Sanction and Sin: Warhammer Crime and Women in Black Library – with J.S. Collyer, Victoria Hayward, Jude Reid and Danie Ware

Hello and welcome to this very special author interview here on Track of Words, where today I’m talking to no fewer than four fantastic authors – J.S. Collyer, Victoria Hayward, Jude Reid and Danie Ware – about their stories in the new Warhammer Crime anthology Sanction & Sin from Black Library. It’s always great to see new stories published in the Warhammer Crime range, and Sanction & Sin sounds like a fantastic collection of stories exploring some really interesting angles on Warhammer 40,000 as a setting. More than that though, it’s something of a landmark for Black Library as the first anthology to feature stories from four female authors.

With that in mind, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to tackle a few different things in one interview. I’m as interested as any Black Library fan to learn more about some of the stories featured in Sanction & Sin, so in the first part of the interview I’ve asked each of the four authors to talk a bit about their individual stories – who the characters are, what sort of crime story it is, and generally what we can expect from each story (all of which sound fantastic). Obviously these are just four of the nine stories in the anthology, but I think these answers provide a really great idea of what to expect from Sanction & Sin.

After that the interview turns into more of a round table, beginning with a conversation with the authors about their experience of writing for Warhammer Crime, about telling ‘domestic 40k’ stories and working within the confines of an unusually focused setting for Black Library. For the final part of the interview I wanted to get the authors’ thoughts about female representation and gender diversity in Black Library fiction, as reflected by the positive message that Sanction & Sin is sending.

Personally I’m delighted to have the opportunity to read so many 40k stories from female perspectives, as I’m keen to get as many viewpoints on the setting as possible. I think it’s fascinating to hear from these authors what their experiences have been of the Black Library fandom, and the work that BL is doing to promote diverse, welcoming representation. It’s an interesting topic, one that I think deserves to be discussed as much as possible, and Sanction & Sin provides a perfect opportunity for that discussion.

That’s more than enough from me though, so let’s get straight on with the interview.

Individual stories

Here, in alphabetical order by author, are each of the four fantastic authors – J.S. Collyer, Victoria Hayward, Jude Reid and Danie Ware, talking about their stories in this anthology. I’m sure you’ll agree, after reading this, that these stories sound like great reads!

All three of J.S. Collyer’s Orbit Series

ToW: Could you tell us a bit about yourself, and what sort of things you like to write about?

JSC: My name is J. S. Collyer and I’m originally from the Midlands but have lived in Lancaster in the North of England since 2003, when I moved here to study English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University. I graduated in 2008 with an MA in Creative Writing and had my first novel, Zero (book 1 in the Science Fiction Orbit Series) released in 2014. The sequels, Haven and Silence, were released in 2015 & 2016 and I have been lucky enough to have short stories featured in a number of anthologies also.

I love to write the same sort of stuff I like to read – dark and dangerous genre fiction with plenty of action but with a generous dollop of emotion and humanity. In short, character-driven, grounded narratives in out-of-this world settings.

ToW: What is the title of your story in Sanction & Sin, and what is it about?

JSC: My story is called Blood Ballot. It is the story of Nimmo Della-Tozeere, a Gilded outcast who has constructed an underground empire trading information and secrets in the underbelly of Varangantua.

Her new life is threatened when she is called home to solve an impending family crisis. It has come down to Nimmo, who wants nothing more than to dissociate from her corrupt, abusive family forever, to cast the deciding vote in a Blood Ballot that will determine the family’s fate.

The story is about her being forced to confront her past and make a choice about how it will affect her future.

ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?

JSC: Nimmo Della-Tozeere was born Gilded. When she was cast out for refusing an arranged marriage, she was forced to flee to the sordid underbelly of Varangantua. To her surprise, she found herself quite at home, having learnt all there was to know about backstabbing and manipulation growing up in her power-hungry family.

Resourceful, fierce and determined, Nimmo is feared and revered in equal measure but what people don’t see is her daily fight to repress truths about herself she would rather were left buried.

ToW: Of all the Warhammer Crime stories you could have written, what made you choose to tell this particular story?

