Grand Master Joe Haldeman explains origin of his 2008 novel Marsbound

SciFi Bookshelf has an interesting interview with newly crowned SFWA Grand Master Joe Haldeman. While the bulk of the interview revolves around Haldeman’s new book, Starbound (2010), the masterful award-winning science fiction author does take a few moments to explain the origin of his 2008 novel Marsbound.

Joe Haldeman: Marsbound started off as a stand-alone novel. I'd written the novella "The Mars Girl" for a Dozois/Dann anthology of Young Adult sf stories, and I wrote it with the idea of expanding it into a YA novel. I used the novella to pitch the story to a YA editor, and she said no, thanks. (Later she told me she'd been wrong; her daughter read the novella and loved it.)

Interestingly, Haldeman’s LiveJournal entry for February 15th, 2008, describes how he chose the title Marsbound. Other titles he considered included Menace From Mars, Mars Threat, Mars Giveth, and To Mars.