Vera Brook returns to Analog with her novella Apartment Wars, now available in our [January/February issue, on sale now!]. We caught up with Vera to discuss how her passion for science, her childhood in post-communist Poland, and her grandmother all inspired the writing of her latest story.
Analog Editor: What is the story behind this piece?
Vera Brook: I grew up in the post-communist Poland, and Apartment Wars is partly inspired by my memories of real people and places as well as the stories I heard growing up. When I was a kid, housing was still hard to get, and it wasn’t unusual for two or three generations to share a small apartment, say, the aging parents in one room and the young couple with a baby in another. An extra room was a great luxury and a cause for intense envy between neighbors. But for a long period before that, things were even worse, because housing was allocated by the city authorities, and like in any bureaucracy, the process was often obscure and flawed.
I started thinking about living space, what a precious and limited resource it is, and how easily a shortage can lead to scheming and conflict. Then I came across some popular science essays on topology—a mathematical study of multi-dimensional space and the properties of certain objects in it—and the premise for Apartment Wars was born.
AE: Do you particularly relate to any of the characters in this story?
VB: Helena, the POV character, is loosely inspired by my grandmother and she has always been the heart of the story to me. At one point, she has to fill out a lot of forms for the housing authority, and if we only had the information in these forms, we would see an old woman, a widow of a university professor, a housewife who never finished her advanced science degree. But she is so much more than that, and her life is so much richer and more complex. She is a scientist, a true colleague to her husband, even if her name doesn’t appear on any papers. She is loyal and brave and fierce. And in the end of the story, she gets so fed up with the abuse and injustice she sees around her, that she stands up to the people and institutions much more powerful than her—even though she has a lot to lose.
I also learned the term cronepunk in a class taught by Cat Rambo, and it has stuck with me ever since. I want to read and write speculative fiction about old people—especially old women—who are strong and capable and passionate, with a lifetime of friendships and alliances to call on, and plenty of experience and wisdom to outsmart the system and fight for a better world. There are no great battles or political coups in Apartment Wars, but Helena is still a cronepunk heroine to me and my fictional role model.
AE: What is your history with Analog?
VB: Apartment Wars is my second publication in Analog. The first one was a solarpunk short story, “Fly Straight and Don’t Get Eaten,” in the September/October 2023 issue. I also recorded a story podcast for it. Analog is one of my favorite SFF magazines, and quite unique in only focusing on science fiction, my primary genre, so I hope to keep submitting my stories to it.
To me, science is about curiosity, about the hard but incredibly rewarding endeavor of figuring out how our world works, and about teamwork and collaboration.
AE: What is your process?
VB: Most of my stories start with an initial idea but then take weeks or months to fully form. I use paper notebooks for that early stage of my writing. I take a lot of notes on characters and scenes; I do research and take more notes on that. I outline, I diagram. I’m very much a plotter and not a pantser. So it can be quite some time before I even start a draft on my laptop.
With Apartment Wars, I initially set out to write a short story, but each draft got a little longer, until I ended up with a novella. It took about two years, on and off, from the initial idea to the finished manuscript.
AE: What other projects are you currently working on?
VB: I always juggle multiple projects. It’s how my writing brain works. I hope to finish a few different short stories in progress before tackling my next novel. And I have a long list of writing projects after that, including a series for middle grade readers.
AE: Many of our Analog authors are interested in science. Do you have any scientific background, and does it impact your fiction?
VB: I am a neuroscientist by training and a huge science nerd at heart. So I am always on the lookout for interesting science news in my own field and in other disciplines, and any scientific tidbit can become inspiration for a story. In Apartment Wars, it’s quantum physics and topology. In “Fly Straight and Don’t Get Eaten,” it was plant genetics and flood adaptation. I have also written about bionic limbs, electro-acupuncture, and 3D-printed houses. My characters are often scientists.
Because I write for young adults as well, I am also mindful of the power of positive portrayals of science and scientists on the readers—and conversely, the damage that negative stereotypes can do. To me, science is about curiosity, about the hard but incredibly rewarding endeavor of figuring out how our world works, and about teamwork and collaboration. Deep down, it’s also about humility and keeping an open mind, because any scientific theory can be overturned by a new discovery, perhaps using some new technology to measure or calculate something we couldn’t before, or a new conceptual framework that fits the experimental results better. So in addition to being fun and exciting, science has a lot of hard but valuable lessons to teach us.
AE: What are you reading right now?
VB: I love to read, but there is so much amazing speculative fiction coming out, both short fiction and novels, that it’s a struggle to keep up. I just finished Orbital by Samantha Harvey and now I’m reading Hopeland by Ian McDonald. I also love speculative short fiction. Give me anything by Naomi Kritzer, Thomas Ha, Susan Palmer, Ted Chiang, Greg Egan. I also recently read the anthology Nova Scotia Volume 2: New Speculative Fiction from Scotland and really enjoyed it, especially the stories by Rhiannon A Gris and Lindz McLeod.
AE: How can our readers follow you and your writing? (IE: Social media handles, website URL…)
VB: I am always thrilled to hear from my readers! My website is verabrook.com and I am also on BlueSky and Instagram.
The Astounding Analog Companion 
Nice post 🌅🌅
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