JSC: I surprised myself quite a lot with Blood Ballot. I’m a huge fan of traditional crime and police procedurals so I was certain I would go down more of a mystery/whodunnit route. But then the character of Nimmo came to me and I found myself wanting to tell her story instead.

ToW: Could you talk a bit about what sort of crime story it is, and who or what your influences were when writing it?

JSC: As I say, Blood Ballot is less a traditional crime story and more a power-breeds-corruption type narrative about manipulation, influence, fate and opportunities. It is more an examination of status and how the divides between levels in society are thinner than you think. With plenty of action, intrigue and gunfire to keep things interesting, naturally.

From a 40k perspective, my biggest influence is Mike Brooks who writes killer character-driven 40k fiction. I wanted to emulate his ability to balance action and emotion. As far as the plot goes I’m guessing my biggest influences were gang series and movies such as Sons of Anarchy (Gemma is my hero), In Bruges and Dredd – big budget, big action stories with big emotional payoffs.

Victoria’s first Black Library story to be published was The Carbis Incident

ToW: Could you tell us a bit about yourself, and what sort of things you like to write about?

VH: Hello! I’m a historian by training and a science communicator/research development person by profession. Most of my day job is spent getting to talk to very intelligent people about how to make their research sound sexier whilst covertly noting down any especially cool ideas for fiction writing purposes.

In 40K, I’m a sucker for the Inquisition (Ravenor, Eisenhorn and Jaq Draco having been my gateway to the setting when I was a teenager), but I really like the whole aesthetic, horror and weirdness of the universe. I’m also interested in characterisation and humanity. I love moments of tension and conflict, and exploring the psyche of the people living in the Imperium – thinking about how they imagine themselves, their roles, their function in this setting, and what it means for their identities and perception of self.

ToW: What is the title of your story in Sanction & Sin, and what is it about?

VH: The Siege of Ismyr features Sanctioner Captain Ania Kovak who is about to have a *very* bad – and cold – day at work. She’s also going to find out exactly how far she’s willing to go to uphold the Lex.

ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?

VH: Lubek Daforn – don’t buy any of her antiques. They’re expensive and almost *certainly* illegal.

Captain Hanne Laukkanen – don’t touch her cyber-mastiff, and don’t even consider taking her on in a sharpshooting contest.

Captain Ania Kovak – she’s a woman on the edge, and this mission could make or break her district – so keep out of her way!

ToW: Of all the Warhammer Crime stories you could have written, what made you choose to tell this particular story?

VH: I was really interested in exploring how an enforcer might imagine their function and relationship to the Lex – how this might interact with their faith, their sense of self and so on, and what happens when they’re pushed to their limits. I also wanted to make sure we had some good old-fashioned action! In terms of location, we’re out at the frozen edge of the city which is really unsettling for our protagonist. I was interested in the aesthetics of what industrial coastal life would look like in Varangantua, and although that’s not a focus I hope it’s an interesting new corner of the world to see.

ToW: Could you talk a bit about what sort of crime story it is, and who or what your influences were when writing it?

Think 80s action crime. We’re talking explosions, treachery, camaraderie, stoic heroes and flamboyant snarky villains with a bit of gallows humour thrown in. That’s definitely the flavour I was hoping to impart, anyway!

Jude’s story Live Bait is featured in Night Terrors Vol. 2: Scare Street

ToW: Could you tell us a bit about yourself, and what sort of things you like to write about?

JR: I’m Jude Reid, I’m a writer from Glasgow. Generally I write a mixture of modern and gothic horror, occasionally dipping my toe into SF and Kidlit. When I’m not writing I work as a surgeon for the NHS.

ToW: What is the title of your story in Sanction & Sin, and what is it about?

JR: My story’s called Unnatural Causes, and it’s about a mortuarium worker who makes an unexpected discovery when she takes delivery of a corpse late one night…

ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?

JR: The main character is Martia Lyviska — she’s a gifted medicae whose life hasn’t turned out the way she had hoped. At the start of the story she’s a single mother living in a run-down hab block in the Thronegate district, where the air pollution is slowly killing her young son.

ToW: Of all the Warhammer Crime stories you could have written, what made you choose to tell this particular story?

