Eric James Stone in the Writers of the Future Epic eBundle
This interview is part of a series on the authors contributing to the Writers of the Future Epic eBundle, available starting July 11.
I first met Eric James Stone 10 years ago when he spoke to our class of winners at the Writers of the Future workshop for Volume 31. He spoke confidently and encouragingly on what lay ahead for us as winners, while never glossing over the hard work and challenges ahead. I have had the pleasure of talking with him and his wife Darci (winner of the Writers of the Future Golden Pen award in 2018) nearly every workshop since. He is wry and erudite, and I always learn from him. He also edited a charity anthology which was not my first professional sale (charity anthologies don’t pay, after all) but was my first time being published alongside Hugo winners and other professionals who would later become friends. I am extremely honored to share this eBundle with him.
Eric James Stone is a Nebula Award winner, Hugo nominee, Writers of the Future Contest winner, and two-time finalist for the Association for Mormon Letters Awards. Over sixty of his stories have appeared in publications such as Year’s Best SF, Analog, and Nature. His science fiction thriller Unforgettable (Baen Books) has been optioned multiple times by Hollywood.
From 2009 to 2015, Eric was an assistant editor for Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. Since 2024, he has served as a consulting judge for the Writers of the Future Contest.
The son of an Argentine immigrant to the US, Eric grew up bilingual and spent much of his childhood in Latin America. He later lived in England and Italy, becoming trilingual while serving a church mission. He earned a political science degree from BYU—where he sang in the Russian Choir—and a law degree from Baylor. After political work in Washington, D.C., he shifted to a career in web development.
After a decade-long break from writing, he resumed in 2002. He now works as a cybersecurity manager and lives in Utah with his wife, Darci—an award-winning author and high school science teacher—and their two children.
I had the opportunity to ask Eric a few questions about him, his work, and the Writers of the Future Epic eBundle.
How are you associated with Writers of the Future, and what does it mean to you?
I credit the Writers of the Future Contest with launching my writing career. My first professionally published story was a published finalist in Writers of the Future Volume 20. I went on to be a winner in Volume 21. Since then, I have been an avid advocate for the contest. For the past couple of years, I’ve been a consulting judge for the contest.
Tell us about your book in the bundle. Why did you choose this book from all your works?
I did a lot of creative writing in college, but it was all short fiction. I wasn’t sure I was even capable of writing a novel. After taking a break from creative writing for over 10 years, what got me back into it was the idea for an epic fantasy novel. I sat down and wrote a 7000-word prologue, which was the longest thing I’d ever written to that point. It grew into my first full novel: Heir of the Line. I chose it because it’s my favorite novel I’ve written.
I never managed to come up with a one-sentence elevator pitch for the book, but here’s a one-paragraph pitch:
Becoming a Protector of the Line is all Geradin ever wanted. But guarding the last living descendant of the Line of Orcan requires more than his sword-fighting skills—King Aumekor is mostly paralyzed, his condition kept secret. Along with Royal Omnimancer Selima and her powerful apprentice, Allonna, Geradin must deal with brainwashed assassins, a scheming regent, and more. Above all hangs the threat from the immortal priestess of the Dark God, who fears an ancient prophecy that the only one who can kill her will be the Heir of the Line.
What was your favorite part of writing/editing this book?
When I began writing Heir of the Line, I did not have a written outline, but I knew the basic arc of the story and the major characters. A few chapters into the novel, a character who was briefly mentioned in passing, who was not part of my plan for the story at all, forced her way into the story to become one of the three main characters. And it’s a good thing she did, because she adds so much to the book.
Besides Heir of the Line, what other work of yours should readers explore to appreciate your writing?
I recommend reading Rejiggering the Thingamajig and Other Stories, which contains over twenty stories, including my Nebula Award-winning novelette, “That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made.” (Martin’s note: I thoroughly enjoyed this collection.)
Is there another story or author would you recommend to your readers as an exemplar of the Writers of the Future Contest?
Well, I obviously have to recommend “Mara’s Shadow”, the grand prize winner from Volume 34, because the author, Darci Stone, happens to be married to me. But I have it on good authority that a lot of people not married to her also think it’s fantastic.
What’s the best blurb you have?
“Eric James Stone is a genius.”—Brandon Sanderson
Learn more about Eric James Stone
- Blog: https://www.ericjamesstone.com/blog/
- X: @EricJamesStone
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ericjamesstone