TT: What is your name?
J. J. Steinfeld: J. J. Steinfeld
TT: Where in Canada are you currently located?
J. J. Steinfeld: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
TT: What is the name of your poem in T15?
J. J. Steinfeld: "Civility"
TT: Could you please share a summary of your poem without spoilers?
J. J. Steinfeld: A fanciful description of a chance meeting with a space alien.
TT: What is the first sentence/stanza of your poem?
J. J. Steinfeld:
What startled me most
was the ability to know
my words and fears
though our lips never moved
not that the space alien
had lips or that my lips
were anything to write home about
wherever home might be
especially if you believe in
innumerable galaxies.
TT: What do you love the most about this (or being in this) anthology?
J. J. Steinfeld: The diversity of well-crafted speculative visions presented by the authors in their work.
TT: What is the best piece of writing advice you've discovered?
J. J. Steinfeld: Approach whatever imaginative piece you are working on as if it will be your last opportunity to leave a literary "footprint."
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TT: What is your name?
Kurt Kirchmeier: Kurt Kirchmeier
TT: Where in Canada are you currently located?
Kurt Kirchmeier: Saskatoon, SK
TT: What is the name of your story in T15?
Kurt Kirchmeier: "Four Against Chaos"
TT: Could you please share a summary of your story (without spoilers)?
Kurt Kirchmeier: Caught in a winter storm that might be more than what it appears to
be, four boys must work together to avoid being buried in snow and
battered by flying toboggans.
TT: What is the first sentence of your story?
Kurt Kirchmeier: Once upon a time there were four gifted boys who went to war against
chaos and won.
TT: What do you love the most about this (or being in this)anthology?
Kurt Kirchmeier: I love that this year's edition is themed for younger readers.
TT: What other authors inspire your writing?
Kurt Kirchmeier: I think every author I read inspires me in some way or another, but the two who have probably inspired me most are Ray Bradbury and Kate DiCamillo. When I read Bradbury I feel like I’m seeing enthusiasm in its purist form. He reminds me that I’m supposed to be having fun.
Kate DiCamillo has a style that actually feels similar to Bradbury’s, except she writes exclusively for YA and younger audiences. Her work simply blows me away. It’s both deceptively simple and remarkably beautiful.
Two other strong influences are Charles de Lint and Robert McCammon. I love de Lint’s contemporary settings and his underlying themes of hope and redemption. McCammon has amazing range, and seems to excel regardless of which genre he’s writing in.
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Claire Eamer: Claire Eamer
TT: Where in Canada are you currently located?
Claire Eamer: Whitehorse, Yukon
TT: What is the name of your story in T15?
Claire Eamer: Ice Pirates
TT: Could you please share a summary of your story without spoilers?
Claire Eamer: An unusual pirate ship is driven from the Caribbean and chased north to the Arctic. There, in ice-locked seas, the pirate captain and the ship's boy meet their past and future--and some seals.
TT: What is the first sentence of your story?
Claire Eamer: "Curled within a huge coil of rope near the main mast, Jem braced himself as the Otter wallowed in a slight swell."
TT: What do you love the most about this (or being in this) anthology?
Claire Eamer: I love the opportunity to sample so many new (to me) voices, all writing in my favourite field. And I really, really love being in their company!
TT: What is the best piece of writing advice you've discovered?
Claire Eamer: Write what you care about and what interests you, not what you know. One of the greatest joys of writing is learning new things. That applies to writing non-fiction as well as fiction. If I just wrote what I already knew, I'd be bored and -- much worse -- boring.
TT: What other authors inspire your writing?
Claire Eamer: I love fantasy, adventure, and humour, as well as magic that is solid, earthy, and believable. When I find an author who does most or all of these things, whether for adults or kids, he/she inspires me. Among my favourites: Tanya Huff, Diana Wynne Jones, Tamora Pierce, Neil Gaimon, Margaret Mahy, Isobelle Carmody -- and, from my childhood, Catherine Anthony Clark.
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TT: Thanks, everyone, for joining us for the Fifteenth Day of Tesseracts.
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