JR: I wanted to take the opportunity to write about someone with no special skills, no particular influence or power, and who makes one bad decision that very rapidly gets her into a desperate situation. I also really relished the chance to write from a medicae’s point of view, and use a bit of anatomical knowledge from my day job, albeit transported thousands of years into the future.

ToW: Could you talk a bit about what sort of crime story it is, and who or what your influences were when writing it?

JR: Unnatural Causes is a forensic thriller — a sort of sci-fi Silent Witness, which I think fits in perfectly with the omnipresent gothic physicality of the 40k universe. The characters live in a society that can send massive floating cathedrals into space and travel faster than light, but still relies on human corpses to make ration bars and semi-autonomous cyborg servitors. From there, I started thinking about what things might happen to cadavers on Varangantua, and the core concept for the story grew out of that.

In terms of influences, James Ellroy is one of my favourite writers, and his ability to write complex characters is something I greatly envy! I also love Tartan Noir as a genre, particularly the works of Denise Mina, Iain Rankin and Chris Brookmyre, full of anti-heroes having personal crises while dreadful crimes unfold around them.

The first of Danie’s three Sisters of Battle novellas featuring Sister Augusta

ToW: Could you tell us a bit about yourself, and what sort of things you like to write about?

DW: I’m a lifelong geek, a gamer, a single mum, and I have a seventeen year old son (who does lots of Warhammer painting). After leaving Uni, I did ten years in Dark Age and Medieval re-enactment before moving to London from Norwich. And now, after seventeen years of running the celebrity/creator events at London’s Forbidden Planet, I conjure marketing for a small RPG company, Handiwork Games, that makes (among other things) some really pretty 5e content.

My writing is anything escapist – bright or dark, magic or firearms, fantasy or SF or any combination of the above! I have a particular fascination for ‘culture shock’ fiction’; taking a character from one thing and dropping them into another and just seeing what happens, how they cope, and what goes bang. My ECKO series takes a psychotic CyberPunk assassin and drops him into a classic fantasy world, with instructions that he has to save it – along with his own failing mental state. But is he really there, or is it just one huge computer program, a virtual Rorschach?

I enjoy writing good characters, strong atmospherics and (usually) quite a lot of violence/combat. ECKO gave me the chance to do the Big Fantasy Battle (which was great fun), my standalone novel Children of Artifice is all about the characters, their relationships and families, and about the atmospherics that surround them. Writing Warhammer is just good butt-kicking fun!

ToW: What is the title of your story in Sanction & Sin, and what is it about?

DW: The story is called Bracelet of Bones and it’s about Sanctioner Luiza Rakhil, pinned down in the backstreets of Varangantua, her bulwark broken, her team decimated, and enemies on all sides. She has to keep a critical witness alive to testify, and it isn’t going to be easy.

ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?

DW: Rakhil is an experienced Sanctioner: efficient, no-nonsense and with a considerable reputation. Petar is her grim, stimm-taking partner. And their witness is one Kevrat Tamber: young, spire-born and badly addicted to narc. He’s off his face, completely oblivious to the danger he’s in, and he believes that the Emperor has chosen for some special mission. Couldn’t possibly go wrong…

ToW: Could you talk a bit about what sort of crime story it is, and who or what your influences were when writing it?

DW: Crime is a new genre to me, and not something I’ve written before. I enjoyed No Good Men, but the main influence for this story was actually Gotham, which my son and I have really enjoyed watching. It’s a fantastic series (I love seeing the villains take form!) – but it was particularly the opening season, where everything is the crime families, and their games and manipulations and intimidations and casual cruelty. It’s a smart, subtle art, layers upon layers, betrayals and machinations – but the sense of family honour and loyalty is always strong. And Gotham offered really good imagery, the docks and cranes, the containers and warehouses – when you read the story, you’ll see!

Warhammer Crime

In this next section I wanted to get a few of the authors’ thoughts on Warhammer Crime as a whole, given that this is still quite a new range for Black Library.

ToW: What is it about Varangantua as a setting for storytelling, and Warhammer Crime’s sense of ‘domestic 40k’ in general, that appeals to you as a writer?

