Get to know our editors: Danielle Perry

LSQ has a group of wonderful editors reading and preparing stories for every issue. They’ve graciously agreed to answer some questions so we can all get to know them a bit better. Today we get to learn more about Danielle Perry.

Hi Danielle! First off, please tell us a bit about yourself. Have any super powers or secret talents?

I’m Danielle, and all of my super powers are secrets. Except for writing. That one’s pretty public. And tarot reading, that one is also public.

What random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

Receipts for the books, folded-up post it notes, the free Powell’s bookmarks they give you when you buy a book, torn-off corners of paper.

What are your thoughts on fan fiction?

Oh, it’s great! Love things like The Mists of Avalon, Wicked, and anything from the Canongate Myths series, like The Penelopiad (Which is to say, many more things are fan fiction than are currently considered fan fiction. Fan fiction is also a great way to find your own voice and hone your writing skills).

Do you think much about whether the stories in LSQ or your own stories are respected as literature?

I think the distinction between “genre” and “literature” is bullshit. Some stories are well-written! Some are not! I had a perhaps unusual English lit major experience, wherein I did not actually read much of “the canon” and was in fact encouraged to be highly critical of what gets to be included in “the canon.” So I guess what I’m saying here is, I don’t think much about it, because I’ve already come to my own conclusions.

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)?

OH GOSH. Stories from Greek mythology, for sure. Jeanette Winterson’s Lighthousekeeping, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Helen Oyeyemi’s White is for Witching, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. I could probably keep going forever.

What gets you excited about a LSQ submission?

Beautiful language. Characters that seem fully rounded. New takes on old stories.

What have you been up to lately? Do you have any books out right now? Are you working on anything new?

I have fallen hard for poetry in the past couple of years, and right now I’m writing a poem a day. AND I have a li’l chapbook story-poem out called Phases, released in November 2015 from Sad Spell Press. (http://www.witchcraftmag.com/shop/phases-by-danielle-perry)

Where can we learn more about you and your writing?

http://jekyllian.wordpress.com in theory, but honestly twitter’s probably the better choice, & I’m @jekyllian there.