Thursdays of SWORD & SORCERESS 28 – the Jessie Eaker interview

As I have done for several years in the past, I will be running interviews with my fellow contributors to Sword & Sorceress 28.

It’s fun to do, and a good chance for the writers to talk about themselves and their work. This week’s interview is with Jessie Eaker.

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Tell us about yourself.

Despite the feminine spelling of my first name, I am male. The “ie” is a family spelling. In addition, my last name is pronounced “acre” with the “E” being silent. This does cause confusion sometimes, but at this point in my life, confusion is my constant companion. This past year has found my wife and I to be empty nesters, as the youngest of our children has moved away to college. His older siblings have long since moved out and started their own households. This has been quite the challenge for us since we’ve been surrounded by kids most of our life. But we’re adapting and discovering the joys of cats and being grandparents.

Those that have been following S&S for a while may recognize me. This will be my seventh appearance in the anthology. But, I think I can safely say, it is a most special one for me. My youngest daughter, Rebecca, has her very first professional story appearing in anthology, too! It is an honor to be sharing the pages with her.

Tell us about your S&S 28 story.

My story is titled, “Tear Stained Sword”. It is the story of two sisters, the bond they share, and sacrifice one is willing to make for the other.

Can you share an excerpt from your story?

Here’s the opening scene….

My prey was close.

Drawn by the magic that bound me, I gradually made my way toward the back of the hall. The white lace scarf affixed to my right wrist tingled in delight as I spied my target. I instantly recognized her. Faydra! It couldn’t be her!

She stood alone and beautiful, waiting for my arrival. Her gown was bright green, embroidered at the sleeves and hem in white ancient patterns. She wore her hair long, with her wavy red locks held back with two emerald combs. Her youthful face had gentle freckles sprinkled across the pale complexion of her nose. Her eyes held an expression of deep sorrow.

I sprinted toward her–the spell of compulsion on me was irresistible. The world around me grew suddenly quiet, as if the goddess herself held her breath. I heard no sound other than my own pounding heart.

Twisting my blade flat, I leveled my sword to strike. At the moment before… our eyes met. Faydra’s brilliant green eyes loomed before me. And they swam with tears.

I plunged my sword deep into her chest, with just a hand’s breath of sword remaining. The task completed, the compulsion broke, and the scarf affixed to my wrist loosened and drifted free.

“Oh Goddess, what have I done!” I whispered.

Faydra’s lower lip trembled. The tears filling her eyes became dislodged and rolled down her cheek. In the horrid silence, I heard a tear, then another, splat loudly against the exposed flat of my sword. Her trembling hand slowly rose and gently touched the side of my face. “These tears are for you, Kerrin, my foolish sister….”

Would you say fantasy needs to reflect real life, or offer an escape from it?

I think it’s both. I think fantasy needs to offer a safe (and hopefully entertaining) place to explore real life issues. Sometimes the issues can be complex, and other times simple (as in “Tear Stained Sword”), which explores the extent one will go to in order to protect a loved one.

What are your preferred tools and environment for writing? (Typewriter, computer, pen, coffee shop, and so on.)

I write my stories in my office on a desktop PC. I know you’re imagining an ancient clunker, but it’s actually only a couple years old. And for any techno-geeks out there, I use two monitors!

In my office, I’m surrounded by fantasy posters on the walls, as well as, stacks of books and DVDs I’ve collected over the years. All I have to do is look up and I’m instantly inspired.

How many drafts of a story or novel do you typically write?

It varies, and for me, depends on well formed the initial idea was. For “Tear Stained Sword”, I did four drafts.

Have you tried any self-publishing projects yourself?

Self-publishing is something I’ve considered, but never tried myself. Back in the day, self-publishing was considered a no-no. But today, with the changes happening in the publishing industry, self-publishing definitely has some advantages.

If offering advice to a new writer, would you suggest they pursue traditional publication or self-publication?

This is a tough question. And I think the best answer is… whichever one is best for that person. Being of an older generation, I tend to think that you haven’t “made it” until you’ve gone the traditional publication route. So I would tend to advise the traditional route. The disadvantage with this however, is that you give up an element of control to the work (and profits). If I felt very confident in my own marketing and management skills, I might prefer to self-publish and manage that myself.

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Thanks, Jessie, for the interview.

Check out our interviews with past S&S contributors – , , , Sword & Sorceress 25, Sword & Sorceress 26, andSword & Sorceress 27.

And the novel featuring my Sword & Sorceress character, spy and assassin Caina Amalas, is now available for free in all ebook formats: Child of the Ghosts.