Featured Interview With Em McDermott
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am an avid reader, and the author of dark epic fantasy and fairy tale fantasy.
I was raised in New England, and currently live in upstate New York. I love the privacy of the forests here, and have so many wild deer in my yard every day that I almost consider them pets!
My ideal pet would be a dragon, but in lieu of that, I have a flock of chickens. They have names like Buffy, Khaleesi, and Dobby, and they certainly have the dragonic attitude down!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved reading since I was very young. I devoured a book a day throughout elementary school and middle school. My favorite authors back then were Roald Dahl and Avi. Does anybody remember the Animorphs?
I knew even then that I wanted to be a writer. In middle school, I discovered Anne McCaffrey and dove into adult fantasy. I was hooked. I was in sixth grade when I tried to write my own novel. I still have the notebooks filled with my early efforts, none of which I finished.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Epic high fantasy will always be my first and greatest love. Lately I’ve been reading darker fantasy, and enjoying it. My favorite epic fantasy authors are Sara Douglass and Jacqueline Carey.
I have always been drawn to mythology, and the stories that draw from it. Juliet Marillier writes incredible folklore-inspired historical fantasies, full of atmosphere and soul and gut-wrenching feels.
Literary fiction is where I go when I want a little something different. Favorite authors: Madeline Miller, John Irving, Kazuo Ishiguro, Daphne du Maurier.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest novel, The Woods, draws from the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, and you'll find some familiar characters within its pages. Red, Gran, the Huntsmen, and the big bad wolf…but I promise my versions are nothing like you remember from the fairy tale.
When I sat down to begin the novel that became The Woods, I was in a new relationship with a partner who came from a different world than me. We are different colors, different ages, and had very different early life experiences. A lot of my friends didn't get us. It was thoughts of this divide floating around in my head that provided the first seeds of The Woods, which explores love that crosses boundaries. I'm happy to say my partner and I are still together…as for The Woods, I won't give away the ending. 😉
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