Kate MacLeod returns to Analog for the fourth time, now with the novelette “Heat Death” in our [March/April issue, on sale now!]. Read on to learn about Kate started writing science fiction in high school, along with how “Heat Death” was inspired partly by cold Minnesotan winters.
Analog Editor: What is the story behind this piece?
Kate MacLeod: This was a short story I wrote for a Kristine Kathryn Rusch workshop focusing on science fiction mystery, so I’m pretty pleased it’s in an issue of Analog that has that for a theme! We were tasked with writing something in the near future with weather or climate as an element. My initial impulse was to write something in the cold, dark winter, because being from Minnesota I know a bit about living in cold, dark winters. And the germ of my idea, someone being forced to reckon with weather he isn’t familiar with or properly equipped for, would have certainly worked just as well. But I actually find the idea of heat stroke so much more terrifying than hypothermia. And once I had the title, the rest of the story clicked into place.
AE: Do you particularly relate to any of the characters in this story?
KM: It might sound strange, but I really resonate with Chloe Summers. I feel for her, getting left behind in a town with no future when her best friend moves on to better prospects. I’m sure she’s had a particularly lonely life, although being such a dedicated solo hiker, perhaps that doesn’t bother her as much as it would me.
AE: Is this piece part of a greater universe of stories?
KM: No, but it certainly could be. I’m curious what life is really like on that version of the Moon.
AE: What is your history with Analog?
KM: This is my fourth story to appear in the pages of Analog. Having been a reader since the 90s, it’s still a thrill to see my name in the Table of Contents!
AE: How much or little do current events impact your writing?
KM: I would say it’s pretty little, at least in the sense of being deliberate or political or what have you. But sensory details find a way to sneak in when I’m not paying attention. A summer or two ago when Minneapolis was blanket with wildfire smoke from Canada, I kept having characters in different novel series all reacting to the smell of smoke. It was pervasive and unpleasant.
AE: What inspired you to start writing?
KM: I’ve always been a writer from the moment I could make marks on a page. I wrote a lot of stories as a kid for the amusement of my friends, and they always had a sci-fi or fantasy angle to them. I even wrote an entire novel in high school. Of course it wasn’t a particularly good novel. But I’ve always loved creating characters, sticking them in strange settings, and seeing what they get up to. And then writing it all down.
I even wrote an entire novel in high school. Of course it wasn’t a particularly good novel. But I’ve always loved creating characters, sticking them in strange settings, and seeing what they get up to. And then writing it all down.
AE: What other projects are you currently working on?
KM: The second book in my YA sci-fi series The Forgotten Planet will be out in March, called Plundering the Planetary Secrets. It features a teenaged girl with her cyborg dog companion uncovering the secret history of her home world, and the forces that are working against her to keep the history buried. I’m currently working on the end of that series. It’s fun, lighthearted and optimistic sci-fi.
AE: What SFnal prediction would you like to see come true?
KM: Human populations living in space stations. Although a city on the Moon would also be cool.
AE: What are you reading right now?
KM: I’m a little late to it, but I’ve been working my way through Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series. It’s probably clear from my story “Heat Death” that I’m a history of space travel geek, and this series is hitting my sweet spots. I’m also currently listening to the audiobooks of The Expanse. I’ve read the books and watched the TV series already, but I had an itch to delve into that world again.
AE: What careers have you had and how do they affect your writing?
KM: After going to school to be a medical laboratory technician, I only did that job for about a year before working from home as a medical transcriptionist. Thanks to that background, I can type almost faster than I can think. And that job was so hard-core productivity-focused that even my most aggressive word count goals for writing still feel totally manageable.
AE: How can our readers follow you and your writing? (IE: Social media handles, website URL…)
KM: My internet home is www.katemacleodwrites.com. I’m also on Instagram and Facebook as @katemacleodwriter, but am most active on Bluesky as KateMacLeod@katemacleodwrites.com.
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