DW: Varangantua has a sprawling decadence and decay that’s a very popular theme, at the moment (can’t imagine why…). There’s a sort-of Steampunk feel to it, with a dash of CyberPunk hardware, a generous helping of Grimdark, and the constant eye of the God-Emperor, still watching over all. While you may not have encountered it before, Varagantua is somewhere you’ll be absolutely familiar with. Completely coincidentally, my second and third Augusta novellas are set on a crumbling world with a failing red sun – as a backdrop goes, it just fits.

‘Domestic 40k’ – I confess, the concept was originally quite difficult. I was definitely helped by Gotham, and by my years of playing the CyberPunk RPG. We’ve all done dirty backstreets at some point, and they always have such huge narrative potential – it was ‘making them 40k’ that I found quite hard!

VH: Oh, the endless opportunities to examine the reality of living in this setting on a human scale are just so appealing. I really like when people think through how things work in 40K at a practical level. And of course domestic doesn’t mean nice – far from it. This is still the grimdark future, and actually in a way it’s more shocking when we’re seeing what that looks like away from the battlefield. For example, some of the most harrowing moments in Steve Lyons’ Dead Men Walking for me were probably the parts you could class as ‘domestic.’

JR: At the moment it’s my favourite part of the setting! There are lots of fantastic Black Library books that talk about the larger-than-life heroes defending the Imperium, but of course they’re vastly outnumbered by the ordinary Imperial citizens, who’re mostly ignorant of the wider issues of life in the 41st millenium. I love exploring the ways that mundane lives would be influenced by living in an absolute theocracy that’s part of a galaxy-spanning military industrial complex, tiny cogs in a vast machine that could crush them at any moment.

JSC: As I mentioned earlier, I’m all about character-driven narratives. The ‘domestic’ stories appeal to me a great deal. 40k is just so vast as to almost be unknowable. The upside of this is that there are almost infinite possibilities for stories. But I find the most fascinating ones are those about how ordinary people actually live day-to-day in the larger-than-life war-torn universe.

Varangantua in particular appealed because of the domestic style, but also because I love crime fiction in all its forms and the opportunity to explore the best and the worst in people that it offers.

ToW: How do you feel about all Warhammer Crime stories being set in the same city? Is that a challenge? A restriction? An opportunity?

VH: It’s awesome! And it’s also all of those things. The restriction of working in the same city provides the challenge, which in turn provides the opportunity to create something really coherent and distinctive-feeling.

It’s amazing to be contributing to a setting where heavyweights like Chris Wraight and Guy Haley have already written some really cool establishing novels, with more forthcoming good stuff from Marc Collins (whose Quillion Drask short in No Good Men was a favourite for me).

Marc Collins’ debut novel Grim Repast is coming soon

Equally, I think it’s really cool that we have a wealth of short stories from different authors, which are all unique little windows into this world. Each one you open shows you a different scene, a different take and a different experience of the setting. You can step into the shoes of such varied characters and explore the city from a new angle each time.

JSC: Compared to the rest of the 40k universe, Varangantua must seem so small as to almost be insignificant. But it is still home to a huge variety of people, all with their own hopes, dreams and levels of corruption. I can’t help but feel that it could almost be the dystopian future that lies in wait for our own planet. I didn’t find it a challenge or a restriction to set a story there for these reasons, quite the opposite.

DW: It can make things a bit ‘samey’. Crime as a genre has a very specific set of rules and character tropes that can get overused very easily – and when you set similar stories in a specific and single background, you do run the risk of ending up with multiple repeats of the same thing. Having said that, though, Varangantua’s sheer vastness has endless possibilities and is there to be explored – so there is ample opportunity to pick different themes, stories, and characters, and different parts of the city to expand upon.

JR: I really like it — it gives a good solid, coherent grounding to the stories, but given that the city is the size of the whole planet there’s plenty of room for all of the different districts to have unique and interesting features.

Female representation

As I mentioned at the start of the interview, Sanction & Sin marks the first time that four female authors have had stories featured in a Black Library anthology. I feel like there’s a growing trend within BL towards telling stories that encompass as many different perspectives and worldviews as possible, which as far as I’m concerned can only be a good thing. I couldn’t pass up the chance to ask these authors about how they’ve found writing for Black Library.

