Sara’s story “The Story in Which Dog Dies” can be found in The Clockwork Jungle Book (Issue #11).  She’s previously appeared in Shimmer in Issue #10, with “Counting Down to the End of the Universe.”  Her blog  is at artemisin.blogspot.com.

How do you feel about being interviewed for Shimmer?

I distrust the concept of interviews. I believe most people already talk and think too much about themselves, so why egg them on? I have a strong streak of narcissism that I try not to encourage. Hardly anyone is interesting enough to merit an interview anyway. But hey, you’re the boss and I’m absolutely crazy about Shimmer, so I’ll do my best.

Do your characters talk to you?  Do you see the stories as images?

No. My characters are unaware of my presence. They live in a world that is separate from ours, has its own gravity, its own particular tug, its own rules. I neither approve nor disapprove of their actions. Their morality and mine hardly touch, their choices are theirs alone and only they suffer the consequences.

As for seeing stories as images–sometimes. My stories start in weird ways. Sometimes I get a concept, but most often I get this feeling, a sense of a scene, a smell, the voice of a character… Setting seems to be an important part of my stories. “Slow Stampede” (Asimov’s, March 2009) emerged from the visual image of a man paddling through a swamp that goes down further than anyone can imagine. “Godtouched” (Strange Horizons, Jan 07) arose from the image of a naked, deranged child throwing chits of a remaindered currency up into the air in order to read fortunes. Other stories stem from “what ifs”. When I’m down on ideas I take a hint from Orson Scott Card who has been known to say that marrying two concepts can spawn the greatest ideas. It seems that you need two flat ideas to make a three dimensional world. “Counting Down to the End of Time” (in this issue of Shimmer) was a cross between a trigger chosen by Sean Markey (clockwork birds) and surreal ponderings on what immortality might actually look like. Everyone wants to live longer but most people don’t realize that when cells don’t die, they become cancerous, so in order to increase longevity one must strike a difficult balance…

Have you ever wished for a particular character — or idea — to walk into your story?  Has that happened?

Naw, if I wanted something or someone there, I’d put it there. It’s my story after all.

Do you ever argue with characters you hadn’t planned?

No. I don’t plot beforehand, my stories arise from the things that the characters do and the world they live in. There’s no reason for me to force characters to comply. If any of my endings feels ungrounded it’s not because I forced stuff to happen but because I wasn’t good enough as a writer. I probably messed up the foreshadowing that would have made the ending necessary, conclusive and obvious on hindsight. And, of course, not everyone needs the same amount of information. What leaves some people mystified might feel satisfying to others. I hate heavy-handed explanations so I tend to keep them to the bare minimum and sometimes that is about ten miles too short for the most intuitive reader. I swear: it all makes sense inside my head.

Do you ever get to a certain point, reading a story, and feel the click! as you have got to the point of no return/can’t stop now?  Does writing ever feel that way?  If you had to liken writing to anything, what would it be?

Yes and yes. That’s the reason I hated getting into a book before exams. I’ve taken books to read during class when I was a student. Made me scattered brained, for some reason.

And yeah, it’s a blast when that happens with writing but you can hardly count on it. As they say, the muse has got to catch you applying the ass to the seat. And there’s no difference between the quality of the end product when you struggle over every word compared to when the muse hits. It seems to be more of a matter of subjective perception, at least for me: it’s a lot more fun writing with inspiration.

I’ve been in a situation where I had to stop after I was in gear like you describe and it just hurts, pulling yourself away from the keyboard.

But when it flows, it feels like dancing.

What piece of writerly advice do you wish someone had given you?

Have fun? Life is just too short not to.

Particular favorites for books, movies, series, comics, blogs, etc.?

I don’t read as much as I’d like and my tastes are pretty random. I just finished _The Testosterone Files_ by Max Wolf Valerio, a memoir by a female-to-male transsexual. Anyone who has read my stories knows I’m interested in gender, the intersection of biological and sociological aspects. I’m fascinated by the way that gender determines our actions and thoughts but I also suspect a lot of the gender differences are horseshit having more to do with social stereotypes. This books left me feeling there’s more to hormones than I initially thought.

I absolutely love _The Ant King and Other Stories_, a short story collection by Benjamin Rosenbaum. I’m trying to ration the stories so they’ll last. I met Ben at Villa Diodati 3, a get-together for European English-language Spec Fic writers. His fiction is whimsical, playful. He’s given me courage to break some rules.

