Featured Interview With Charlotte Henley Babb
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I began to write fantasy and science fiction because The Real World was so mundane, working as an English teacher for most of my life. I crave magic, fairies, dragons, steampunks and other outliers and aliens to offset the everyday normality.
I was raised near a small mill town in North Carolina until I was twelve, and then my family moved to Charlotte (yes, Charlotte from Charlotte). I now live in the not-very-wilds of Upstate South Carolina with no pets, no spouse, and no kids. Ah the freedom of single-hood, which I have mostly enjoyed for the last 20 years.
I’ve had cats as pets in the past, but the distaste for emptying a litterbox has overpowered my desire to be owned by a cat for the last several years.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I discovered reading early, and once I was allowed to read fiction in elementary school–third grade or so–I never really left the fictional world. I started writing for myself in elementary school, but did not really take up writing seriously until several years ago.
My word of advice to aspiring writers is to just do it. Don’t let anyone keep you from writing as soon and as ofter as you can. It’s a fact that you can’t make a living writing if you don’t write. And no, I’m not making a living at it… yet.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love fantasy, steampunk and science fiction. Aliens always seem like the kind of people I’d like to get to know, even if they don’t particularly like humans. I’m not sure I do either.
I take inspiration from Terry Pratchett, Gail Carriger, Shelly Adina, Robert Heinlein, Spider Robinson, Jane Austen, and anyone else’s books I read, even if I don’t like them.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
In the Still Midwinter is a collection of Christmas stories released at the end of November 2015. The stories are not religous or romantic, but are about the feelings that overtake people at the end of the year when the darkness overtakes the light. Everyone needs to know that someone loves them, even if it is not the kind of romantic love that is so popular, and finding that redemption can be the most important thing in a character’s life.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Charlotte Henley Babb’s Website