driven, while still maintaining the big, weird space opera themes that we’ve all come to know and love. Stormblood turned into something pretty spectacular. It’s my favourite thing I’ve ever written, and I put a lot of love into it over the years.

What’s next?

Writing the next two books in the trilogy and trying not to tear my hair out in the process.

What’s exciting you at the moment?

Seeing all the reviews come in for Stormblood, and seeing that the major themes in the book (brotherhood, friendship, trauma, weird alien biotech, dark humour) are all resonating with people as the highlights of the book, as they were intended to be.

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