Even in my most grounded stories, I like to include speculative or fantastical elements. I think the magic of it (pun intended) is that we can explore real-life issues without so many defenses, allowing us to truly consider things, perhaps for the first time. When a story is entertaining and we can connect with the character(s), I believe it opens our hearts and minds more to other experiences which we might not have had access to prior to picking up that book. Plus, it’s just fun! Who doesn’t love imagining a little magic in the world?

There’s a range between commercial and literary, with commercial having mass market appeal, often within a given genre (fantasy, sci fi, romance, thriller, etc.) and literary being more focused on the quality of prose, complex themes, character journey, and overall structure. Upmarket fits somewhere in between, so it’s got a solid, catchy hook, but also maintains an emphasis on those more literary elements. It’s often considered more accessible than literary because it tends to follow many of the expected genre conventions, and it’s what we’re likely to see on book club lists because the stories give the reader not only beautiful prose and complex themes/characters but plenty of plot and substance to talk about.

As a former poet who lives for stellar prose and complex themes, but who wants to have commercial appeal and wide readership, upmarket is where I’ve landed.

This is a long answer, because it depends on what the work requires, but generally I’m a mix of both, leaning slightly more toward the plotting side of things. One person I follow on Youtube uses the term “intuitive plotter” and I think that fits me pretty well.

Although I typically have a broad plot idea in mind, I don’t really expand that until I’ve developed who my characters are. As a reader I tend to be more drawn to character-driven stories than plot-driven ones, so I’m sure that influences my process a great deal.

Once I have a feel for the characters, I create the outline of major plot events I’d like to hit as I’m drafting. I end up adding lots of other events along the way to enhance my outlined vision, and sometimes I drop entire events altogether. So, although I go in with a general idea, it’s always subject to change if my characters need something different for their development. In that way, I’m happy to let myself discover the story along the way.

A couple, actually! Funny enough, when I began writing The Manifold Chronicles books, I thought I related most with the main character of the second series, Rai. However, the more I wrote it, the more Kami began to resonate with me. While Rai has many elements my younger self might connect with, Kami’s journey speaks to me now, and I’ve found myself feeling a kinship with her.

The other is Bea, the main character in my debut novel. It’s a coming of age story, even though she’s in her 40’s and seems like a pretty established person. She’s been through some things, made some bad decisions, and struggles to deal with her trauma directly. She’s messy and complicated, but I love her. She lives as a very real person in my mind these days, and learning to understand her has helped me to be more loving and accepting of the less healed versions of myself.

Short answer: Because I belong to those communities, and we need more of us shown in media.

Long answer: I’m a queer, disabled, neurodiverse mom of three neurodiverse kids. The four of us represent all the letters in LGBTQ and I want my children to live in a world where books, TV, movies, and other art show people like them living their lives. I didn’t have that growing up and I think it would have helped me to understand I wasn’t alone.

In addition to LGBTQ representation, I want my stories to be filled with characters who live with various disabilities not often featured in main characters or storylines. This is why I have characters with EDS, POTS, autism, anxiety, PTSD, and other conditions throughout my novels and short stories, hopefully existing as much-needed representation for the underrepresented disability, chronic illness, and mental health communities.

In addition to the ones already mentioned above, I grew up all over the United States, experiencing different communities and cultures before settling out west in my 20’s. Arizona is the one place I said I’d never live, but the universe has a sense of humor because I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else now. I think this exposure to so many different kinds of places and people offered me a glimpse outside the bubble I might have grown up in otherwise.

My father is a first generation Japanese-American person, making me second generation. Although my grandmother did her best to fully assimilate (which meant teaching my father very little about his culture), I was a stubbornly curious child who asked lots of questions and was always interested in where she’d grown up. Thankfully, my grandma was willing to humor my curiosity, so in many ways I think I ended up more connected with my family’s Japanese heritage than my dad did. I mention all of this because race played a role in my childhood, even though I didn’t realize it at the time, and as such, I spent a good deal of my life unsure how to integrate my various identities (mixed kid, queer kid, undiagnosed autistic kid, etc.).

This incessant uncertainty and search for myself ultimately led to endless hours spent studying humanity, trying to understand people and how I fit into it all. My interest in this ran so deep that I even went to college for Psychology. Writing has always been a way for me to explore what I was learning along the way, and it still is now.

Humanity! That, and my always-present hope for a brighter more beautiful world. No matter what’s happened throughout my life, I’ve always seen the steadfastness of Love that exists in the connections we make with those around us and with ourselves. I don’t know how that could be anything other than inspiring!

My children have been a constant source of inspiration, as I’m sure many parents would agree. Becoming their mother changed me fundamentally, and pushed me to do a lot of work on myself so that I could be the best parent possible for them. Seeing the world through their eyes has opened me up in ways I never would have been otherwise.

Nature. When I’m stuck, tending my plants, going outside, breathing fresh air, playing in the rain, or laying in the sun with my feet in the grass does wonders!

In the literary realm, I find inspiration in tales full of rich and complicated relationships, regardless of setting or genre. I’m guessing that has to do with the whole “humanity inspires me” thing.

I’m a parent, so I love spending time with my kids; we have a lot of game nights around here. I also love gardening, painting, stargazing, collecting cool rocks, reading, crocheting, and eating good food. When I’m not writing you’ll probably find me doing one of those things. I also have a lot of fun with astrology even though I only really know my sun, moon, and rising signs. I have no desire to become an expert on the subject, but I love talking with friends who are.

Basically, if it’s something that can be done from the comfort of my own home, with a cup of tea or coffee beside me, that’s what I’m doing.