In Sputnik’s Orbit

Next in this year’s interview series, say hello to Ziporah Hildebrandt, who joins us from Hollywood during her workshop week.

Stuart: Ziporah, hello, and welcome to the Writers of the Future family!

Ziporah: Hi Stuart, thanks for inviting me to visit.

Stuart: To start us off, what can you tell me about yourself that would surprise your friends?

Ziporah: Well, I don’t know about friends, but I have a Post-it with “Surprise!” written on it that I move around the house to make my husband laugh when he opens a drawer or picks up the dustpan.

Stuart: (Laughs)

Ziporah: I grow heirloom garlic, breed tree peonies, and dye silk with homemade plant dyes from my garden, using traditional Japanese shibori methods as well as my own designs. I also like to take photos of flowers and ice and clouds.

Stuart: Neat!

Ziporah: I grew up down the road from the estate used in The Philadelphia Story with Katherine Hepburn.

Readers! Friends! Countrymen! Lend me your…er..please welcome Writers of the Future winner, Andrew L Roberts to Meet the Winners!

Stuart: Andrew, congrats and welcome to the family. Tell us who you are.

Andrew: I am from San Lorenzo California. I live in the house I grew up in. When I was growing up, I had a backyard with a huge tree and an older brother with which to share it. My favorite hiding spot was – and remains – my imagination. You should come and visit sometime. It has lots of interesting rooms.

Stuart: (laughs) Do you have any hobbies?

Andrew: I’m an experienced potter and used to play ice-hockey at the most ungodly hours of the night.

Stuart: Ice hockey? In San Lorenzo?

Next in this year’s Meet the Winners series, please welcome Jake Marley!

Stuart: Welcome Jake!

Jake: Hi Stuart!

Stuart: Introduce yourself. Tell us something that might surprise your friends.

Jake: Well, I’m Jake Marley, and I’m from Orange County, California. While I think that by now my friends and family know I like to write, I don’t believe any of them realize how obsessed with books and stories I am. I’m always reading or writing. Always getting better. I only ever really talk about my stories with my wife, so most people in my life might think it’s a hobby rather than an obsession.

Stuart: What do you like to write?

Greetings fellow scifi lovers!

Since winning the Writers of the Future contest myself, I’ve made it an annual tradition to interview some or all of each year’s winners on my blog. It’s fun, it’s a nice welcome, and it’s a great way to meet new friends.

As always, I’m kicking off the series this year with a veteran, the wonderfully amiable, Mathew S. Rotundo, who won in 2009. I’ll start off by saying the Matt and eight other former WotF winners has contributed a reprint to our anthology, The Future is Nigh and it’s no exaggeration to say that it would be a bargain at $15 in hardcover, it really is that good. But enough of that.

Stuart: Matt, welcome! Thanks for dropping by.

Matthew: Thanks for having me!

Stuart: No problem. See, this is great, because we’ve hung out at the SWFA table at conventions and worked together on the odd project, but we’ve never really gotten the chance to talk. Tell me, and my many dozens of mostly loyal followers, who you are. Where do you hail from?

Matthew: I’m from Omaha. As in Nebraska.

Stuart: Home of Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom.” Do you know the guy with the animals?

Matthew: Umm…yeah. More, where the corn is. But we have indoor plumbing, so we’re doing OK.

I’ve lived here all my life, actually, except that I was born in Germany. My dad was in the Air Force and was stationed overseas