Elise Stephens's Blog, page 3

Untrained Luck – On Audio!

My friends,

I am *so excited* to share this audiobook project with you!!

Today is the release day for the audiobook of “UntrainedLuck,” which has been beautifully produced by The Storyteller Series podcast.

There’s something particularly special about hearing your words read out loud. They take on a life of their own in a way that transcends the limits of the written word. I remember when I wrote some very emotional and passionate monologues for my I Lack Nothing project (you can read about my writing and directing experience here), and how stunned I was to hear the words in the mouths of another person. It was humbling, like the sum was more than just the two parts of 1) script and 2) spoken word.

Well, it’s happened again! The team at The Storyteller Series is kind, professional, and dedicated to quality. The series editor, Mike Wyant Jr, is in the process of launching a cool new SF series, by the way. Check out the first book in his series: Last Bid for a Dying Earth if you’re looking for an exciting futuristic read!

On the subject of “Untrained Luck,” this story holds a special place in my heart because it was my winning story in Writers of the Future. It’s the first story in Writers of the Future Vol. 35.

This story’s acceptance into the anthology, plus my experiences in Los Angeles in April 2019, and the friendships and connections I’ve made since then have all helped steer my career onto a course for which I feel very honored and grateful. In many ways, this is a story that lit a spark.

“Untrained Luck” is also the first story of mine that addresses some of the deep emotions, sacrifices, and choices we face as parents and/or caregivers. It delves into a world of politics and family, of magic and superstition, of danger and refuge.

Without further ado, I bring you the Storyteller Series cast for “Untrained Luck”! Plug in your earbuds and get ready for an adventure in a science-fictiony blend of the Middle East crossed with the American Wild West!

Love,

Elise

Click here to be taken to the “Untrained Luck” episode on The Storyteller Series’ Spotify channel.

Ambition & Art: A Cautionary Tale

It’s been a few years since I first struck upon the idea of emotion-infused paint and you’ve probably heard me yammer about lumastration in one way or another, by this point!

This particular story is a dark one; about how far we’re willing to push ourselves and what we’re willing to sacrifice to achieve our ambitions. It’s the wicked side of the looking glass; peering into the naked truth of our desires and facing the wretched things we’ll do to get what we want.

There. Consider yourself duly warned.

“War Painting,” a story from my lumastration universe, appears in Gilded Glass: Twisted Myths and Shattered Fairy Tales a collection that is available now for purchase.

I hope you enjoy it!

Feeding the Koi

This week, my kids (8 and 5) are having their first swimming lessons of the year. On our first day, we had some trouble finding a parking space and ended up scraping our van’s tires against the curb in front of a lovely old house.

As my kids scampered out, an elderly man came across the yard toward us. I was steeling myself for a grumpy shout of “You can’t park here!” (We take swimming lessons in a rather fancy, upscale neighborhood of Seattle, and I definitely get vibes of ‘I don’t belong here’ when I pass through).

But you know what this man said to me? He said, “Do your kids have a few minutes to feed the koi?” I blurted that yes, we did if we were quick, since we had to get to our lesson. As we followed this kind man around to the back of his house where his fish pond was located, we passed rows of dahlia plants, green and leafy but not yet blooming.

“Once these start flowering,” he told me, “I set out scissors and people can come and pick whatever they want.” I was still reeling from the surprise that I hadn’t been shooed off his property but welcomed instead into his generosity.

My kids tossed handfuls of pellets into a pond that this man designed and built himself, complete with a little waterfall. Orange, black, and white fish scales flashed in the sunlight. My kids gave treats to the man’s dog and as we stood there in the garden shade, my heart began to exhale. Our new friend gave us permission to come back anytime and feed the fish.

This visit with a stranger on a day when I was stressing about parking was an unasked-for gift. It’s a template of grace that I want to copy.

It’s the beginning of a beautiful summer.

Love, Loss, and Painted Secrets

I’m pleased to announce that my short story “Focal Point” is now available from Haven Speculative!

This is my second published story from my lumastration universe (and I have two more in the pipeline that are awaiting their own publication days)!

This story began as a much larger novelette, an exploration of grief, shameful secrets, and the vulnerability of the road to emotional healing, all through the lens of a painted art form that allows its artists to infuse their own emotions into the paints.

Over time, I whittled the story down to a shorter version, but much of the original work on it contributed to the framework for the greater world of my novel, The Counter-Ward, which I’m in the process of revising.

I hope you enjoy this one!

