In this interview, we chat with Lisa Tuttle about genre history, the ideal protagonist, Harlan Ellison's writing advice, and so much more.

Lisa Tuttle was born and raised in Austin, Texas, and moved to Britain in the 1980s. Her first novel, Windhaven, co-written with George R.R. Martin, was followed by over a dozen fantasy, science fiction, and horror novels, including three recent books set in the 1890s combining crime and supernatural fiction, featuring the detective duo Jasper Jesperson and Miss Lane; the third volume, The Curious Affair of the Missing Mummies, was published last year. She has also written hundreds of award-winning short stories collected in several volumes, including A Nest of Nightmares, The Dead Hours of the Night, and most recently, Riding the Nightmare. She is the author of The Encyclopedia of Feminism (1986) and currently writes a monthly science fiction review column for The Guardian. She lives with her husband and their daughter in Scotland.

Book and stories mentioned in this episode:

• The Saint of Bright Doors – Vajra Chandrasekera
• Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life – Ruth Franklin
• Hangsaman; The Haunting of Hill House; “The Lottery” – Shirley Jackson
• The MANIAC; When We Cease to Understand the World – Benjamín Labatut
• Biography of X – Catherine Lacey
• The Seventh Mansion – Maryse Meijer
• Babysitter; By the North Gate; They; The Wheel of Love – Joyce Carol Oates
• The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
• Lake of Darkness – Adam Roberts
• Cryptonomicon; Polostan – Neal Stephenson