Ep 56: Weird Science with Dr Annie Czajkowski

Annie’s choice:The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts  Ali’s choice: The Lie Tree by Frances HardingeA short piece by Willo Davis Roberts on writing mysteries for young people Annie has just got back from Finncon where her husband, multiple  award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky was a guest of honour. Rosebud is an excellent bookshop. If you’re ever in Helsinki you should definitely visit. Annie talks about Xan Van Roojen, a South African writer who lives in Finland, and their use of music while writing. My vote for a new National Anthem: Disco Inferno I listen to a lot of Philip Glass music when writing. It calms my brain. This is the beginning of his opera Akhnaten, which I was lucky enough to see staged in Leeds in the mid-90s. The Girl with the Silver Eyes reminds me of Escape to Witch Mountain, a Disney live-action film. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin Shockingly I misremembered the opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice. I will retire my English Literature degree. In  my defence, I'm a Victorianist. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.  My earworm this week: Mean Green Mother From Outer Space from Little Shop of Horrors Alnwick Castle Poison GardenMaelstrom LARPThe Coral Bones by EJ Swift has been on my TBR list for an embarrassingly long time. You can find out more about Annie and her research here and hear some of her music on Adrian Tchaikovsky and Emma Newman’s Starship Alexandria podcast, where Adrian and Emma take it in turns to select a favourite piece of speculative fiction and discuss it.  Fantasy Book Swap has recently been shortlisted for a British Fantasy Society award!  Thanks so much to anyone who nominated.