#PennedPossibilities 825
What are your favorite chilling scenarios to write, and how are you able to accomplish this? Through setting, emotion, dialogue, and / or buildup?

I wouldn't say I have any favorite chilling scenarios. I just don't write them that often. Of the few that I have written, my favorite is a short piece based on the Cask of Amontillado, from the perspective of the guy who gets walled in. I'm told it came out very well.

I'd say the scenarios I've written have mostly relied on emotion, with some build up.

The Cask of Amontillado one is pretty short, so I'll drop it in a reply for anyone interested.

#PennedPossibilities 822. MC POV: Are you proud of who you are?

MC1: I've lived by my wits for 40 years as a career criminal, as you can see they haven't hanged me—and I did it my way! Of course I'm proud!

MC2: When I arrived, on the run and penniless, the Nightshades took me in. They were on the ropes. It took me 40 years but I turned them around: we're the top crime family in this star system, my granddaughter married the planetary governor's heir, and I'm the matriarch. You bet I'm proud!

#PennedPossibilities 821 — What is the spookiest thing you’ve ever written? Share an excerpt.

Probably "A Colder War".

Here's the whole thing: https://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

#PennedPossibilities 821 — What is the spookiest thing you’ve ever written? Share an excerpt.

Probably "A Colder War".

Here's the whole thing: https://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

#PennedPossibilities Have you ever frightened yourself while writing a scary scene?

Sometimes. The scene where Persephone discovers Schiller's spinal injuries unit, in "The Apocalypse Codex", scared the crap out of me and I admit I chickened out of following it where it wanted to go.

But usually? Nah, I'm giggling and rubbing my hands together in glee as I describe another mass-crucifixion of burning clowns ...

#PennedPossibilities 820 — Have you ever frightened yourself while writing a scary scene? If so, what was it about?

No. I've made myself cry occasionally at a sentimental high point, but never frightened myself. I have complete faith that I am in control of my own writing and stories, and that I have nothing to fear from them.

I might wryly add that it's the blank page that authors are supposed to be scared of.

#PennedPossibilities 818 — Put together a “paranormal investigation team” using your characters. Who’s doing what?

*Eye-roll*

The next Laundry Files novel (The Regicide Report, coming out January 27th) *explicitly* has that as a sub-plot. Let's just say, Bob has reservations …

#PennedPossibilities 817
Does your universe have any autumnal traditions?

TBH I'm not ever sure about the axial tilt of the super-moon where most of the current WIP's action is set, much less the other worlds in the setting (which covers about 8000 star systems, a tiny corner of the settled extent of the Virgo Supercluster)!

#PennedPossibilities 815—What song comes to mind when you're thinking about your WIP?

It HAS to be "Opportunities (Let's make lots of money)" by the Pet Shop Boys. I mean, it's a heist caper novel ...

#PennedPossibilities 814 — Your MC or SC meets a vampire. What do they do?

(Laundry Files)

If MC is Bob, then it depends on whether or not the PHANG is working for Mhari. If yes, it's okay. If not, well, Bob's been thrown through a wall by a PHANG before and came out on top, so ...

If MC is Mo, then it had better bloody well not be Lecter again.

#PennedPossibilities 808 If you have any, post a snippet with a bat, witch, or ghost.

Screencap from "Neptune's Brood" (see alt text), where our protagonist Krina meets a space-going chiropteran insurance underwriter—a space pirate—who is *extremely* interested in the whereabouts of her sister. (Because everything is better with alien space bats!)

#PennedPossibilities 809 — Define the genre(s) of your WIP for curious readers and those who are new to the hashtag.

I am currently twin-tracking two WIPs, with a shared setting (but not characters)—very far future SF (700,000 years hence), arguably space opera but weird.

WIP number one is Iain M. Banks' flavoured space opera (not a clone of the Culture, but aiming for a similar sensibility). WIP number two riffs off Harry Harrison's *Stainless Steel Rat* (it's a multi-vehicle heist pile-up).

#PennedPossibilities 807 — Have you ever written anything that falls within the genre of horror? If you haven’t, is it something you would be interested in doing someday?

Will you settle for an entire revisionist Lovecraftian horror-comedy-satire series (14 novels and about 100K words of short fiction)?

… Yeah, been there, did that! (The Laundry Files/New Management series.) So pivoting to do something different next.

#PennedPossibilities 799.1 — What species is your MC?

Heh. In "Ghost Engine", the MCs are all Shinies—an engineered hominin species (who are genetically about as closely related to us as clownfish or platypuses).

In "Starter Pack" the MCs think of themselves as human, but our species of hominid is long-extinct. (They're *functionally* human: I haven't enumerated their differences.) There are other hominin species, mostly engineered for compatability with different biospheres.

#PennedPossibilities Footnote: it's probably not getting dumped—draft 3 is 80% complete and that first 80% is solid, the last 20% is going to be straightforward in principle. But I don't normally need to rewrite (as opposed to self-edit/redraft), much less rewrite *twice*.

#PennedPossibilities 796 — Have you had to cut anything significant from your WIP?

Plenty of times! But as I do this for a living, wasted words are wasted work, so I try to get everything right first time round.

(One of my two current WIPs is a problem child, and is now on the third re-write. If I can't stick the landing this time round, it's getting dumped: obviously I was over-ambitious, and the sunk cost fallacy applies.)

#pennedpossibilities 795, Tell us about your MC’s past or current jobs.

(Two MCs).

Jum has been a con man, laborer, professional gambler, dragon breeder, hacker, gem thief, bank robber, robot slaver, and crimetech. He's currently experiencing acute imposter syndrome as a viscount.

Tabitha has been an heiress, burglar, hotelier, surrogate mother, apothecary, organized crime boss, tomb robber, taxidermist, royal lady-in-waiting, and poisoner. She's currently masquerading as a duke's daughter.

#pennedpossibilities 795. Tell us about your MC’s past or current jobs. What are their skills?
Lefeng spent most of eir life as a nomadic hunter-gatherer and has all the skills needed for that lifestyle. Ey is an expert tracker, skilled hunter, can recognize hundreds of edible plants and fungi, cook over (or under) a fire, make clothing from hides, so on and so forth.

Today ey doesn't have a job as eir family has yet to settle on a new trade.

#PlantingLife

#PennedPossibilities 794 — Describe a “happy life” according to your antagonist?

There is no human antagonist in my current WIP: the antagonist is a vast interlocking system of class and gender oppression that grinds down anyone who opposes it and co-opts anyone who's willing to go along to get along. It's also immortal (unlike our current milieu).

Insofar as there are antagonists they're just content to be rich, happy cogs in a bloodletting machine.

#PennedPossibilities 788 — Out of all of your characters, who would make a “plan,” who follows along, and who knows if the plan is going to fail?

Paiokp or Kolchais make the plan.

Lefeng makes it happen, knocking over anything in eir way.

Tsouchm and Chotaikytsai know when it's going to fail.

Kyatchais mostly does eir own thing.