Interview with Fantasy Author A. F. Stewart

Fantasy author A. F. Stewart likes to combine history, legend and mythology in her writing, which include novels, short stories, and poetry. In this interview she talks about her current and future projects, handling negative criticism, her writing habits, and some of her favorite authors.

Thanks for the interview, Anita. Why don’t you begin by telling us a little about yourself?

I’m from Nova Scotia, Canada, I’m a woman (I mention this as I use my initials as a pen name and lately I’ve been mistaken for a man), and I’m fairly new to being a published author. I’ve been writing for most of my life, but only recently decided to get serious about pursuing writing as a career, jumping feet first into the independent publishing scene.

I write fantasy novels and poetry; a great deal of my prose is based on history, legends, and mythology. I have published three small books so far: a volume of poetry, a short story collection, and a goofy guide to action movie clichés.

I love action movies, good sci-fi and fantasy, I’m a bit of an amateur history buff, I’m into oil painting as a hobby, and have a slightly dark sense of humour.

What type of writer are you - the one who experiences before writing, like Hemingway, or the one who mostly daydreams and fantasizes?

I’m definitely not someone who writes about my experiences; most of my stuff is based on historical research and mythology. I’m, unfortunately, not hanging out with wizards or heroic figures. I have taken fencing lessons though, so I do know a little about swordplay, which helps with fantasy fight scenes.

They say authors have immensely fragile egos. How would you handle negative criticism or a negative review?

After the hysterical breakdown, I would try to objectively dissect the criticism to find valid points and improve my writing.

When writing, what themes do you feel passionate about?

I tend to favour themes that deal with character struggles, the nature of good and evil, and loss. I tend to throw my heroes into the dark part of their world and watch them deal with the trauma. I like to ask myself "what would happen if?"

Are you a disciplined writer?

No, not really. I’ve always had a pattern of procrastinating, so I generally have to tame my bad writing habits. Plus, I like to work on more than one project at a time, so it’s fairly chaotic. My writing journals are a disjointed mess, but I always seem to make sense of it all in the end. It is only in research and editing I have any organizational skills.

Article Author: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani is the National Latino Books Examiner for Examiner.com.

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