In our new author series, we’ll be offering a clairvoyant peek behind the veil of who and what makes up TRANSCENDENT. Here’s a glimpse at Andrea Staum and her story “These Walls Speak.”
ABOUT THE STORY
What inspired your story?
Visits to my grandma’s house after her diagnosis with dementia were hard to process and this story was my way of working through my feelings. I already had Hestia as a character from previous stories and her retro-cognitive clairvoyance were a way to look at another possible reason for mental deterioration.
Can you tell me a little bit about your protagonist?
Hestia is a pre-cognitive clairvoyant. She is the daughter of archeologists who often left her and her siblings with their grandparents when they left on digs. These visits forged a bond between her and her grandma. When her grandma passes away, Hestia returns to the house that she spent so much time in only to find out that perhaps her grandma’s dementia was linked to capabilities similar to her own.
Tell me about the setting you chose and how it influences your work.
The house that the family gathers after the funeral is based off of my grandparent’s house. This allowed me to tap into my emotions of a situation that hasn’t occurred yet, but will one day face.
What would you like readers to take away from your story?
The importance of family. The material things of the world don’t matter compared to the interactions with the people in your life.
Which phrase are you most proud of in this story?
I keep seeing your Grandpa, but not like before. Not as the young man I married nor the old man I buried. I never seen him like this, and that’s all right. I think
If your story was front-page news, what would the headline be?
Grandma’s wisdom extends beyond the grave
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Editors. Another set of eyes on any work is one thing every author needs.
If you had to put your name on someone else’s book/story, which would it be and why?
I don’t play well in other people’s sandboxes. That’s why I can’t write fanfiction, so I really couldn’t put my name to anyone else.
When did you decide to take writing seriously?
I’ve been writing since high school, but I found a writer’s group when I went to tech school in Phoenix that assisted me in understanding the craft. Writing was there for me through a tough phase of transitioning to adulthood, but it wasn’t until five years ago that I sat down to rewrite the story I started in Phoenix. The rewrite turned into a different novel of Dragonchild Lore where the one I wrote years ago is actually book 5 so now I am trying to connect the story. I also look for open calls that speak to my muse.
If you could choose a single superpower, what would it be and why?
After doing so much research on metaphysics it makes me shy away from telepathy, clairvoyance, or empathy. My characters deal with the consequences of those, so I want nothing of them so I would want long-range teleportation. This would save so much time and money in transportation.
Andrea L. Staum is the author of the Dragonchild Lore series, Scattered Dreams short story collection, The Attic’s Secrets novella, and contributed to several best selling anthologies. She’s a trained motorcycle technician, is an amateur home renovator, and somehow manages to find time to write. She lives in south central Wisconsin with her husband and their four overlords…err…cats.
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