Chapter 3 of Interference contains this paragraph: “Long ago as a graduate student, I had researched a voyage embarked upon by Spanish conquistadors down the Amazon River in search of El Dorado. The travelers did not know that the purpose of the trip had been to gather together the most undesirable conquistadors — a ghastly … Continue reading The truth about Lope de Aguirre, who is mentioned in “Interference”

My publisher, Tor, has made a few ebooks available at the special price of only $2.99 throughout the entire month of April:   Semiosis by Sue Burke  Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey  Afterparty by Daryl Gregory Find out more about the books and get links to your favorite bookseller here: https://www.torforgeblog.com/2021/04/01/2-99-ebook-sale-april-2021/ *** My latest … Continue reading “Semiosis” ebook only $2.99

(This brief, moralizing rant by Stevland was cut from the original manuscript because the book was getting too long.) Sadly, I am the only one of my species. In addition to genetic advantages, sexual reproduction provides certain physical pleasures, and thus some hedonistic plants are self-pollinating despite the congenital defects that often occur; self-pollinators must … Continue reading Stevland speaks about flowers and seeds

I made two mistakes when I started writing the novel Immunity Index. The first mistake was to try “pantsing” as a writing technique — that is, to write from the seat of my pants rather than from a plan and an outline. While my first drafts are always shit (which does not make me at … Continue reading Three years ago today, I started writing “Immunity Index”

You can read a portion of Chapter 1 of Immunity Index at the Tor/Forge blog. It will be published on May 4: https://www.torforgeblog.com/2021/02/26/excerpt-immunity-index-by-sue-burke/ It’s not a sequel to Semiosis and Interference (the sequel, Usurpation, is on the way). Instead, this is the story of separated sisters, a virus, a rebellion — and a cantankerous woolly … Continue reading Read an excerpt of my next book: Immunity Index

Photo: Birr Castle gardens, Ireland. Photo by Sue Burke. (This is a section cut from the manuscript for reasons of length in which Stevland declares his faith.) Human meteorologists tell me that rain comes as the result of vast movements in the air that bring warmer or cooler, and wetter or drier air masses from … Continue reading Water is life: Stevland and the god of water

A reader contacted me to ask how Stevland’s name is pronounced (STEEV-land) and passed on sketches of some Pax creatures made by her daughter, who had also read Semiosis. The sketches were wonderful! The daughter, Rene LeCompte, was kind enough to let me share her art and ask her a few questions via email. *** … Continue reading Fan art by Renee LeCompte!

…then keep growing. When you’re big enough, bust out and take charge.

In the acknowledgments to Semiosis, I wrote: “I owe thanks to Gregory Frost, whose writing exercise about a special kind of wall led to this novel.” That exercise took place in 1996 at the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop, which I attended. As one of the instructors, Greg assigned several exercises over his week … Continue reading Imagine a wall…

As you may know, the novels Semiosis and Interference are set on a distant planet and feature a small animal called a fippokat. The fippokat is based on my sister-in-law’s imaginary childhood animal. This year, for Christmas, I commissioned a friend who is a fiber artist to create a fippokat for her as a gift. … Continue reading For Christmas: a fippokat