Q: What sparked the idea for your story
in Unearthed?
A: I was thinking about my student
loans, and I started imagining a future where kids sign up for
indentureships in space in exchange for their education. There were
some other things spinning around in my mind: Cape Breton as
Unamak’i, the difficulty of communicating with aliens when they are
so very alien, unrequited crushes; and it all came together in Motion
Words.
Q: What was the hardest part of writing
your story for Unearthed?
A: Possibly it was putting all the
diacritical marks over the z in Žarko’s name. I can never remember
Unicode keyboard shortcuts, so all the carons were inserted the long
way.
Q: Please tell us: one book you've read
recently, one book you're reading now, and one book on your to-read
list.
A: I recently finished Ben
Aaronovitch’s Midnight Riot, about a young cop in London who
is also a wizard, and who questions ghost witness and breaks up
disputes between river spirits. It was a fun read. Right now I’m
reading Na Beanntaichean Gorma, a collection of Gaelic short
stories from Cape Breton, with translations by John Shaw. It’s slow
going because I’m reading the Gaelic side of the book. In Gaelic,
I’m very much a sound out the words aloud sort of reader. A lot of
Gaelic stories have fantasy elements to them, come to think of it.
The next book I’m waiting for is Carla Speed McNeil’s latest
graphic novel, Finder: Voice, which is coming to me in the
mail! She does science fiction in a strange and beautiful way.
Q: What's the best writing advice
you've ever been given?
A: Kill your babies. I had a professor
in journalism school who used to say this frequently, always in the
sweetest, most cheerful voice. Sometimes a writer just has to take
out that clever sentence or that beautiful phrase because it just
doesn’t work. Letting go of things you love can make a story
stronger in the end.
Q: What are you working on now, or
what's your next planned writing project?
A: I’m working on a story about a
person who is a fantasy-standard Destined Hero, who also is
clinically depressed. How can you save the world when you can barely
get out of bed?
Thanks, Joyce!
