Are you the science fiction writer Tony Daniel?

Yes.

Where can I find your books?

Here.

How about a couple of short stories?

Sure. My best-known stories, “A Dry, Quiet War” and “Life on the Moon” are available on-line.

Do you have a blog?

Of sorts.

How come the book jacket does not clearly say that Metaplanetary will end with a cliff-hanger?  

It was not an intentional marketing ploy on my part not to mention prominently on the flap copy of my book Metaplanetary the fact that Metaplanetary does not stand alone, but is part of a series.  Writers often have very little control over the presentation of their books.  

How come you used some Nazi’s quote for an epigraph on Metaplanetary?  

I am aware that Martin Heidegger, whose quote I use as an epigraph for Metaplanetary, had ties to the Nazi party.  He was also one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century, and was a principle influence on my own philosophical bent, existentialism.  Philosophers are often moral idiots, and they always make lousy politicians.  If you want to read more about my writing philosophy, have a look here.

Are you the comic book artist Tony Daniel?  

I am not the comic book artist Tony Daniel.  

What is your work day like?  

My working hours vary, especially when I have a deadline.  I usually have about six hours of creativity in me, and the rest of my work day is spent taking care of other business.  I am often inspired to work longer hours, however.  I find extreme regularity in my work habits to be unproductive and stifling. 

Are you a scientist?  

I have no scientific background other than the courses I took in college.  I am an avid reader of popular science essays.  

Isn’t writing science fiction limiting?

I write many things besides science fiction, yet I still greatly enjoy science fiction and will continue to write it.  

I want to be a writer.  What do I do?  

Obviously you have to write and continually hone your skills.  Commit to the life.  If you want to be a science fiction writer, go to conventions and meet editors, even if you are painfully shy.  Make it clear to people in the field that you are doing this for a career (or at least a secondary career) and not a lark, and they will take you seriously.  One way to be taken more seriously is to attend one of the Clarion workshops.  New York science fiction editors generally respect Clarion graduates.  

What other science fiction have you written?

I have written four books and many short stories.  My short story "Life on the Moon" was a Hugo Finalist.  My books are:  Warpath, Earthling, Metaplanetary, and Superluminal, all still available at Amazon, B&N, and elsewhere.  My short story collection, available from Golden Gryphon Press and, in e-book form, from Electricstory.com, is The Robot's Twilight Companion.  I have several times been featured in Gardner Dozois's Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies, and my stories are reprinted in various other anthologies.  My short fiction output has been small in the past few years, but I’ve got a new novella in Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan’s anthology, The New Space Opera, which also made it into Jonathan Strahan’s Year’s Best anthology, volume 2.

What else have you done?

I have written many essays and reviews, along with plays and screenplays.  I was, for many years, involved with the drama group Automatic Vaudeville in New York City.  We performed a great deal on the radio, and have done several theatrical productions.  We also made a film, which I wrote and directed, called American Bohemian.  For a couple of years, I made a living as a radio dramatist, believe it or not.  I was the Senior Story Editor at SCIFI.COM's Seeing Ear Theater, and many of the radio plays I wrote, adapted, and directed can be found here (scroll down and find my name credit among them) and here.  Some of the sillier ones are also available as a CD and regularly play on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Where do you live?  

I currently live near Dallas, Texas, with my wife, Rika, my daughter, Cokie, and my son, Hans.

That’s all?  You’re kidding?

Okay, okay.  Look here, here, here, here and, like I said, here.

What's your e-mail address?

My email is:  "darkestcoffee,” and is a gmail account.