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3Q’s Special – Stephanie Parent is getting the hell out of here!

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We got a Special 3Q’s today with the amazing Stephanie Parent! Stephanie and I connected (I think?) last year during the LOHF Writers Grant season, and it’s been fantastic seeing what she’s got on the go and what she’s working on!

Now, with the release of her upcoming novel, ‘The Briars’ through Cemetery Gates Media just announced, it was the perfect time to have her drop by!

Welcome Stephanie!

Steve: What does your process look like once you finish your first draft? Do you immediately dive back into it, or do you take some time away?

Stephanie: I edit a lot as I write, so by the time I finish a novel or story, I already consider myself to be on draft 1.5. If I’m writing a short story, I’m often aiming for a specific submission call with a deadline, so I have no choice but to dive right back in! If I don’t have a deadline, I would still likely edit it right away, but then put it away for as long as I can bear to wait before looking at it again. After that distance, I will invariably see more things I want to change.

I’ve only completed one novel so far, and for that one I did go back and begin editing right away. It had been so long since I’d looked at the first half of the book that I felt like I’d let it sit long enough! That said, after I’d finished all my own edits, I had to wait while some other readers looked at the manuscript, so then I had time away from it before implementing their suggestions.

Steve: You win a very prestigious award and are invited to receive it. The award is a bronze plated copy of the book that means the most to you in your life. What book is it and why?

Stephanie: Oof, this is a hard one. There are a few answers I could give here that would be equally true, but I’m going to go with Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block. This is technically five short novels/novellas, but they have all been collected into one book-length volume. I discovered these magical realist, fairy tale-inspired novels in my early teens, and they not only ignited my love for fiction that combines the real world with the fantastical, but also inspired me to move to Los Angeles. Francesca Lia Block writes about the City of Angels like no one else, revealing both the magic and the ugliness, the glitter and the grit of the place. After reading her books I knew I had to live in LA, and moving there changed the course of my life. I would not be the person I am or have written most of my work if I had not had the Los Angeles experiences I did.

Steve: Of the books or stories you’ve released, which is your personal favorite and why?

Stephanie: I’m going to cheat a bit and name my upcoming gothic horror novel The Briars, which is releasing in May 2023. I think it’s by far the best, most personal and emotional work I’ve written. Inspired by my experience working at a commercial dungeon for six years in Los Angeles, it’s my love letter to both BDSM and sex work, while also acknowledging the problematic aspects of both. I’ve written a lot of nonfiction about BDSM and sex work, but ironically, writing fiction with supernatural elements allowed me to go deeper into my own raw emotions about the subjects. I also wrote much of this novel while feeling isolated and lonely during the pandemic—I kind of think of it as my Wuthering Heights experience, as if I was alone on the moors with only my wild imaginings to keep me company. I think I came up with something quite unique and true to myself as a result.

Steve: Bonus Fun Question – You’re on a camping trip when suddenly a wild animal confronts you. You take off running and it follows. What animal are you confident in thinking you could outrun?

Stephanie: Oh man. I am not fast, but I also have been known to accomplish amazing things with a kick of adrenaline to motivate me. I’m going to say a snake, because if I see a snake I am getting the hell out of there as fast as (in)humanly possible!