Dragon Soul Press had the opportunity to interview Arlo Z. Graves, an author in the Rogue Waves anthology!

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Hello! I’m Zven (the Z in Arlo Z Graves) and live in a shack in the woods. My partner and
I have been rebuilding the shack by hand for several years now. The shack tends to
appear in my stories, in one form or other. Aside from the shack (whose name is
Gerald), I love hiking in the woods, playing ocarina, and learning languages.

1. What prompted you to begin writing?
   • I’ve always wanted to tell stories, as far back as I can remember. I couldn’t talk until I
     was around five, and couldn’t read until I was sixteen, so my mom read to me. My dad
     made up scifi stories to tell me on the way to school. Once I could write passably, I
     started writing stories by hand. I’ve had some roadblocks along the way, the most
     significant of which was a flare of autoimmune meningitis in 2016 and the CZU Lightning
     Complex fire of 2020. The fire destroyed a huge portion of my rural community, but local
     heroes and firefighters were able to defend many of the homes. The fire changed my
     brain chemistry, and I couldn’t write for over a year after. But then, I suddenly felt like I
     could tell stories again. I’m back to business now.
2. Do you have a favorite story or poem you’ve written? What’s it about?
   • I wouldn’t say I have a favorite. I’m always trying to better my technique, and I feel like
     each story presents a different challenge. For the moment, I’d say the one that is the
     most interesting to me is a Paleolithic dark fantasy/horror called “Mastodon.” It’s not a
     favorite, but it’s on my mind. My friend, who is a professional writer, taught me new
     techniques for the piece, so it’s in the forefront of my mind.
3. How many projects do you have planned over the next few years? Tell us about
   one.
   • I have several short stories of various lengths pending all over the place right now.
     I’m currently shopping a novel about a selkie warrior who was confident to win her
     country’s fighting tournament but falls ill halfway through. The illness leaves her
     permanently disabled and chronically ill. The story is about her coming to terms and
     learning to find herself again through that. Plus, there’s a good helping of action,
     adventure, romance, and magic (but no magical cures.)
4. What is your writing process like?
   • I’m not sure who said it first, but Chang-Rae Lee said it to me: show up and write. I
     usually get up and do some sort of writing, then practice languages. I brainstorm ideas
     while out and about in the world and when something comes together (sometimes faster,
     sometimes more slowly), I’ll start an outline. I enjoy creating detailed outlines and then
     watching the story and characters surprise me anyway. If I have trouble focusing, I use
     writing sprints. Writing is a joy, but I also approach it as a job. The job doesn’t get done if
     all I do is think about it. The goal is to get words on the page and then fix them later. And as solo as writing is, it’s still collaborative. I have wonderful people in my life who
     are willing to share work and offer feedback on mine.
5. Where do you draw inspiration from?
   • Nature. The sea, the forest, places I’ve had the privilege to visit. I’m Autistic and got
     called stupid a lot for not being able to read and for how I behaved as a kid and teen. I
     experience the world intensely, and that comes up in my writing. Recently, my partner
     made a silly remark in the car. I’m nonbinary, and both of us keep getting spammed by
     content about one member of a couple coming out as trans or nonbinary. He said: “there
     should be a story where a guy’s wife comes out as a Valkyrie.” I laughed and said:
     “That’s so silly. It’s silly but…” and then I wrote it. Inspiration is all around.
6. Who is your favorite author / what is your favorite book?
   • This is so difficult. I have tattoos in Elvish from LOTR. I devoured everything by H.P.
     Lovecraft. I’ve been enchanted by Nalo Hopkinson, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Micah Perks.
     The one book I’ve read more than any other is Faerie Tale by Raymond E Feist. It just
     feels like summer to me. Recently, a short story called “Music Lover,” by Lillian Csernica
     (also a DSP author) lives in my head rent free. Every single line of the piece feels
     deliberate, intentional. I aspire to that level. The poet Crystal Little Bird Salas. Her work
     gets under the skin in the most beautiful way.
7. What is one goal you have for your writing future?
   • I want to start working with a press or agent to get my longer stories to readers.
8. What do you hope readers enjoy most from your work?
   • I’d like people to see themselves. Maybe they’re LGBTQ+, maybe they’re Autistic.
     Maybe they struggle with something unseen. Maybe they set foot on a path less traveled
     or felt the spray of the sea on their skin for the first time. I’ve always struggled with
     feeling like an outsider, an alien. If even a single person can find themselves in one of
     my stories, I’ve made it.
9. Where can readers learn more about you?
   • Please visit me on Instagram and Threads! I’m planning to have my author website up
     this fall/winter.