One of my favorite short stories of all time is “Looking Through Lace” by Ruth Nestvold. It deals with gender and lace, which is oh, so cool in science fiction. All-time favorites of mine are “The Taste of Chicory at High Tide” by Lisa Mantchev, “The Desires of Houses” by Haddayr Copley-Woods, and “La Malcontenta”–a very special gender story by Liz Williams.

Website: http://www.alexwilson.com

Where did the idea come from?

A story contest two or three years back was based around a prompt like “begin with a punch in the face.” For this I attempted to write the prose equivalent of a manga-style fight sequence, with just a dash of justification for the violence. You know: class warfare for the critics, booster club fundraising for the plot, anatomically correct salt-and-pepper shakers for… I don’t know… spice?

That early, 1,000-word draft of “Spoils of Springfield” made the top five in that contest, but thankfully it wasn’t one of the published few. So I put it away. It was just a silly little exercise, after all.

How did the story change as you developed it?

Mostly it got longer.

About twice a year, between projects and sobrieties, I’d remember “Spoils” more fondly than it deserved to be remembered. I’d flesh out the darker stuff–the subtle threads just under the surface humor–and very slowly it started to circle the type of story I liked to read. For a long time, I resisted tipping the drama/comedy balance any further in the comedy direction, largely because the central conceits were so ridiculous from the start. And enough was enough, right? I guess I worried that the nuances I cared about would get lost under all that theoretical funny.

But something was still missing. I’d send it off to an editor, who often said s/he loved it in all the ways it’s possible to love a story without actually buying it or recommending that anyone else should ever read it, ever. Most comments were of the “Jolly read! I think I like this, but I’m not sure I understand it! And what’s that smell?” variety. So back into the trunk it would go.

This went on until just before I submitted to Shimmer. That’s when, as an experiment, I left subtlety with a sitter and went to town with the zombie-protagonist’s voice. And I think that’s what largely salvaged the story. Instead of the other threads getting lost, this allowed me to clarify what was too abstract, according to anyone who didn’t have access to my head. Which turned out to be a lot more people than you’d think. And submitting electronically took care of the smell.

You know the advice “Sometimes you have to kill your darlings.” Was there a scene or line that it really hurt to cut, but cutting it made the story stronger? May we reprint that scene or line? Or link to a very old version so that we may marvel at how much it changed?

I cut a few of the more cringeworthy curses and vitriol from both booster club girls, mostly because few people share my faith in the pottymouths of children. It added little to the voice anyway, and I couldn’t justify losing people over it. I try to pick my battles.

Looking over my early drafts and outlines, I’m surprised at how almost everything is still in there: title, dialogue, most sentences, proper names, full paragraphs, dollar amounts, failure of every other line to follow iambic tetrameter, etc. It does, however, follow my usual habit of writing outwardly. “Spoils” started with a seven sentence outline. Each of those sentences became paragraphs for the zeroth draft, and then those got fleshed out into scenes for the first draft.

And that typically continues long after a story’s been around the block. Some tweaking, sure, but mostly just fleshing it out (over 2+ years for “Spoils”). The original prompt contest received a 1,000 word draft; the story submitted to Shimmer was 2,600 words, and probably contained the entirety of that earlier draft.

So not a lot of cutting. If I’m ever convicted for something horrible, you can say: “That’s so strange. He never murdered his darlings on paper.” But don’t worry. I have a plan to keep from getting convicted for something horrible.

How is this story like your other work? How is it different?

Like most of my stuff, “Spoils” struggles between comedy and drama. Elements of both, but kinda-dominately in one camp once the final draft finds a publisher. (Maybe it’s trying to be a Vonnegut piece, without all that annoying excellence he threw in for like no reason. Showoff.)

The most common critique I get for my work is along the lines of: “You have to pick. Is this a funny or serious piece?” And though it makes it easier for me to fail, I just can’t choose. Neither interests me by itself. My stories work for me only when they find the right balance between the two genres.

The differences? The humor in “Spoils” is a bit more broad than what I usually go for. I rarely write in first person POV. I think this is my first zombie story, if you can call it that.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

On and off as a kid. On and off as an adult. I’ve been taking it seriously, writing and submitting, for about nine years now. I’m thirty-one.

Who do you write for? Yourself or someone else?

I don’t really think about it until it’s too late. Maybe it’s because I’m still finding my voice, and because most of my work still requires some sort of experimentation/something I’ve never tried before. But I’m always trying to be at the service of the story. Serve. The. Story. I think I’m more likely to ruin a perfectly good work by deciding its audience before it’s finished. Of course, when I say I want the story to work, I only know what works for me as a reader, so maybe….

Eh. I’m overthinking the question. I write for William Shatner.

Who’s your favorite living author?

Probably Tim O’Brien (who I hope isn’t superstitious, because last time I answered “Vonnegut” to this question).

Favorite book read when you were a child?

Ooh, I know this one, because my mom just dug up my tattered old copy and gave it to me: Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton. Also I remember fondly this short record called Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel. My sister and I used to listen to it over and over, and I recently found it on iTunes for $1.95. Good times.

What is your darkest secret?

If by “darkest secret” you mean “favorite bagel sandwich,” then it’s taylor ham and egg on cinnamon raisin, thanks for asking.

Do you believe in ghosts or the supernatural? Why?

Kinda. I’m fairly spiritual, so I guess I do give plenty of thought to the unseen. No particular belief in ghosts, but one man’s religion is another man’s superstition, eh?

Favorite restaurant?

Hmm. Whenever I go back to my hometown of Akron, Ohio, it’s a tough decision whether I hit Swensons (Burgers) and Aladdin’s Eatery (Middle Eastern) first.

Do you have a secret skill that you never get to show off?

Musical theater. I’ve done a lot of shows, been in a musical review group, and even had some lead roles in some big productions. Problem is I’ve never learned to read music properly, which means all the theater I’ve done post-college has to be of the non-musical variety, (I’d need too much extra help with a pianist). I guess I could sing in the shower more, but that’s my Sean Connery impersonation time.

Watch much TV? What’s good these days?

Not a lot. More old stuff than new. Didn’t have a television for a long time. I think I might have finally caught every Seinfeld.

Do you check your horoscope?

No. Why, does it say something about me?

Quiz: How many writers does it take to change a lightbulb? Please explain your answer:

One, and he will get started on it right after he checks his email one more time.

Website: http://lostpages.net

Where did the idea come from?

“What to Do with the Dead” is part of my Lost Myths series, in which I play around with the various forms of myth storytelling. Other stories in this cycle have appeared on the webzines Reflection’s Edge and Lone Star Stories. There are many more on the way. I hope to do a whole book of these.

How is this story like your other work? How is it different?

In general my Lost Myths are written in a folksy “oral storytelling” style, which is different from the range of voices I usually employ. They also tend to rely on twist endings, not a tactic I tend to use in my other fictions.

How long had you been submitting before you made your first sale?

Three years.

Do you work with a critique or writers group?

For a few years, I worked with The Montreal Commune — Glenn Grant, Yves Meynard, Mark Shainblum, Jean-Louis Trudel, and several others who came and went — but now Elise Moser is my first reader, and sometimes I might have one or two other friends look at near-final drafts.

What authors, if any, have had the most influence on your work?

In no particular order:
J.G. Ballard. The short fiction of Robert Silverberg. Rachel Pollack. Ursula Le Guin, c. 1970-84. R.A. Lafferty. Roger Zelazny, pre-Amber. Geoff Ryman. Paul Di Filippo. Jonathan Carroll. The short fiction of Theodore Sturgeon. Philip José Farmer. Jacques Sternberg. Chuck Palahniuk. The David Pringle era of Interzone. There are others, of course, but those are probably the strongest influences I can identify.

Favorite short story you’ve read recently?

“Beat the Geeks” by Peter Darbyshire, in Tesseracts Eleven, edited by Cory Doctorow & Holly Phillips.

Do you believe in ghosts or the supernatural? Why?

No. Why should I?

Fast food: Yea or Nay?

Well, if it’s vegetarian and healthy, why not? Otherwise, nay.

Name one place in your hometown that you love to go to and would recommend to others to visit.

The Jean-Talon Market.

Is there anything that you would “sell your soul” for?

No soul to sell, but I’m willing to sell it to any sap who thinks there’s something to buy.

Where did the idea come from?

During summer exam time my friend told me she was “crying letters”. I told her I was stealing her phrase to write a story. The idea also came from a lot of smaller, less significant things. Reading about tarot cards. Living in a house without central heating. That story, with the girl who tells her father she loves him “as much as meat loves salt”. Missing my little sister (who is still alive, just living on the other side of the city).

You know the advice “Sometimes you have to kill your darlings.” Was there a scene or line that it really hurt to cut, but cutting it made the story stronger? May we reprint that scene or line? Or link to a very old version so that we may marvel at how much it changed?

I usually have the opposite problem, having to add scenes or lines so that certain things make more sense, or any sense at all. I was lucky with this story, though, and didn’t have to clarify or cut much at all.

How is this story like your other work? How is it different?

It’s a lot more solid than many of my other stories, even though it’s about going down to the underworld. It’s probably not even as weird as a lot of what I’ve written. That may say a lot about my other stories.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I wanted to be a lot of other things, for a long time. I was going to be a famous actress, or a singer. Then a child psychologist. Then the owner of a bookstore-slash-tattoo-parlour. At the moment I’m intrigued by the idea of becoming a master woodworker. It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence, though, that the only thing I actually enjoy spending any time working on is writing.

Who do you write for? Yourself or someone else?

I write for exorcism. Sometimes for money. (Not often.)

Favorite book read when you were a child?

All of the Dido Twite books by Joan Aiken.

Do you believe in ghosts or the supernatural? Why?

I think it would be silly of me to definitively believe there is nothing out there that can’t be seen.

What’s your favorite kind of music?
My housemates and I build the most epic mix CDs. They’re full of great things, like the Decemberists, Neutral Milk Hotel, Joanna Newsom, Winterpills, the Dresden Dolls, Tori Amos, Iron & Wine, A Silver Mt. Zion, Sufjan Stevens.

Do you check your horoscope?

Recently every horoscope I’ve read has been frighteningly accurate. Coincidence? Probably.

Website: http://www.silviamoreno-garcia.com

How did the story change as you developed it?

It started with the idea of a male jaguar-warrior during the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan and then it turned into a female protagonist. It became much shorter and compact.

Writing projects are you presently working on?

Lots of short fiction and a novel.

Are you satisfied with traditional labels for genre fiction? Do words like “speculative,” “slipstream,” and, for that matter, “genre” cover it? What would you suggest?

Speculative seems like a good label. When I think about fantasy I pictures elves and unicorns. I differentiate between fantasy, magic realism, etc. You need something to easily shelve a story but fantasy doesn’t quite cut it for me because of the association in my mind with sword and sorcery.

Do you have a specific food or drink that you consider a writing staple?

Wine maybe?

Do you work with a critique or writers group?

I don’t, but my husband reads everything I write and gives me feedback.

Have you ever eaten a crayon? Tell us about it.

I’m sure I did. I know I used to chew pencils in school. I am a compulsive chewer.

Fast food: Yea or Nay?

Yes. There’s nothing like the artificial flavour of chocolate milk.

Is there anything that you would sell your soul for?

A donut.

Website: http://www.nyfiction.org

Where did the idea come from?

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry popped into my head one night and told me to do it.

How did the story change as you developed it?

This one didn’t change much. The idea popped in my head complete and well formed (I like it this way, though that’s not usually the case), and I hurried to write it before anything manages to distract me.

You know the advice “Sometimes you have to kill your darlings.” Was there a scene or line that it really hurt to cut, but cutting it made the story stronger? May we reprint that scene or line? Or link to a very old version so that we may marvel at how much it changed?

Alas…

How is this story like your other work? How is it different?

Well, I tend to write short rather than long stories, though this one is shorter than most. Also, I usually apply a considerable amount of rhymes, word games and other language special effects – but I had not done so in this particular story, to the great relief of Lavie Tidhar, who had done me the kindness of translating it into English.

What writing projects are you presently working on?

I’ve some short stories in the making, and some ideas for longer one. Recently I became chief editor of Israel’s only pro speculative fiction magazine, Dreams in Aspamia, and I still have to find the right way to combine this with actual writing. Also I’m writing a soundtrack for an Israeli SF film.

Favorite book you’ve read recently?

Two books by Israeli historian Tom Segev: “1967”, about the year of the six-days-war, and “One Palestine, Complete”, about Jews and Arabs under the British mandate. Not only he explains necessary truths about what most Israeli people learn in school, but he’s also a wonderful, wonderful storyteller.

What fictional character would you love to drink tea with?

That’d probably be Dirk Gently. We could do stuff together, Dirk and I.

How long had you been submitting before you made your first sale?

Several months, I think. Maybe a year. It’s all in a haze…

How did you celebrate your first sale?

By eating something nice. I celebrate many happy occasions this way, including sunrise and sunset.

What is your darkest secret?

That, contrary to the evil reputation which I built for myself, I’ve no dark secrets.

If you had a working time machine what advice would you give a younger self?

I’m waiting for my older self to answer that question.

Favorite food?

As long as it didn’t come from the sea, it’s my favourite.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Someone who doesn’t have to work for a living, thus doing only what’s on his mind – in my case: writing and making music. I’m working on that.

What was the most fun you ever had?

Every time I go on stage to play music is the most fun I ever have.

If you have a day job, what is it? What do you like about it?

I spend my days camouflaged as a computer programmer. I’ve been doing that for many years now, so my co-workers, poor, trusting souls that they are, believe that I actually know something about computers.

Quiz: How many writers does it take to change a lightbulb? Please explain your answer:

Are you sure we’re actually outside the lightbulb? Because I’m not…

Shweta has been published in Shimmer twice: once for her story “The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar,” in The Clockwork Jungle Book (Issue #11) (click here to listen to her read it! 2mb MP3 file), and once for her tale “One for Sorrow” in Issue #10.  You can email her at shweta@shwetanarayan.org, or just visit her at her author website www.shwetanarayan.org. In this interview, we ask her about “One for Sorrow” – but feel free to read her second interview about her writing process!

Where did the idea come from?

I was reading one of Terri Windling’s Folkroots columns, about birds and bird shapeshifters.  It contained a lovely description of swan maidens.  I thought “Swans, how beautiful, how graceful… but… raucous, badly behaved birds are so much more fun!  What would magpie fairies be like?”

Maggie appeared in my head the next day, clever and tricksy, with bright dark eyes and a rusty voice.  She said, “I’ve stories I could tell you, lass.”  But she didn’t really want to be in the stories, she just wanted to tell them.  That’s where Lainie came in.

How did the story change as you developed it?

A lot of this story is unchanged from the first draft.  That’s unusual for me.  But it came to me all in one piece, and then I spent my first-draft time writing verrrry slowly, while diving into the Scots language and the Scottish dialects of English.  I read dictionaries, grammars, poetry, speeches; I researched the politics of language issues in Scotland.  (Yes, I’m a language geek.)  I fell into the sentence patterns, remembered the music of Aberdeen English.  I wasn’t really able to do that in later drafts, so I tried not to change the prose much, except where native Scots had comments on the language.

Also, Maggie outright resisted change.  She turned up full-fledged in my head and showed me her story in flashes of vivid image.  I got them wrong a few times in the first draft, and had to fix them – but I knew when I had them right.  Lainie, on the other hand, kept changing, both during the first draft and after.  She started off as just a kid for Maggie to tell the stories to, and developed quickly into a young lady with her own mind and her own issues; issues that — I finally realized – mirrored Maggie’s.

Most of my redrafting was trying to get Lainie’s emotional story right.  I had her acting guilty and lonely and I didn’t know why!  I finally realized that she must have done something stupid, let a dear friend down,  because she wanted to fit in.  So Em finally entered the story, in the very last drafts, though I was hinting to myself that she ought to exist all along.  I just took a while to pick up on the hint.

You know the advice “Sometimes you have to kill your darlings.” Was there a scene or line that it really hurt to cut, but cutting it made the story stronger? May we reprint that scene or line? Or link to a very old version so that we may marvel at how much it changed?

I didn’t cut any scenes.  I did change one majorly, emotionally: the one where Lainie first meets Maggie.  In my first draft I defused the tension too quickly, and made them both behave far too well.  Going in and letting Lainie be sullen and Maggie be cold was hard, but – well, while I have nothing against wise old women and nice little girls, that’s not who these characters are.  The old version:

…

“He’s not supposed to talk to strangers,” Lainie said, trying to keep her own voice from shaking.

“And some are stranger nor others, eh?”  Maggie waggled a finger in Lainie’s face.  “I see more than you wee girls think I do.  Aye, and I hear more too.”

Lainie stood her ground this time.  She took a hard breath and nodded. “Aye,” she said.  “And that’s why I was picking up the feathers. To say sorry for that, see.”

Maggie’s hand dropped and she blinked, onyx eyes disappearing for a moment into the pottery face.  “Sorry?” she asked.

“Aye well… me mam says to say sorry for calling you a witch.  Though –” Lainie bit her lip.  “I’d liefer say sorry for being rude, whether you’re a witch or no.”

“And for that you were wanting to bring me a handful o’ down?” Maggie asked.  Frown lines appeared on her face, deeper cracks shaping her forehead.

Lainie nodded, hoping it was a thoughtful frown and not an angry one.

“Aye, and these.” She held out the white feathers.

Maggie looked blindly at Lainie for a moment, and then she smiled.  “Do ye ken, lass,” she said, her raucous voice softening, “the bairns been cheeping and tittling about me for years.  I’m thinking some of them thought shame when they growed up, but you’re the only one that’s sain sorry.  What do you make of that, eh?”

The words hit her like stones.  Lainie still remembered her first day of school, when the other girls circled and stared and grouped and giggled.  She imagined years and years of that, of being all alone, and she could not find a single thing to say.

“I’ll tell you what,” Maggie continued quietly. “If you’re queerie, it’s best you be young and bonny.  Auld and uncanny’s a terrible thing to be.”  She shook her head, then.  “You’re too wee for such thoughts.  Were you thinking to give me all of those, then, for nothing in return?”

Lainie nodded.  “To say sorry,” she repeated.

“No, lass, ’tis enough for me that you were wanting to.”

Feeling daft, Lainie let her hands fall to her sides.  “Are you not wanting them, then?”

“If they’re unmarred, and if they’re black or white, then I’m wanting them.  But not for nothing, na?  I’m no thief .”  Maggie smiled. “So tell me, lass, what shall I give you for these?”

How is this story like your other work? How is it different?

In some ways it’s a lot like my other work.  It’s a shapeshifter story, and I’ve been writing shapeshifter stories of one kind or another for the last eighteen months.  Also, it has a call-and-response character in the two different story threads, which seems to be my favourite story shape.

However, this story has several things I’ve never done before.  It’s quite dialectal, for one thing, and Maggie’s story is oral-storytelling, overtly using repetition and rhythm and the sound of words.  For another thing, Maggie’s a very different character from any other I’ve written.  Partly because she’s old, but partly because I’m really not a magpie kind of person.  Some stories, I feel like I’m figuring myself out by writing them.  This one, I feel like I was figuring someone else out, a new friend who was nothing like me at all.

How did you celebrate your first sale?

I blew the money on a cup of tea.
It was a lovely cup of tea.  It also wasn’t very much money.

Does your work tend to explore any particular themes?

Otherness, perhaps.  Being caught between groups, or trying to live in multiple worlds.  I’m drawn to shapeshifters because they are inherently part of two worlds and not entirely part of either.  I tend to write characters who are on the edges, on borders, and not quite fitting in.

What people have helped you the most with your writing?

• My husband, who likes reading.
• My dissertation advisor, Eve Sweetser, who’s introduced me to most of the fiction I love best (and some of the authors I love best).
• My local writer’s group, and other writers I know, who I can trust to tell me what I need to fix.
• My Clarion teachers and classmates, in ways I’m only just beginning to figure out.
• The online community http://absolutewrite.com, which has many resources and many wonderful people who are willing to help a clueless newbie.

Favorite book you’ve read recently?

My favourite book in the last week or two has been The Magic and the Healing by Nick O’Donohoe.  But I’ve read so many wonderful books recently!  I think the one that will stay with me longest is the collection The Fate of Mice by Susan Palwick.

If you have a day job, what is it? What do you like about it?

I’m a student.  I’m working on a dissertation.  So no day job.

Favourite food?

Depends on my mood.  Right now, chocolate cake (to celebrate this sale)

What are some of your hobbies?

Reading, hiking, getting into serious discussions about ridiculous things, playing board games, card games, roleplaying games.  Reading out loud to children, though I don’t get to do that nearly often enough.

All-time favourite movie?

Bend it like Beckham

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I have to grow up?

Are you sure?

Quiz: How many writers does it take to change a lightbulb? Please explain your answer:

None.  They change all by themselves, given time (and stop working).

Where did the idea come from?

The story was inspired by a painting by Johanna Ost. She depicted Snow White as a tattooed lady, surrounded by the seven dwarfs, all in circus gear. It was a little shocking to see a beloved princess in such get-up! It made me wonder… such terrible and wonderful things happen to characters in fairytales, but because of the very nature of the tales, we rarely get to see into their hearts and minds. What would happen to them if they walked away from their stories? How would they survive in the real world? So many of them have fantastic and very physical differences that separate them from what is considered normal- would they begin to entertain the masses with their physical presence, as they once did with their stories?

The story is my answer to these questions.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

When I realized, half way through my first semester in the Celtic History program at Aberdeen University, that I couldn’t resist my natural inclination to make things up. I don’t think anyone is well-served by a historian with a tendency to make things up.

Who’s your favorite living author?

I’m a Neil Gaiman fangirl. Who isn’t, really?

Favorite book read when you were a child?

I loved the Moomintroll books by Tove Jansen. The characters have such a wonderful outlook on life. Nothing really troubles them! I’m a terrible worrier, so I take great comfort in the fact that Moominmama can accept the destruction of her home by flood, comet, or what have you, and just be happy that someone remembered to pack the jam as they were fleeing.

The Narnia books were also a favorite. Now I have philosophical problems with some of the things that happen in them, but as a kid, I was convinced that Narnia was real and if I just believed in it enough, I’d get there. In the end, I think writing is my way of going to Narnia.

Favorite restaurant?

Unkh’s Sushi Restaurant in Holland, Michigan. BEST INARI EVER.

Do you have a secret skill that you never get to show off?

I know three different versions of the Child Ballad “Matty Groves.” But it’s hard enough to get people to sit through it once, let alone three times.

Do you check your horoscope?

My parents own a new age music and book store, so I don’t need to! They tell me if there’s anything interesting going on in the heavens. When I was a teenager, they used to guess the signs of waitresses when we went out to eat, based on their physical appearance. They were usually right.

Website: http://www.mossroot.com
Email: rscrawford@mossroot.com

You often use the screen name “Underpope.” I have to ask: Why underpope? I know Charlie Stross is autopope…

Why “Underpope”? Well, thereby hangs a tale.

Years and years ago, I ran a Vampire Live Action Role-Playing game (LARP) which we called “Underground Puppeteers”, or “Underpup” for short. One of our players was a young woman with a strong Christian upbringing, who would occasionally tell her pastor about the game. Her pastor eventually decided that we were all a cult, and that I was the leader of the cult. “But he’s so nice!” Ann said to her pastor. “That’s how they draw you in,” said the pastor.

I related this story to my friend Keith, who decided that if I was the leader of a cult, then I must be the pope of that cult. And since the cult was called “Underpup”, then I must be the Underpope.

Voila! A screenname was born.

I didn’t say it was an interesting tale.

If you could talk to any author from the past, who would it be?  Why?  Who would you NOT want to talk to?

You know, I think I’d enjoy chatting with Robert Louis Stevenson. He knew a thing or two about writing adventure stories, making them accessible to his readers, and just coming up with fun stuff. And I supposed Jack London as well, whose great adventures were also tinged with an occasionally overwhelming sense of solitude and loneliness. Maybe John Steinbeck, whose mastery of sympathetic characterization is something I’d love to learn how to emulate. And H. P. Lovecraft, if he could get over his anti-semitism and racism, because of his fascinating worldview and ability to convey his bizarre visions. Probably some sort of amalgram of Stephenson, London, Steinbeck, and Lovecraft, all together in one big author pile.

I would NOT want to meet Ernest Hemingway. I’d insult his writing as pedantic and dull, and then he’d punch me in the face and run me over with a bull. I wouldn’t like that.

Do your characters talk to you?  Do you see the stories as images?  Do you ever argue with characters you hadn’t planned?

My stories do tend to come as random series of images that I try to stitch together into some coherent sort of pattern with the help offered to me by my characters. Sometimes my characters will come up with ideas that don’t really work for me, but I figure as long as I show them who’s boss, we get along fine. Usually, I win.

Have you ever wished for a particular character — or idea — to walk into your story?  Has that happened?

Frequently, and I’ve been pretty lucky, too, though. “The Bride Price” started out as a single line — “…because she was, like, all dead and stuff” — and I guess I wished for an entire story to show up around that. I think I was pretty lucky to have the mad scientist, the creature, and Elsa Lanchester as a high school girl all show up as they did.

Do you ever get to a certain point, reading a story, and feel the click! as you have got to the point of no return/can’t stop now?  Does writing ever feel that way?  If you had to liken writing to anything, what would it be?

Unfortunately, the most apt metaphor for what writing is like for me I can’t really describe in the pages of a family magazine, so let’s just move on…

What piece of writerly advice do you wish someone had given you?

Hm. I think that I wish someone had told me early on to trust my ideas, and to trust myself as a writer. Mostly to trust that I was worthy to write the ideas that I came up with. I spent many, many years stalled in my writing because I had all these great ideas, but never felt I was a good enough writer to do them justice. I still feel that way from time to time, I suppose, but I’m less afraid to tackle them.

Is there something you do that no one ever asks you about?  This can be anything — something unusual you eat, playing poker as a day job, a hobby, whatever you like.

After pondering this one for nearly twenty-four hours, I’m still unable to come up with an answer. This tells me that I’m either very dull, or that I’m a genius whose thoughts and doings are so far beyond the normal day-to-day world that no one can even think to ask the important questions of me. Naturally, I prefer the latter explanation.

Particular favorites for books, movies, series, comics, blogs, etc.?

Favorite author: Right now, it’s Christopher Moore. Moore has a way of making characters who are pain-ridden, bizarre, or otherwise broken seem normal and sympathetic, without sentimentality. It’s a quality I’d like to achieve in my own writing.

Favorite books: I’d probably have to say _A Dirty Job_ by Christopher Moore, though I’m also partial to _A Prayer for Owen Meaney_ by John Irving. Oh, and _Bag of Bones_ by Stephen King.

Comics: Hm. Right now I’ll go with the “Fables” series.

Favorite Movies: “Shaun of the Dead”, “Dawn of the Dead”, “Young Frankenstein”, “Labyrinth”, and “The Darjeeling Limited”.

Favorite beer: Anything that can be eaten with a fork. Which is how I like my coffee, too.

Untitled Document

Website: http://www.stephanieburgis.com
Blog: http://stephanieburgis.livejournal.com
Email: stephanieburgis@yahoo.com

If you could talk to any author from the past, who would it be?  Why?

If I could talk to any author from the past, it would definitely be Jane Austen – or, better yet, I’d much rather exchange letters with her! I LOVE the wit and style of Jane Austen’s letters – I read them every morning for inspiration before working on my upcoming novel – and I’d love the challenge of trying to keep up with her via correspondence…whereas in person, I think I’d just stumble and trip over my own tongue because I’d be too over-awed! (That happened when I met Alan Lee – ohhh, it was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life! Yes, it would definitely be much, much safer for me to only correspond with Jane Austen.)

Do your characters talk to you?  Do you see the stories as images?  Do you ever argue with characters you hadn’t planned?

Embarrassing though this may sound, I really am one of those writers who hears voices…I hear all the dialogue in my head (although sometimes I really have to strain to listen!), and in first-person stories, I also hear the narrator’s voice quite clearly throughout. I never see the stories as images, though – I’m a very un-visual person in general, in all aspects of my life. (I’m hideously unobservant about what people are wearing & what my own surroundings look like; I can’t do interior design to save my life; etc, etc.) That makes description much harder than dialogue for me to write, and I’ve had to work really hard to develop that skill. In general, my rough drafts are almost completely made of dialogue, and the description all gets laboriously added in later drafts!

I’ve definitely been surprised by characters popping up, since I don’t do much outlining ahead of time (this leads to a lot of revision later, to insert foreshadowing beforehand!) – and sometimes I have been pretty horrified by what my characters have done! Pretty much every time, though, that I’ve thought, “Oh, no, he couldn’t possibly do THAT” – well, *that* has turned out to be the very best part of a story. So I’ve learned to let my characters be as outrageous as they like!

Have you ever wished for a particular character — or idea — to walk into your story?  Has that happened?

Um, only in the sense of “someone save this story, fast! – oh, thank goodness, you’re here…” (Followed, again, by lots of retroactive foreshadowing…)

Do you ever get to a certain point, reading a story, and feel the click! as you have got to the point of no return/can’t stop now?

Absolutely! I felt that way with Robin McKinley’s Sunshine and Lois McMaster Bujold’s Paladin of Souls – I stayed up wayyyyyy too late reading both of those, because I Could Not Stop before the end…

Does writing ever feel that way?

Yes! I almost always feel that way as I’m writing the climaxes and resolutions of my stories or novels – they’re written in a white heat, all in one go, even if it’s taken me ages to write the first 3/4 of the piece beforehand.

If you had to liken writing to anything, what would it be?

Breathing or eating. Honestly. It feels that vital to me. If I don’t write – whether because I’m blocked or lazy or just too busy – first I get cranky, then I get desperate, and then I get irrationally furious at myself and the world. I have to write regularly – every day, if at all possible – not just for my sake, but for the sake of my family and everyone else who has to come into contact with me!

What piece of writerly advice do you wish someone had given you?

“Write exactly what sounds most fun *to you*, not what you think will impress other people.” It took me years to finally learn this – and that was what inspired the real break-through with my writing.

Is there something you do that no one ever asks you about? This can be anything — something unusual you eat, playing poker as a day job, a hobby, whatever you like.

I did my MA in historical musicology, focusing on 18th century opera, and then wrote 5 chapters of a PhD thesis on 18th-century “Turkish” operas in Vienna, before I gave up the PhD to write fiction full-time. So I am full of strong opinions (and rants!) on various operas from that time period, yet no one ever, ever asks me for my opinions on any of them. Sigh. 😉

Particular favorites for books, movies, series, comics, blogs, etc.?

Well, Jane Austen is my favorite author EVER, followed by Georgette Heyer, Charlotte Bronte, J.R.R. Tolkien, Emma Bull, Lois McMaster Bujold, Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels…I adore almost all of their books. Maybe predictably, then, my favorite movies are “Sense and Sensibility” (the Emma Thompson version), “Pride & Prejudice” (the BBC miniseries), “An Ideal Husband”, “Monsoon Wedding” and “Moonstruck” (back to my opera fixation! 🙂 ).

My two favorite TV series are “Doctor Who” and “Gilmore Girls”. I think PhD Comics (http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php) is hilarious, and I’m a big fan of the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blog, http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com I’m also addicted to blogs by other writers, which give me a lovely feeling of international community now that I’m living in England, quite a long way away from most of my friends.