Last questions with fantasy author Elaine Isaak about her books The Singer's Crown and The Eunuch's Heir
What's coming out next? Are there places online readers can find your stories if they've finished the books and want some more?
If you want to read more about Kattanan and The Singer's Crown universe, a prequel story, "Song for the Sea" is on-line as part of the Amazon Shorts program. It incorporates my fascination with shipwrecks, and a couple of first meetings for the original characters.
In May, I have a fantasy story, "The Disenchantment of Kivron Ox-master", coming out in Prime Codex, an anthology of speculative writing by some of the up-and-coming writers of today. The story grew out of research I've done on Mongolia, and may someday grow into a novel of its own. There is a third book in the Singer's Crown series, entitled The Bastard Queen, but I don't have details about when it will be available—check my website! The website also includes a couple of short stories available for download.
I have a very dark fantasy series currently under submission, and I'm working on a trilogy about reindeer, reincarnation, and really big reptiles. . .
How did you get started writing a column of fantasy fiction for Alien Skin magazine?
I heard their fantasy columnist was leaving, and this sounded like a fun opportunity to share some of my thoughts and approaches to fantasy writing. I contacted the editor with my credentials, and I'm happy to be on-board. The Lady Blade column seems to be well-received, and I'm always looking for new ideas for what to cover.
What's up with your hidden desire to be an Entwife? Do you do other costuming? Are there any characters of yours that you think would make particularly good costumes?
The story of the lost ent-wives always fascinated me as a child, and I kept expecting some sign of them to turn up, so my Worldcon masquerade entry was a way to bring that tale to a satisfying end. I imagined my costume as having a very Victorian silhouette, in keeping with the entwives' more domestic nature. The bustle concept came in handy when we got permission for my daughter to be on stage, and were able to imagine a future for the entish people. I think my reptile characters in the new book will eventually be on stage, giving me a chance to share my vision of them, as well as messing around with some fun techniques.
In my other life, I have my own business, Curious Characters, designing (among other things) custom-made stuffed animals and fantasy-oriented soft sculpture. I've been sewing almost as long as I've been writing, and once thought of going into fashion design or theatrical costume. For about five years, I worked for a costume shop creating animal mascots and other foam-based characters, so it was a natural to enter some of the local masquerades with a Snail-rider, and a Mongolian Tsam dancer (though I never got to complete the human skin he's supposed to be wearing). I've also worn my snail-rider costume in the local street fair, bringing a bit of magic to the mundane world—and in the end, that's what it's all about: sharing the magic.
Elaine's website can be found at http://www.elaineisaak.com. More of this interview is available here and here.