ToW: You’re all part of a growing number of female writers working on Black Library fiction – is gender inclusivity something you’re conscious of in general? Is it important for you as authors?

JSC: First and foremost I want to be thought of as a writer and have my stories judged on their own merit. However, having said that, I know that you are more likely to try your hand or get involved with something if people similar to you have gone before. It’s not even conscious most of the time, but it does matter and it does make a difference. For those reasons I’m glad more women are being included in the Black Library. Diversifying can only be a good thing. It will bring fresh voices to the canon as well as new people into the fandom. There’s no downside to inclusivity.

JR: Yes, absolutely. The more barriers to inclusion we break down, the more talented writers can get out there telling their stories.

DW: It’s something I’m very conscious of. I’ve been gaming for thirty-five years, right back to the bad ol’ days where it was still ‘Nerds in the Closet’ and ‘No Girls Allowed’. In fairness, I’ve been very fortunate, because my various RPG groups always had a strong female presence, and it was never an issue – but I have friends who tell stories of being the only girl in an all-male group and having the PCs gang up to kill their characters, and similar foolishness.

Likewise, after seventeen years working at Forbidden Planet, I’ve ridden the cresting wave that has been the arrival of geek culture – and female representation has been very much a part of all of it. Not only in the on-screen/on-page characters, but more women celebrating films and comics and fandoms, and just enjoying being geeks. There are more women gaming, and wargaming, than ever before, and seeing that reflected – and spearheaded – by the Black Library is absolutely critical.

VH: Absolutely. Both from the perspective of wanting writers to be treated fairly, but also as a reader. The thought that there are amazing books out there that might never be written because their authors face barriers to publication is a loss to all of us.

ToW: How does it feel being part of what is essentially a landmark anthology for BL, with more female viewpoints – both authors and characters – than ever before?

DW: It’s a very good thing – these landmarks just keep coming, and keep coming, and every one of them is another barrier down. Sadly the barriers do still exist (we know this, though I’m not going there) and knowing that the Emperor is on-side is kind of important.

JR: It’s a massive privilege! Honestly I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it, and in such great company.

VH: I’m really proud to be in this collection, and I’m also very aware that it’s coming in on a trail blazed by those who have come before, both in terms of brilliant women authors and characters. We’ve got Sarah Cawkwell’s classic work with the Silver Skulls right through to the recent Covens of Blood portmanteau by Anna Stephens, Liane Merciel, and Jamie Crisalli. And no end of fantastic and memorable characters in the setting across the years – to name just a handful, Ephrael Stern, Eleanora VanGhest, Minka Lesk, Severina Raine, Patience Kys and Beta Bequin.

Eleanora VanGhest is a fabulous character from Andy Clark’s Gloomspite

JSC: I’m just happy to be included at all and hope that the book will be judged on the quality of its writing above all else, but I can’t and don’t want to ignore how important this is. I can only say I’m proud and honoured to be considered good enough to be included, as well as to be featured in the same book as so many great writers who include groundbreaking female BL authors.

ToW: It’s great to see so many female protagonists in Sanction & Sin – how important is it to you that Black Library fiction has its fair share of great female protagonists?

JR: It’s really important to me. I’ve been playing Warhammer 40k and Necromunda since the 1990s, when it was quite unusual to meet other women who were fans, or see female characters with much agency in the books. There’s been a fantastic change in the inclusivity of the hobby and the books in recent years which is lovely to see.

DW: When I originally created Sister Augusta, I made her my age – almost without thinking, it just fitted the character concept. And I’ve since discovered that she’s something of a rarity, not only in BL fiction, but in SFF fiction in general – an older female lead is just not something you see very often. Men are allowed to be grizzled vets, so why not women? But, we’re moving away (and high time) from female characters being purely titillating, or put in supportive narrative roles (or both) – it’s good to see, not only female characters, but female characters that are diverse within themselves, if you like.

JSC: It’s very important to me simply because of my investment in the craft of writing itself. Half the human population is female. Unless there’s representation of characters of both sexes (as well inclusion of those in between), well, it’s just not realistic to me. And if something’s not realistic I struggle to get invested. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a genre fiction fan and have a well-developed ability to suspend my disbelief. But the story has to meet me in the middle somewhere.

