How Bestselling Sci-Fi Author Richard K. Morgan Writes: Part Two

In Part Two of this file the acclaimed New York Times bestselling sci-fi author, Richard K. Morgan, spoke with me from overseas about his winding journey from English tutor to bestseller, having his novel adapted for the small screen, what it’s like to write for Marvel comics, and his unique take on creativity and the writing life.

Richard is best known as the award-winning author of the noir sci-fi novel Altered Carbon (Amazon), a New York Times Notable and Philip K. Dick Award winner, that was recently turned into a hit Netflix series.

[Beware: Some ‘explicit’ language.]

The author of the hard-boiled, “carbon-black,” futuristic thriller series, the Takeshi Kovacs novels (including Altered Carbon), also writes the dark fantasy series A Land Fit for Heroes (The Steel Remains, The Cold Commands, and The Dark Defiles).

His award-winning novels also include stand-alones Market Forces (also optioned for film) and Thirteen, and he’s the author of two volumes of Black Widow comics for Marvel, as well as the Crysis 2 and Syndicate computer games.

His latest novel, Thin Air, is described as “an atmospheric tale of corruption and abduction set on Mars” and it’s a return to his signature hardboiled sci-fi that The New York Times Book Review called, “Ferociously readable.”

Join us for this two-part interview. If you missed the first half you can find it here.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part Two of the file Richard K. Morgan and I discussed:

• The writing life and the fallacy of “a hard day’s writing”
• How exercise, unplugging, and reading a lot jumpstart creativity
• Why good writers live inside of their work
• Richard’s candid takes on the incredible influence of Bladerunner and the critics reviews of the Altered Carbon Netflix series
• Why serious writers need grit, stamina, and self-confidence
• And his entreaty to all aspiring novelists

The Show Notes:

• How Bestselling Sci-Fi Author Richard K. Morgan Writes: Part One
• Thin Air: A Novel – Richard K. Morgan (Amazon)
• RichardKMorgan.com
• Fragments of a Jet-lagged Dream – Richard K. Morgan
• Richard K. Morgan on Twitter
• Kelton Reid on Twitter
• Please click the donate button to support the podcast with a secure PayPal donation

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices