This week, I was interviewed by Cuil Press' Rayven Whitaker for a stop on the the Fantasy Twists publicity blog tour. We talked about "Welcome to Connection," the story I wrote for the book. Here's how that went:
Which trope did you decide to twist?
The trope I'm playing with is the Little Shop that Wasn't There Yesterday--a magical shop that shows up just long enough to kick off the plot and then vanishes. Occasionally the protagonists manage to get stuck inside, or hitch a ride on one from one place to another; Terry Pratchett did this in The Light Fantastic. My story is a look into the inner workings of such a shop, and how it finds its employees.
Do you have a process that you follow when creating a plot for your stories?
I like to say I listen to my characters. My plots tend to be driven by who my characters are and how their experiences lead them to interact with each other, so while I usually have an endpoint I want to reach, how the story actually gets there, and sometimes whether it can get there at all, is based on how the characters react to the situations I put them in.
Why did you decide to participate write/submit your short story?I'm not a professional writer, though I've always kind of wanted to be. This particular setting is one I've spent a lot of time in, mostly in fanfiction contexts, and when I saw the call for stories, I thought this would be a good chance to see if I could actually write something that gets published, and have a chance to share my world with people who might not get to read it if it weren't, you know, official.
Who are authors who inspire you?My biggest inspirations right now are Shira Glassman, who creates cozy diverse worlds that I would love to be a part of; and Nnedi Okorafor, who makes cultures and experiences I knew nothing about feel both familiar and important. I'm also in debt to Spider Robinson, whose Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series pioneered the concept of the interdimensional drinking establishment; Terry Pratchett, who taught me a lot about what makes an interesting story; and Ursula K. LeGuin, who famously hated answering this kind of question but I'm including her anyway because of how thoroughly The Left Hand of Darkness has stuck in my brain.
Are there any reads of yours that you would recommend to readers?I haven't formally published much fiction, but I do write essays and/or reviews twice a week here on The Under-Linguist. I'm also in the middle of an elaborate Magic: the Gathering fanfic that I need to find the time and spoons to finish the next chapter of.
What are a few groups that you like to see represented more in writing? I want to see more stories from the perspective of people with autism, ADHD, and other neuroatypicalities, and especially stories about how those neuroatypicalities interact with other aspects of the characters' identities.
What is next for you as a writer?Again, I can't commit to anything because, sadly, my day job requires me to spend most of my brainpower not writing. But I will absolutely keep blogging; I plan to write more about Connection; I'm going to continue working on my Magic: the Gathering fanfiction; and, of course, I'm going to keep an eye out for future Cuil Press calls for stories.
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