Issue 050 Author Interview: Jennifer Lee Rossman and “Maiasaura Deifaeria”

Longtime readers may recognize today’s author’s name! Jennifer Lee Rossman joins our pages once again, bringing magic to Issue 050 with their story “Maiasaura Deifaeria.”

LSQ: What a perfectly lovely and quirky story!  I never would have imagined a dinosaur fairy godmother! How did she first come to mind?

Jennifer: There was an anthology call for stories about fairy godmothers I wanted to write for, but I didn’t feel like I had a creative enough idea. Everything I could think of had already been done before. But since I have a bit of a reputation on Twitter for adding dinosaurs do everything (only slightly deserved, lol, I actually don’t do it as much as people think I do), I figured why not dinosaurs?

LSQ: But this story is also about relationships. Your MC was more than Asha’s fairy godmother, even if she couldn’t see it until the end. Would you say that Asha’s wish was granted? What about your MC’s?

Jennifer: Asha’s wish was granted eventually, although definitely not the way she originally intended. I think if she could read the story, she would understand why her godmother acted the way she did, and she would be satisfied with the way things turned out.

My main character’s wish has always been to take care of her godchildren. I’m not sure if she would consider this a success, I think part of her will always think she failed Asha, and it might take her a long time to come to terms with her feelings on that.
LSQ: It took a long time (65 million years) to find resolution. Even so, the ending was left a little open. Do you think your MC was able to assimilate enough to help the human girl?
Jennifer: I think she’s going to try. That’s all a mother can do, isn’t it? Try your best to take care of the children who need you.
LSQ: You have some complex themes spaced throughout your story: bones, grief, love, and a dash of humor. What are the themes you tend to go for in your other writing?
Jennifer: Blame a lifetime of watching Jurassic Park, but Life Finds A Way tends to pop up in my stories a lot. Even in this one, which seems to be all about death, is still about life going on with or without you, finding a way to make things work out in the end.