And here we conclude the week with my own answers to the questions, so I can talk a bit more about the story I wrote and myself.
1. What inspired your short story? Where did the idea come from?
One Last Sweet is the second short story I write on the theme of ‘solarpunk dragon’ (the first being the one that sparked this whole anthology). So the first thing that drove me is that I wanted to do something different. The first was all epic adventures and saving a solarpunk city, so I looked for calmer ideas. I was also thinking a lot about winter solarpunk—what cold temperatures meant for the genre.
So I was shooting for cold solarpunk, low-in-adventure, and then … well, Scar’s theme (from the Lion King) played, and I was brought to the legends of elephant cemeteries, and everything kind of evolved from there!
2. This is the first time you edited an anthology. Want to share some of your thoughts on the experience?
Everything up to the point of copyediting and formatting is awesome haha. Then it becomes grueling, but it’s so worth it! I talked a lot more about this last week, but reading submissions and discovering these gems was thrilling. Then you get to edits, and the stories you already love just become even more perfect!
I love the whole teamwork/community feeling. Once we had our line-up and started connecting to the authors, this project went from a two-person dream to a kind of big-team collaboration in my mind.
3. Had you heard of solarpunk before this call for submission? What do you like about the genre?
Haha, well, obviously yes. I love solarpunk’s optimism and can-do attitude. The whole genre is straight up a refusal to give up and stop fighting. It basically says ‘no, no, if we work hard we can do this’. Really looking forward to see the genre grow, become more diverse, and address more and more of society’s current problems.
4. What genre do you usually write in? Talk about your projects!
I basically do two things: more solarpunk and fantasy.
My current fantasy project is a long saga. I’ve been writing the first trilogy since last June. It’s high fantasy, with multiple POV, complex political plots, several storylines meeting in one big clash, and basically a huge freaking headache to handle. But it’s awesome. Also pretty much every narrator is somewhere in the MOGAI (LGBT+) umbrella, so <3.
The solarpunk one is my NaNoWriMo this year. It’ll be a solarpunk detective series, happening in Quebec City around 2050-2060, with a large element of urban fantasy. Basically the main investigator is specialized in supernatural crimes, and a lot of the stories will be reimaginings of Quebec’s myths and legends in an early solarpunk universe. This one’s a serial that will go on Wattpad (free!!), built in the way of crime shows (12-13 stories creating an overarching storyline).
5. What do you love the most about dragons?
The breathing. Seriously I think whether it’s fire, ice, acid, lightning … I love the whole X-breathing creature. There’s something so powerful to it.
Gotta love the whole ancient creatures of wisdom and the too-proud-for-school tropes, too.
6. What do you do when you’re not writing? Any day jobs or passion?
Write more? Read? Honestly most of my free time is spent on writing. I do quite a few video games (bring all the Ace Attorney to me, baby), knitted a bit, obsess over how cool hot air balloons are, and … write more. No job at the moment. I just finished my Masters’ in Immunology. ^^
7. What’s your favorite book or TV show? Why?
Right now my book love is spread between two different things. The first is Scott Lynch and the Gentlemen Bastards series because well … did I mention I write complex plot with several layers? And he’s kind of 10 times better at it than me, and I just love his style, and he’s a nice person himself. So yes. Definitely a fav.
The second is Shira Glassman and her Mangoverse. Which is so different from the Gentlemen Bastards it’s kind of funny to list them together. But Shira is the sweetest, and her cozy fantasy series is such a balm for the heart. It’s all kind of soft, with more trope reversals than I can count, and MOGAI characters, and just … I love these characters and I love the idea of wrapping myself in a blanket, sipping tea, and following the life of what’s basically a Jewish Disney princess and her crew for a while.
As for TV, well, I don’t watch a lot? Love Steven Universe and Hannibal … which wow watch me put opposites together again. XD
8. Where can we find more of your work?
… Here! I’ll leave the question at that, honestly. Right now I have The White Renegade and Viral Airwaves out, a novella prequel and its novel. The novella’s free! And you can get a download link to the novel by signing up to the newsletter in the sidebar!!). So go do that! They’re good I promise. 😉