The Sixteen Days of Tesseracts Series welcomes Tesseracts Fifteen authors: Erika Holt and Jennifer Greylyn. We will start with Erika Holt.
TT: What is your name?
Erika Holt: Erika Holt.
TT: Where in Canada are you currently located?
Erika Holt: Calgary.
TT: What is the name of your story in T15?
Erika Holt: "Just Dance."
TT: Could you please give us a short summary of your story without spoilers?
Erika Holt: Marie-Lunie is a tough, orphaned, teenaged girl, living alone in the gloomy tower of her family home, surrounded by junk. Only in that junk she's discovered wondrous things, including a crimson red "eye bulb" that lets her see the Otherrealm, and a pesky, talking cape named Ervin. Her solitude is broken when Kelbee Worth, the ringletty-haired treasurer of the high school yearbook committee, shows up to ask for her help. The two set out to save Kelby's dad, who is being held captive in the library by ghouls.
TT: What is the first sentence of your story?
Erika Holt: "A shrill keening burst into Marie-Lunie's head as the power needles she'd pressed into the ground of her house warned of an intruder."
TT: What do you love the most about this (or being in this) anthology?
Erika Holt: I'm not aware of many other speculative fiction anthologies for young adults. Teens are avid, enthusiastic, and perceptive readers and I'm excited to be included in a collection aimed at them. I'm also flattered to be in the company of such amazing authors.
TT: What is your main inspiration while working?
Erika Holt: The idea for "Just Dance" came to me, in part, while listening to the Florence + the Machine song, "Girl With One Eye," though that song is considerably darker than my story. I'm often inspired by music and musicians, and have based several stories on song lyrics.
TT: What is the best piece of writing advice you've discovered?
Erika Holt: Neil Gaiman says: "Finish things." Can't put it any better than that.
TT: What's the worst piece of writing advice you've discovered?
Erika Holt: I don't believe that there's any one "right" way to write. Do what works for you. But finish things.
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TT: What is your name?
Jennifer Greylyn: Jennifer Greylyn
TT: Where in Canada are you currently located?
Jennifer Greylyn: Halifax, Nova Scotia
TT: Name of your story in T15?
Jennifer Greylyn: Saving the Dead, or The Diary of an Undertaker’s Apprentice
TT: Could you please share a summary of your story without spoilers?
Jennifer Greylyn: My story is set in the early 20th century, just after one of the most famous disasters ever to take place at sea. It's told through the eyes of a young man with an unusual ability who is part of a family business chosen to bring as many of the victims of the disaster home to their families as possible.
TT: The first sentence of your story?
Jennifer Greylyn: Saturday, April 20, 1912…12:45 p.m. Three days out from Halifax and we’re nearly there.
TT: What do you love the most about this (or being in this) anthology?
Jennifer Greylyn: The fact that it’s for young adults. I’ve always been interested in young adult stories because it seems to me that the experience of being a young adult parallels what I do as a writer. Young adults are trying to figure out who they want to become and that’s similar to what happens when I write. I’m trying to figure out who my characters are and what they want to tell me. There’s the same sense of wonder and exploration.
TT: What is your main inspiration while working?
Jennifer Greylyn: Stillness. I can get my initial ideas for a story from anywhere—what I’m reading, who I talk to, what I see on TV or the Net or in my everyday life. But, when it actually comes to writing the story, I need quiet and privacy. That lets me hear what my characters want to tell me.
TT: What is your main writing process?
Jennifer Greylyn: I almost always start with pencil and paper. I carry a little notepad with me everywhere to jot down things that catch my attention. Sometimes it’s only a few words. Other times, it’s whole paragraphs. Then, when I have more time, I use those initial impressions as the basis for the story. They don’t always end up being included in the final version, but they help me find a starting-point, even if that point is in the middle or near the very end of the story.
TT: Thanks for joining us Jennifer.
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