Dragon Soul Press took the opportunity to interview Andrea L. Staum, an author featured in Imperial Devices, Across Time, Pirate Legends, Fairy Rites, and Apocalypse!
1) Introduce yourself!
Hi, I’m Andrea. I am a fantasy/sci-fi writer with a mixture of subgenres sprinkled throughout. I’m a wife, a mother of two small humans under three, and the servant of four cats. Needless to say, personal space and time is nearly non-existent.
2) What prompted you to begin writing?
My mind is always whirling. When I was younger I read a lot and figured I should try to put my imagination to the paper. I had encouraging teachers who saw there was something behind those stories and I kept going with it.
3) Do you have a favorite story or poem you’ve written? What’s it about?
I have a story called FM. The story is about brownies coming in to help a motorcycle mechanic fix an old Ironhead Sportster. I used my motorcycle mechanic background and blended it with helpful fairies. It was originally written for a fairy anthology that went out of print. I put it in my short story collection.
4) How many projects do you have planned over the next few years? Tell us about one.
I have about three big projects thought up but haven’t had the time or mental capacity to sort through them. Because of that I sort my goals a bit smaller each year. I try to get at least one submission out a month. This year I’ve been tracking closer to two.
I am currently working on a 4 part prompt contest. They ask you to pick a mythical creature and every three weeks give a prompt to write about. The last time I did this I came up with a fun leprechaun character that I am working on expanding on.
5) What is your writing process like?
I usually search open calls through several databases and try to find ones that seem interesting or that I want to challenge myself with. I find a few moments that I can focus on that prompt to make the story it inspires. I then go through it a couple of times and send it off to the editor gods in hopes of them liking and accepting.
I also started a spreadsheet this year to keep track of what is out and where it was sent and that has been an amazing solution to avoiding simultaneous submissions. It seems simple, but I used to be able to remember that sort of thing.
6) Where do you draw inspiration from?
This is where looking at different calls comes in handy. Inspiration can come from multiple sources. It really depends on what is being looked for. Fairies can be blended with motorcycles, dragons with cheese (I’m from Wisconsin, it’s bound to happen)… It sounds like I’m making a weird cookbook.
7) Who is your favorite author / what is your favorite book?
Anne McCaffrey was my biggest inspiration when it came to writing and her books truly mean so much to me.
8) What is one goal you have for your writing future?
I would really like to finish the Dragonchild Lore series. The last few years have been a whirlwind of life changes and took me away from the world of Bridain. The stories are there, I just haven’t had the focus to return.
9) What do you hope readers enjoy most from your work?
I hope they find the characters believable. I strive to have flawed characters they don’t need to be likable, but they should feel like they could exist.
10) Where can readers learn more about you?
Dragon Soul Press 