Stina Leicht writes science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Her newest novel,
Loki’s Ring is a Feminist Space Opera released in March 2023 by Saga Press. Her first SF novel was
Persephone Station. She was a finalist for the Crawford Award in 2011 and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer in 2011 and 2012. She has also written four Fantasy novels:
Cold Iron, Blackthorne, Of Blood and Honey, and
Blue Skies from Pain. She’s working on her next SF novel,
Helix Falls, which will be published in 2025.
Today she returns to Six Books.
1. What book are you currently reading? The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa. I'm reading it for a blurb and OMG it's great. She has a degree in biology and it shows in the world-building. It's post-colonial and yet, reminds me of Asmov's
Foundation --particularly the series on Apple+. Very excited for people to read it.
2. What upcoming book are you really excited about? Besides Kemi's book?
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. It sounds fantastic. There are so many great books coming out.
3. Is there a book you’re currently itching to read again? All Systems Red by Martha Wells. I have to reread the series in preparation for starting the latest Murderbot book
System Collapse.
4. How about a book you’ve changed your mind about—either positively or negatively? Ursula K. Le Guin--pretty much anything she wrote. For a long time I thought Le Guin was too high brow for me to really understand. Turns out, I was underestimating myself big time.
5. What’s the one book, which you read as a child or a young adult, that has had a lasting influence on your writing? I wish I could say that
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury had an influence on my writing. I don't think I write anywhere near as well as Bradbury. But he most certainly inspired me to begin writing. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
6. And speaking of that, what’s your latest book, and why is it awesome?My latest book is
Loki's Ring It's about a crew of women and nonbinary characters plus one cat named Grimm who has a talking collar powered by a limited AI. They were once one happy found family but fell out when their co-captains (Gita and Karter) had a confrontation over the accidental deaths of several artificial persons. The crew splits. Gita's half takes up salvage work. Karter's half accepts undercover contract work for an official in the Republic of Worlds diplomatic corps. Years pass. Then one of Gita's synthetic daughters is marooned on a mysterious alien-manufactured ring world when the ship she's on is infected with a deadly virus. Gita races to Loki's Ring to rescue her daughter but is trapped inside a dying shuttle in the middle of an intergalactic political battle. She's left with no choice other than to ask her former co-captian, Karter, for help.
I had a lot of fun writing it. Hopefully, others will have a lot of fun reading it.
Thank you Stina!
POSTED BY: Paul Weimer. Ubiquitous in Shadow, but I’m just this guy, you know? @princejvstin.
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