Welcome to the World Building Blog for OWS CyCon 2019 With Guest E. A. Hennessy

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Welcome to the World Building Blog for OWS CyCon 2019 With Guest E. A. Hennessy

Welcome to another fantastic stop in our World-building Showcase blog hop! On this stop, we’re highlighting a story where the world changes or ends as we know it, but you can find a full list of authors and topics on the OWS Cycon website. Let’s dive in!

Welcome E. A. Hennessy!

  1. Before we dive in to the nitty gritty, what is Grigory’s Gadget about?

Lodninsk, Morozhia is a frozen, industrial wasteland. Isolated by steep mountains and ruled by an authoritarian government, it isn’t anyone’s idea of home-sweet-home.

Zoya and her friends Demyan, Lilia, Anya, and Nikolai decide to leave their freezing home to start a new life. They set their sights on the tropical paradise of Mirgorod, Vernulaia, where they can study at its prestigious university while taking in the sun and sand…but nothing ever goes so smoothly.

When pirates attack their passenger ship, the friends are shanghaied and forced to be part of their crew. What’s more, the pirates have a particular interest in Zoya’s family heirloom: a small gadget of compacted wires and gears. Unsure what power the gadget holds, Zoya knows she must protect it with her life.

Trapped with pirates, caught in the struggle for the mysterious gadget, will Zoya and her friends be able to make it safely to their new home?

2.What kinds of climates do your characters experience? Do they see a lot of change or is it always the same? Has your world always had this kind of climate, or has it changed over time?

My characters come from a city called Lodninsk, which is located far to the north where it is essentially a perpetual winter. As they move south during the story, the temperatures warm up until they ultimately arrive in a city that is sub-tropical. In the recorded history of the world, the climate has essentially stayed the same.

3. Is there any kind of faith system in your world? Did you draw inspiration from any real cultures, living or dead?

My main characters in Grigory’s Gadget come from an atheist country, but ecounter a character who believes in a religion called Drevnih. Drevnih is a pantheistic religion with a handful of gods and goddesses who preside over different areas of life. The religion will be featured much more in the upcoming sequel to Grigory’s Gadget, Serafima’s Stone.

Your Process

  1. When you build a world, what is your process like? Do you do a lot of research upfront, wing it completely, or something in between?

I’m definitely in between. Certian aspects of my world-building are research and developed before-hand, when I’m in the planning stages of my writing. Others come up as-needed once I’m actually writing, and are researched and honed later on in the editing process.

2. How central is the setting of your story to the story itself? Is it more of an interesting backdrop, or is it integral to the events of the story?

For most of Grigory’s Gadget, the setting is mainly in the background, framing the action. However, at key points, the details of this fictional world come to the forefront and directly impact the characters.

3. When helping the reader get to know the world you built, what techniques do you use? Do you tend to be upfront about things, or keep the reader in the dark and feed them only bits at a time?

I do a bit of both. Mostly, I try to show my world through the eyes of the main characters. So often, what the characters know the reader also knows. And what they don’t know, the reader doesn’t either.

4. How much of a role does realism and hard scientific fact play in your world-building? Do you strive for 100% accuracy, or do you leave room for the fantastical and unexplainable in your world?

There are definitely fantastical elements in Grigory’s Gadget, but I do try to ground the story in a mostly realistic setting. Even one of the more fanciful elements here – the side-wheel steamships – are a type of ship that actually existed in the real world. I loved that because they add a bit of whimsy while simultaneously pulling from our real history of ships.

5. How do you keep all of the details of your world and characters straight? Do you have a system for deciding on different factors and keeping it all organized, or does it live more in your head?

I have a glossary file where I keep certain things, like place names or other formal names, noted. I also have a map, which helps immensely, especially when your characters are constantly on the move!

Where can people find you on the web?

Want to talk more about Grigory’s Gadget and its world? Find me over at my CyCon booth here: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/forums/topic/e-a-hennessy-author-booth/

You can also find me on Facebook at facebook.com/eahennessy and on Twitter as @EA_Hennessy!

For more stops on our World-building Showcase, visit the tour page on the OWS CyCon website. You can also find more great Sci Fi authors and books on our main Sci Fi event page.

 

As for me, I will be at the Nebula Conference this weekend. More on that when I get back.

 

Other 2019 Events I Will Be Attending :

Phoenix Fan Fusion. Phoenix Convention Center. May 34-26

Denver Comic Con. Denver Convention Center. May 31-June 2

San Diego Comic Con. San Diego Convention Center. Small Press July 17-21

Silicon Valley Comic Con. San Jose Convention Center. August 16-18

Rose City Comic Con. Oregon Convention Center. Sept. 13-15

Gaslight Expo. Mission Valley Marriott, San Diego. Sept. 26-29