A Drive-by from The Last Outpost: Z. S. Adani

Sophy Adani’s collection, The Last Outpost and Other Tales, will be published by Hadley Rille Books in 2011. Her short fiction has appeared in journals such as The Tangled Bank, Origins, Alternative Coordinates, Something Wicked, to name but a few. She has also edited Destination Futures with Eric T. Reynolds. Here she speaks about being a writer, themes, Frank Herbert and custard-filled donuts.

1. I first knew I was a writer when …
. . . I got my third acceptance, although the very first one was the most memorable. Still, I had this thought at the back of my mind that one acceptance could be a fluke. Also, by then the rejections were piling up, and it took some effort to keep sending the stories out. That part was more difficult than writing; it still is.

But even before that, I’ve always been writing. Being a visual person, my creative outlet was painting at first, and every painting had a story attached to it. They all clamored in my head for years, decades, until one day I felt that my head would explode. And that’s when I started writing seriously.

2. I love/hate writing to a theme …
. . . love it when I can come up with a plot that has a positive resolution. Or at least there is a shred of hope in the end. I find the end-of-everything themes too depressing, especially when it’s the end of the Earth or Humanity or the universe. I love futuristic themes in which biology and astronomy influence the characters’ lives.

3. If I could be any other writer than myself, I would be …
. . . Frank Herbert comes to mind, even though I don’t try to emulate his style. I love world building, and his Dune series has that, carefully interwoven within the factions of galactic society, human nature, and human adaptation. The combination of his world building, character development, and plot took my breath away. I have read the series three times already and I’m sure I will read it again.

4. A story can always be improved by the addition of …
. . . wit or humor. And the proper placement of commas. World building. Emotional depth of characters. A program that would delete overused phrases and pedantic exposition.

5. Donuts or danishes?
. . . if it has to be one of these, I’d say donuts with custard filling, but I prefer custard filled puff pastry.

She blogs here.