Buy link: Haven Spec Issue 4

Elise

All the Feels

Emotions are a vital part of my life. I sense, perceive, and express emotions in the vast majority of my daily life, whether it’s work, play, or personal interactions.

Once, at a meeting with one of my writers’ groups, I was commenting on another author’s child character who I thought was surprisingly out-of-touch with their emotions and I compared the character to my own son, who is quite sensitive and emotion-savvy. My writing buddies laughed and said, “But he’s your son! Of course he’s in touch with his emotions!”

I had to grin at that one.

I need frequent reminders that not everyone sees the world in the emotional way that I (and apparently, my son!) do. It’s a lens I enjoy, even though it’s a lens that exhausts me. This tendency makes me gravitate toward stories of emotional resilience, vulnerability, drama, and overall gutsiness.

Emotions helped inspire the theme that I used for recommending these five favorite books on Shepherd.com. I wanted to share these recommendations, in case you were interested in getting my thoughts on the best fantasy books with compelling, likeable, and gutsy characters.

And if you’ve already read any of the books on my list, I’d love to hear what you thought of them!

Happy reading!

-Elise

It Will Be Well with My Soul

Psychology 101.

A course of study dedicated to understanding the complex and fascinating ways that our brains work. Capacity for knowledge, memory, defense mechanisms, trauma, disorders, learning, and deduction (to name a few). This was of my favorites. The only textbook I kept from college was the one from this class.

I vividly recall hearing: “Each one of us here is mentally unwell to a greater or lesser degree.” It stuck with me hard.

I didn’t put a lot of thought toward mental health in those years. I’d wrestled with anxiety in my early teens and this tendency more-or-less dissipated until my college years when my over-achieving and need-to-prove-myself traits pushed me in relentless pursuit of a good academic record. It didn’t really occur to me that there might be a real problem until after I’d given birth to my son. The period after that was my first hard look into the bowels of depression.

I remember trying to articulate how lost I felt at the time, how I was drifting—angry and panicked and exhausted—through an ocean of insurmountable overwhelm, unsure if I’d ever get my head above water again.

“Having a child is a huge adjustment.” “You’re a new mom. Of course, you’re tired and exhausted!” “It gets easier.” People told me these things. I learned about postpartum depression, but things never really returned to normal.

There were good moments, but it was really, really hard.

with my son at a writing group

To me, despite valiant efforts, it seemed I’d become boring and gray, that the focus of my world and my energy had shrunk to a narrow tunnel.

A few years later, I experienced the soul-crushing grief of losing two babies to miscarriage while I was trying to conceive my second child. When my daughter was finally born, my joy was deep and wide, but I wasn’t a whole person. I’d lost so much of my wellness and I still didn’t know how to care well for my heart and mind. I’d spent almost all of my reserves on caring for my kids and pursuing my writing career with the same anxious energy that had driven my university academics. I don’t tend to hold anything back.

my daughter being held by a friend at a critique group

My breakdown hit just before Christmas 2020.

The year of COVID-19 lockdown and online classes (I homeschool my kids, but we supplement through a resource center), the seasonal darkness, and my raw sense of isolation from friends was too much. It was the perfect storm of “running on empty” plus a wash of hormones.

I couldn’t stop crying. I had to retreat to a quiet corner of the house that was filled with soft sunlight while my husband took over with the kids, even though it was the afternoon of a workday.

I confided in a few trusted friends and family and became convinced it was time to try something that had a high chance of getting me out of this hole. I prayed and felt God’s peace about the choice, then began a low dose of an antidepressant. Shortly thereafter, I received a reserve of patience and mental calm that had been previously unknown to me.

[image error]My outdoor home office- Thank you COVID!

My journey has involved shifts in routine, priority adjustments, supplements, beginning to see a counselor, and a series of doctor visits to investigate all possible causes and contributions to my mental health landscape.

All of us are mentally ill to a greater or lesser degree.

It’s true. I possess a sensitive emotional core that helps me to feel strong versions of all my emotions. It makes me a good artist. It can make life tumultuous, too.

I don’t find shame or embarrassment in admitting that depression and anxiety are things I struggle with. I can see myself getting better and pushing toward greater joy, freedom, and balance in my journey. I don’t expect to achieve perfection, nor do I expect that from others.

Whatever you’re dealing with, whatever you feel you need to hide or push down, I believe we’re all complex and wonderful human beings trying to deal with the hand of cards we’ve been dealt—some hands less lucky than others.

I hope that by sharing my story, you’re encouraged in yours. The stories that bring us closer to each other, the ones that increase community and decrease isolation, are among my favorites.