And yes, I know there are no lady Space Marines and some might say that fact can’t help but impact on the numbers of female characters in 40k stories. But 40k is an infinitely diverse and indefinably massive setting. There is so much more to it than Space Marines.

VH: Very important! Both when we’re talking more protagonists and writers. I think in all media (not just Black Library) this matters. For readers, it means we get more stories, more perspectives, more angles on a setting we love – more diversity in storytelling is a great thing for everyone and we all benefit.

As a writer, my interest lies in crafting complex characters who feel like real people. Whether they’re cruel, compassionate, funny, powerful, wise, vulnerable, cunning, ruthless or flawed – I hope that they are interesting and convincing. I also hope that readers get a sense of why they make the choices they do, and of the beliefs, hopes and fears that form their internal worlds.

One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about writing in the 40k setting is that I have just been able to write characters who aren’t operating within the context of the gender expectations that women have to navigate in our world. They are simply who they are – their role and their character are the things that they are judged by. That and their proximity to heresy…

That’s refreshing to write, and I hope it’s refreshing to read! I think it’s certainly important to see.

Rachel Harrison’s Honourbound, featuring Commissar Severina Raine

ToW: Whether contributing to an anthology like this, or just writing an individual Warhammer story, do you think about the fact that you’re providing opportunities for female fans/readers to see themselves represented in Warhammer and Black Library? What does that mean to you?

JSC: I absolutely do think about it. Just to say again, I want to be considered a writer, rather than a ‘female writer’. But the hope that I might encourage people who previously felt excluded or, more likely, never drawn to the fandom, to check it out, find joy and, potentially, even take a shot at writing for it themselves, well, who couldn’t be proud of that? That means a lot.

VH: Whilst I hope I’m not inspiring a generation of corrupt detectives or obsessive enforcers with no work-life balance, I do hope that other women enjoy reading about characters who are just getting on with their lives without having to navigate expectations based on gender, and who don’t slot into stereotypical roles. That’s certainly what I want when I pick up a book or watch a film – just women getting a chance to get on with things, whether that’s being a powerful hero or villain, or anything in between.

JR: Generally I end up telling the stories that I would want to read — so I hope the readers enjoy them and get something out of seeing themselves represented on the page.

DW: Very proud to fly the flag – it’s something I’ve carried from my school days (first intake of girls at an all-boys boarding school). Taking on a new hobby, particularly something as intense as Warhammer with its very passionate fandoms, can be genuinely daunting – how do you break through the surface and get accepted/really feel like you belong? And if you’re a woman, it can still feel a bit like a ‘Boy’s Club’ – which makes it much harder. (Plus, you may still face hostility, sadly, people telling you that ‘girls can’t play’). Having good female representation – not just authors and characters, but all across the hobby – is really important in terms of support, and identification.

ToW: Is there anything you would like to see Black Library do – something different, more of something, etc. – when it comes to female representation and gender inclusivity in general?

DW: Just more of the same – keep on doing what they’re doing. And not just for women, but for inclusivity across the board!

JSC: Being relatively new to the 40k and Black Library universe I would hesitate to suggest anything too adamantly as I’ve not yet read as widely as I intend to. But I will just repeat that there is no downside to inclusivity. Diversity among characters represented in a realm so packed with possibility as 40k isn’t only positive, it’s realistic. My feelings aren’t driven by anything political or social (though I can see those are important factors in this discussion) but are born of my love of quality storytelling. Humanity and 40k are both rich, diverse story-scapes. Why deny ourselves anything that can make it even more appealing or bring the world closer to its audience? It’s built up a head of steam, no question and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes with it.

JR: I think they’re doing brilliantly — long may it continue!

VH: I think I’d flip that question and say I’d like to see other places do what Black Library are doing! Within Black Library itself they have great leadership, with the two senior editors being women.

Publishing moves slowly of course, but Black Library have also done two tangible things which I think are really important:

• Producing collections like Sanction & Sin where they’re including varied voices and storytelling.
• Supporting writers at the grassroots – as a new author I have benefited hugely from editorial development and actually the community of established Black Library writers who are all absolute diamonds.

