Shannon’s story “Below the Big Dipper, to the Left of Ursa Minor Stood the Mural Quadrant Constellation” appeared in our The Best of Luna Station Quarterly anthology and today we’re sharing getting to know her, and the inspiration for the story.
First off, please tell us a bit about yourself. Have any super powers or secret talents?
I live in Toronto. I like taking photos of myself with other people’s pets … randomly on the street … so far I haven’t got in trouble. Quirk or talent … you decide.
Can you tell us a bit about what inspired your story in the anthology?
My story in the anthology was inspired by the true story of Laika, first dog in space aboard Sputnik 2. Reading the details were painful for me. I am passionate about animal welfare, when I heard they purposely needed a female dog to launch into space because males took up too much space (lifting their legs if they needed to pee) my heart broke. It led me to think about truth vs. myth. The Soviet space program never intended her to survive but kept that fact secret from the public.
I wanted a way to celebrate Laika and mourn her.
What have you been up to lately? Do you have any books out right now? Are you working on anything new?
I primarily focus on poetry right now with fantastical, magical, surreal elements. My first collection of poetry, Questions for Wolf, was published by Thistledown Press in October of 2015.
I’m always fascinated by where and how people work. What is your writing setup like? Any tools you enjoy using?
I need a black gel pen to write with and a spiral bound notebook. I eventually move to the computer but only late in the process.
Most writers are lifelong readers and books tend to be important to them. What books or stories have most influenced your life (genre stories or otherwise)?
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy meant a great deal to me. Chang-rae Lee’s On Such a Full Sea was also influential as is Haruki Murakami’s body of work.
Where can we learn more about you and your writing?
There is a great info page on my new book and a little info on me on my publisher’s website:
http://www.thistledownpress.com/html/search/genre/Poetry/questions_for_wolf_p607.cfm
Thanks Shannon! We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for your work!
If you’re intrigued by the inspiration behind “Below the Big Dipper, to the Left of Ursa Minor Stood the Mural Quadrant Constellation” appeared in our “, consider getting yourself a copy of The Best of Luna Station Quarterly: The First Five Years and read it for yourself, along with the other forty-nine awesome stories and gorgeous cover art by Julie Dillon.