Fig tree, Quest, Invincibility: New Short Story!

I’m pleased to present this new short story, “First Leaf” which is available to read online for free as part of FIYAH Literary Magazine‘s Special Palestine Issue.

This story is what I call a feminist fairy tale and, due to its emotional nature and message, it was more challenging for me to write than many of my other stories. This is one that I felt in my heart and my bones.

My grandmother, Salwa Saba, who gave me my Palestinian heritage through my father, is present in the words of the story. Her love and her sharp tongue both have echoes in the character of the older woman, Ikma.

Today I’m wearing a scarf of Teita’s Sally’s that’s infused with her perfume, to honor her memory as this story enters the world.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this story of courage, love, and empowerment.

First Leaf by Elise Stephens:

https://www.fiyahlitmag.com/2021/12/13/first-leaf-by-elise-stephens/

2021 Awards Eligibility

I have been honored to see two pieces published this year! They are both eligible for awards in this nomination season, so if you enjoyed one or both of them, I would appreciate your vote!!

My Work:

“Drowned Prison” (Galaxy’s Edge, Jan 2021) – When a series of unexplained murders arises among the inmates of Kardag Prison, the search for answers brings a warden and a master painter into questions about redemption, healing, and the price of war.

“Recollection” (Analog, March 2021) – A government worker sent to study yet another desert town on the brink of collapse finds that locked and forgotten memories may hold secrets even more precious than a glimpse of a beautiful world now lost forever.

Long Road, Small World

You know how sometimes you hear those stories from the lives of creatives about something good that happened to them because they were in just the right place at the right time?

I’ve experienced one of those.

It was on an afternoon this summer and my next-door neighbor was at my house using our stovetop to make pizza sauce for his dinner because his kitchen was being remodeled. As we were chatting he shared about a screenwriter friend of his. When I heard his friend was named Brian McDonald, I jumped about a foot in the air.

Life weaves in and out in strange patterns, some of them truly wondrous and beautiful. In October 2009 I heard a speaker at the Write on the Sound writer’s conference give a keynote address on writing about things that really matter. As in, writing authentically and vulnerably in such a way that, when we share our most intimate experiences, we actually become invisible to the audience rather than exposed because they feel and see themselves in those personal stories. That speaker was Brian McDonald and that particular talk struck me right in the gut—in a good way! I quickly followed up a day or so later with an email to ask Brian more about storytelling his particular approach to storytelling.

Our emails centeredaround the story structures of some of his favorite films. Later, when I askedBrian for help with my query letter, which I was using to try to sell my firstnovel, he introduced me to the publisher who would go on to publish three of mynovels. Brian would later attend my book launch parties and, years after,encourage at-length over coffee as I dealt with the confusing and grievous newsthat our mutual publisher was going under.

And then, more thanten years after I first met Brian, my neighbor tells me that they were going tohave dinner with this man, who happens to be a good friend of theirs. Just afew nights ago, I walked ten feet across the lawn to my neighbor’s house andgot to hug Brian and hear about his current writing projects for the screen andthe page.

He looked me in the eye and told me I was very dedicated as a writer. I told him that I tell everyone about him. And I do. I’m a huge fan of his book on writing, Invisible Ink. (Disclosure: this is an affiiliate link through Amazon–I earn from qualifying purchases)

The writing and publishing road is hard. I’m feeling that difficult truth this week as I ride a roller coaster of excitement and disappointment. That is truly the way this field/world/business works, though. And I wouldn’t trade it for something else.

I hope we’ll all continue to see movies and books from Brian for many years to come. For now, I continue to be grateful that I know him and for how this world can feel so beautiful and so small.

Like it does today.

How I Approach Writing

As I get ready to head into a much-needed writing retreat (yay!), I wanted to share something with you that is both “new” and not new. This video was recorded a few years ago, but I had yet to see the completed product until recently!

This brief interview was done at the end of my involvement with the Cascadia Residency (now called the Brehm Residency). Through it, I explored intersections of my art and my Christian faith and had a chance to work alongside some wonderfully talented and kind artists as well as learn from some wise and accomplished leaders.

I’ve…never had a video like this made about me before, and I confess I’m realizing that I make a lot of faces while I’m talking. I wasn’t aware of this. Heh.

I think this is a good presentation of me, my spiritual practices, the reasons I write, and it’s less than three minutes long, so I thought I’d share it.

(You might have to scroll down a bit to see the video. Something is funky on the post that I’m still working out).