What drew you to submit your work to RED SKIES?
I saw the call for submissions to Red Skies online, and I knew the short piece I’d written about my experience living in my childhood home during the pandemic would be perfect for it! I also saw many of the writer friends I admire on Twitter were following Splintered Disorder Press and submitting to the anthology, so I knew my work would be among good company if accepted!
What writers have inspired you?
So many! One writer who had a particularly large influence on me was Francesca Lia Block—her young adult novels about an enchanted version of Los Angeles inspired me to move across the country to Los Angeles myself. FLB, as her fans call her, has a truly unique way of describing the world and seeing the beauty in everything, from mermaids hiding in the ocean off of Santa Monica, to coyotes and demons coexisting in the Hollywood Hills and canyons. I wanted to search out the world FLB described and write about it with the same magical language she did—she definitely influenced my desire to be a writer, my love for magical realism, and my attempts to see the magic in the real world. Other writers who’ve inspired me include Alice Hoffman, another master of magical realism, Neil Gaiman, and from my younger years, Katherine Paterson and Jean Craighead George.
What projects are you currently engaged with?
I am currently working on both a novel, which is a gothic-inspired ghost story, and a series of fairy tale-inspired poems.
How have you spent the year 2020?
Working! I’ve been writing nonstop in addition to my freelance editing job. However, I have found some time to explore new interests, including learning how to read tarot and starting to give free tarot readings. When the weather was warmer, I would indulge in long socially distanced walks while listening to fairy tale and folklore lectures on my phone. It was great to reconnect with my love of fairy tales, which I hadn’t had time to pursue in previous years.
What is the one thing you miss the most about 2019, or any point before COVID-19?
This is a really hard question to answer, since I miss so many things, as I’m sure many of us do! I miss sitting in a coffee shop to work, surrounded by other writers on computers…I miss not having to wear a face mask in public…I miss yoga classes. But if I have to zero in on one thing, I would say human touch. I didn’t have a partner when COVID began, so I’ve pretty much been on my own since then. Touch is something all humans need, even if it’s just a hug from a close friend. I’ve always been a bit of a loner, but I am going to do my best to reach out to others more and appreciate the power of both physical and emotional connection when this pandemic ends!
What is your personal creative process?
I’ve discovered that almost all of my ideas come when I’m either jogging or in the shower. There’s a scientific basis behind this—these are two activities that allow us to turn the logical part of our brain off and run on autopilot. At the same time, these activities can both be pleasurable/relaxing ones that release a rush of endorphins, and this allows ideas to surface. I have learned that I need to jot down the ideas that come to me right away, since I’m getting older and my memory is not what it used to be! Then, when I’m drafting something new, I tend to carry these sparks of ideas around with me and think about them a lot when I’m walking, doing chores, even when I should be working! I try to have a good idea of what I’m going to write before I sit down at the computer screen, so that I won’t get stuck. However, I also accept that there are times you just won’t be able to figure out a scene without trying to write it—these are times when the writing can seem to go very slowly and involve a lot of frustration. Sometimes you just have to push through that and come up with something, even if it will need editing later. That’s another aspect to my creative process: I edit a lot while writing. I know some writers like to get the entire first draft out without censoring themselves, but for longer works, that would give me way too much anxiety. I couldn’t stand the thought of having 50 to 100,000 words of completely unedited prose to go through later! In addition, editing helps me notice nuances of theme, imagery and character that I may not have even realized I’d included, and I can then continue to develop these as I keep writing.
Is community important to your work? Are there any magazines or small presses that you feel particularly fond of?
Community is extremely important to my work, especially when it comes to writing poems and short creative pieces. I always thought of myself more as a novelist, and probably wouldn’t even have considered writing and submitting poems and flash fiction and nonfiction if I hadn’t joined Twitter, connected with other writers and read all their amazing shorter pieces. One writer and publisher I find very inspiring is Kristin Garth, who runs Pink Plastic Press. Kristin is both an incredibly prolific writer and a generous publisher of many poets. I also think VERSE Zine is a very cool publisher of punk poetry—it’s great for those moments when you want to infuse your day with something edgy, creative and thought-provoking, but you don’t have time to read longer works.