We have a whole new, and very exciting, interview for you today. We spoke with LGBTQ SFF writer E. M./Elisabeth Hamill, author of the Songmaker and Dalí Tamareia series. So sit down, get a cuppa, and have a read!
Don’t forget, you can also follow her on twitter.
Let’s start at the beginning. How did you first get into writing?
I started writing Charlotte’s Web fan fiction in first or second grade, lol. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t making up my own stories. I didn’t start writing complete stories until I was in my teens and older. I have files full of old story fragments.
What are your favourite genres to read and write?
Science fiction and fantasy have always been my obsession. There is something about worlds which aren’t my own and magic that strike a chord with me.
And are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?
I have tried to write romance, but I suck at it. There are definitely romantic elements in my books, but pure romance is not my forte. I apparently have to have an element of the weird in my writing.
How do you get inspiration for your books?
Usually characters just introduce themselves to me somehow! I have pretty vivid dreams, and a lot of my imaginary friends show up there first. I get obsessed about one and have to write their story. The main character of my series, Dalí Tamareia, made their introduction to me via a single paragraph of freewriting, and they haven’t stopped talking since, thank goodness.
Do you have a writing playlist? And if you do, does it focus more on the lyrics or melodies, vibe of the songs?
Oh, definitely vibe. I can’t listen to music with lyrics while I’m writing. I listen to a lot of Pandora Journey compilations and trailer music on YouTube. Writing the Dalí books, I listened to the hybrid space war stuff and video game music. It has that violent, edgy feeling to it that suits the mood perfectly.
What’s your writing process? At what point do you let other people read your drafts and who are they?
I’m primarily a pantser. I have a basic idea of where I want to go and then just start writing to get there. It does present a problem when your character stands up and says, “No, I don’t want to go there, I want to do this instead.” Dalí derailed the last book to tell a totally different story than I’d planned. But that’s one of the great things about pantsing. Surprising things happen. Once I have the full first draft done, I give it to one of my alpha readers. We hash out big issues, and the next draft goes to my beta readers. They aren’t afraid to tell me when something doesn’t work, and sometimes the feedback stings but it ultimately makes things so much better. My alpha and beta readers are people I’ve been writing with for a number of years. Some of them are now traditionally published/agented authors, but most are indies like me.
Summarise your most recent/next book in up to 5 words and a meme.
Space, drugs, monsters and mayhem. If we don’t die, that will be interesting.
Which three authors would you say influenced your writing the most?
I read a lot of Ursula K. LeGuin and Marion Zimmer Bradley in my adolescent years. They were an enormous influence on my writing, especially the Darkover series in regard to my fascination with how people can be intimately linked via empathy and telepathy. In terms of snark and sarcasm, I probably have to thank Piers Anthony!
If (when!) your book(s) were to be made into movies, who would you like to direct them?
If the Dalí Tamareia books were a series, it would have to be The Wachowskis. What they did with Sense8 was just phenomenal, and I think they’d really get the Dalí universe.
And for something that is also very important to us & what we put a lot of emphasis on when blogging. What does ownvoices LGBT representation mean to you?
When I was growing up, there wasn’t any bisexual representation that teenage me could see and say, “Oh, this is what I’m feeling!” I struggled to fit in to the role of female most of my life, when that really isn’t how I feel all the time. It is so important to have the vocabulary we have now to describe being genderqueer and bisexual, to know what we feel is normal, and we are by no means alone. It took almost my entire life to be able to define it because I didn’t have the language or the example until the last ten years or so. If I can spare anyone else that kind of emotional distress by representing people like us in my writing, then it is important.
Rec us some great LGBT books you’ve read recently! One can never have enough recommendations!
The Kai Gracen series by Rhys Ford. Holy hell, do I love this character. Kai is unabashedly bisexual, and a badass Stalker who hunts supernatural creatures for a living. It’s a fascinating alt- universe where the elfin world has catastrophically merged with the mundane world in a collision of dimensions and changed almost everything beyond recognition.
I am completely obsessed with the Soulbound series by Hailey Turner. Paranormal with a side of M/M Romance is not my go-to genre but the magic system in these books is absolutely fascinating, plus you get to meet a plethora of snarky gods, werecreatures, vampires, and mages.
The Liminal Sky series by J. Scott Coatsworth is a stunning space opera/sci fi series that takes place on a generation ship evacuating what’s left of humanity after Earth is no longer habitable. All sorts of queer representation in these books. They are fantastic.
My absolute favorite book I’ve read in the last year was The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. It is such a thing of beauty and magic with a gay love story at its heart. I’ve read it three times since it came out. It’s THAT good.
What’s one piece of advice you would like to give your younger self?
Don’t be afraid to be who you are. The ones who matter will love you without condition, and the ones who don’t, make sure you ditch them faster than I did.
If you could have dinner with one member of the LGBT community, dead or alive, who would it be?
Ian McKellen. I’m not sure I’d even be able to eat. I’d probably just be fangirling the entire time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elisabeth “E.M.” Hamill is a nurse by day, unabashed geek, chocoholic, sci fi and fantasy novelist by nights, weekends, and wherever she can steal quality time with her laptop. She lives with her family, a dog, and a cat in the wilds of eastern suburban Kansas, where they fend off flying monkey attacks and prep for the zombie apocalypse.
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