At the end of the day, nobody wants barriers getting in the way of good stories or good authors. As a reader I want to see every possible angle on the 40k setting examined. We’ve got a billion worlds to explore, we’re going to need people with fresh takes and unheard voices to take us along for that ride!

Amir Zand’s incredible cover art for Chris Wraight’s Bloodlines – the first Warhammer Crime novel (click to expand)

Finally…

ToW: Finally, returning to Warhammer Crime…if you lived in Varangantua, what do you think you would be doing and how would you get on?

JR: I like to think I’d be some tough-as-nails verispex working alongside the city’s probators, solving crimes and holding the guilty to account — but I suspect I’d be a lot more like Martia, keeping my head down and trying to keep my family alive one day at a time.

JSC: Well as much as I love well-defined, complex characters with high emotional intelligence, powerful motivations and exciting destinies, I myself am quite a simple soul without much gumption or backbone. I imagine I would be a humble manufactory worker or spend my days scrubbing the floors in a refectory, hoping no one noticed me until I got to go home to my meagre rations and the 4 hours sleep I would likely get before the cycle starts over again.

That will probably be a disappointing or boring answer to end with, but I just know if anyone who knows me reads this and I made out that I would be an action-hungry probator or bad-ass ganger, they would laugh quite hard. I like cats and tea and a nice sit, most of the time. I probably wouldn’t get all those things on Varungantua, but I’m hopeful I would at least get a routine, if not necessarily a comfortable one.

DW: Ha! Were I younger, I might still see myself in my reenactor youth, and as something combative and cool, but I’m not Augusta (sadly) and I think I’m rather past that point…

VH: Haha! Knowing what I know, I think I’d be running a little recaf shop somewhere as quiet as possible. Do stop by for a drink but don’t you dare bring the filth or you’re barred.

***

J. S. Collyer is a science fiction writer from Lancaster, UK. She studied Creative Writing to MA level at Lancaster University. Since then she has had her short fiction featured in several online publications and printed anthologies. Her first novel, Book 1 in the Orbit Series, Zero, an action-packed, character-driven SciFi novel described as ‘Firefly meets James Bond’ was released by Dagda Publishing in 2014 and made it into Northern Soul Magazine’s Best Reads of 2014. The sequel, Haven, was released October 2015 and the third and final instalment, Silence, was released July 2016. She enjoys writing stories that are larger than life, but with down-to-earth, relatable themes and characters. You can find her on Twitter @JexShinigami.

Victoria Hayward is a trained historitor who spent her youth serving as an acolyte in a Games Workshop store. She writes about black holes and the palaces of despots in her day job as a science communicator and her favourite corners of the 40k universe are those occupied by the Inquisition – which is all of it. She resides in Nottingham where she keeps birds and practises printmaking. You can find her on Twitter @WriterVh.

Jude Reid lives in Glasgow and writes stories in the narrow gaps between full time work as a surgeon, wrangling her kids and trying to wear out a border collie. She likes tabletop RPGs, running away from zombies and climbing inadvisably large mountains. You can find her on Twitter @squintywitch.

Danie Ware is the author of the novellas The Bloodied Rose, Wreck and Ruin and The Rose in Anger, and the short story Mercy, all featuring the Sisters of Battle. She lives in Carshalton, South London, with her son and two cats, and has long-held interests in role-playing, re-enactment, vinyl art toys and personal fitness. You can find her on Twitter @Danacea.

***

I hope you enjoyed reading this interview as much as I’ve enjoyed working on it! All that’s left is to say a huge thank you to all four authors – J.S. Collyer, Victoria Hayward, Jude Reid and Danie Ware – for taking the time to contribute such thoughtful, interesting answers. I can’t wait to read all of their stories within Sanction & Sin (not to mention the remaining stories from Jonathan D. Beer, Mike Brooks, Darius Hinks, Gary Kloster and J.C. Stearns), and I hope this has got you excited to read them too!

See also: all of the Warhammer Crime interviews and reviews on Track of Words.

Sanction & Sin is available now from Black Library/Games Workshop, and available to pre-order from the wider book trade.

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