Every Friday, we meet a member of the BFS and peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). Want to be featured? Email us: online@britishfantasysociety.org
Name:
Steve Turnbull (he/him)
Which region are you based in?
In that liminal space between Manchester and the Pennines.
If you write, which genre:
Sci-fi, fantasy, and steampunk. There are plenty of horrific things in what I write, they’re just not horror stories.
If you don’t write, what do you do?
I also create 3D renders (absolutely no AI, spit) sometimes scenes from my stories, sometimes scenes from stories I haven’t written yet and may never write.
Are you drawn to any specific SFFH sub-genres?
My fantasy tends to be epic in scale, but personal in approach. But I’m pretty flexible on genre: action-adventure, romance, crime fiction, epic, episodic, dystopian, all intertwined.
I also write low-stakes slice-of-life steampunk erotica under a pseudonym, but it’s never (well almost never) wham-bam in under 5000 words. I still write stories, they just happen to have a lot of sex in them.
Your influences
Tell us about the book/film/thing that got you into SFFH: What was it? How old were you? What impact did it have on you?
Yes, this doesn’t really have answer. I’m not young. I grew up in the ’60s/’70s in a house already filled with science fiction and fantasy books – plus fifty or so editions of Astounding Science Fiction magazine from the ’50s.
I devoured it all, and then ate my way through every SFF book in our local library. I saw the first broadcast episode of Dr Who. I lived it for years. Star Trek, Blake’s 7, Star Wars, Superman – I absorbed it all.
How does that early influence show up for you (in life/writing/agenting/publishing/editing/reading) now?
I’ve been playing and running TTRPGs since 1978, I still mostly read SFF and, as mentioned, it’s what I write.
Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?
My “creative inspiration”, if you want to call it that, comes from me. Nowhere else. Personally, I think inspiration is overrated but that’s an unpopular opinion so we’ll pretend I didn’t say it out loud.
Who do you look to as a genre hero? Why?
You may guess from my previous answer, I don’t have one.
But perhaps the most significant writer, to me, was/is Louise Lawrence (pictured; source). I only ever read ANDRA but it took a nuclear bomb to my notions of what SF was. Who was Lousie Lawrence? A largely erased female writer of SFF creating female-led YA 30 years before it was a thing.
Your Work
You’re stuck in an elevator for 60 seconds with that hero, and they want you to describe your work. Give us the pitch.
No, I don’t do that. I mean from a purely practical viewpoint I’m absolutely useless when put under pressure so I’d rather just chat casually, thanks.
What are you working on right now?
I have just finished Dragon of Life, the fifth and final book in my epic fantasy Dragons of the Wounded Land series. It’s the last (13th) book in three related series and ties things up neatly.
Apart from all the loose ends that can become future stories.
I’m just starting CAT PEOPLE which is the prequel to MONSTERS. (The book titles of the Rise of the Kymiera series demand to be in capitals.)
Thinking about all the stories/work you’ve done, what sticks out most in your mind? Why?
The series I am currently most proud of (it will probably change) is my Maliha Anderson books. They are steampunk crime fiction and there’s some really good stuff in there. But then I’m always impressed with my writing when I go back to it. “Did I really write this?” Well, yes, I did.
Then again there’s MONSTERS which is my near-future dystopian door-stop. And its prequel and sequels are next in my schedule. They’ll be awesome.
Where and when do you create/are you at your most creative?
I’m not exactly house-bound (I don’t suffer from anything that stops me going out) but I work and write in my home office and have no transport. Though, I have written on trains filled with drunk football supporters – once I get in the zone, I’m good.
I have no special time of day for being creative – see my next answer.
What’s the best advice you’ve received about creativity?
Never wait for inspiration; just start and the creativity will come.
What’s your writing soundtrack?
I’m not someone who creates playlists for books. I have just one and it’s the only thing I play when writing: Scandinavian jazz trios, like e.s.t and the Tingvall Trio.
I put on headphones with the music quite loud. I know every track inside out and it’s all instrumental, so it doesn’t distract me and blots out random noises.
Pictured: some of Steve’s 3D renderings.
The Quick-Fire Round
Sci-fi, fantasy or horror?
Not horror.
Quiet or loud?
Quiet
Dark or light?
Light
Strict lines or genre blend?
Blend
Awards or bestseller?
Yes please.
Fiction or non-fiction?
There’s more truth in fiction.
Poetry or prose?
Poetic prose.
Plotter or pantser?
Total pantser, except when I’m a thorough plotter.
Reading or listening?
Reading.
Notebook or computer?
Computer.
Favourite SFFH book of all time?
Ain’t no such animal.
(Pictured: Steve with his wares)
Last book you read?
The Battle for Britannia: Ships of Britannia, Book 5 by E. M. Kkoulla (last in the series dammit)
Any SFFH author on auto-buy?
E. M. Kkoulla
Favourite podcast?
None, I watch Youtube – Bernadette Banner is the best. (Abby Cox, Rachel Maksy, Hazariel Atelier? They’re the best too.)
The Home Stretch
What’s the best thing about being part of the SFFH community?
Bumping noggins with like-minded folks.
Time to plug your stuff! Where can we find you and your work? What have you got coming up? Consider this your advertising space.
All my books can be found through taupress.com/books (as are my wife’s Regency mysteries). There are audiobooks for MONSTERS, and the Dragons of Esternes. My narrators are working on the Maliha Anderson and Patterner’s Path series.
I’m working on CAT PEOPLE then the four sequels to MONSTERS which should keep me off the streets for a while. They’re big.
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