Over the coming weeks I’d like to share interviews that I (and Magnus) conducted with the contributors to Corvidae and Scarecrow. This week we’ll talk with Adria Laycraft. I met Adria through Fae, and my friendship and professional working relationship with her are one of the best things to have come out of that anthology.
Interview with Adria Laycraft
Please share a short excerpt from your story:
“It was a stone crow that saved me,” she said, remembering that awful final night. “I hit him with it, in the head. He thought it was a raven when he gave it as a gift.” The idea struck her as funny, and she laughed. Raven laughed too, tossing his head back and pointing his beak at the sky.
What is it about corvids that inspired you to write about them? I love birds in general, but corvids hold a special place in my heart for their intelligence and tenacity. I think they appear in so many mythologies and legends because they are worthy of it!
Was there one corvid characteristic you wanted to highlight more than others? I wanted a modern riff off old myths, highlighting Raven’s trickster ways, his laziness, and the fact he is seen as Creator in so many West Coast stories.
If you were a corvid, what would you build your nest out of? The feathers of my foe. Mwhahahaha…
What’s your favourite ‘shiny’ thing? As many are aware, I collect crystals and minerals. They are my ‘shiny’ treasures, my precious.
As you may know, one of Edmonton’s local Twitter personalities is Magnus E. Magpie who haunts Twitter as @YEGMagpie. I invited him to read an advance copy of Corvidae and Scarecrow and offer a short cawmentary on each story from a magpie’s point of view, which he did. When he was finished I asked if there was anything he’d like to ask the contributors. The italicized portions are mine because Magnus didn’t ask straight-forward questions on account of he’s a magpie 🙂
Mr. Yegpie: It would be cool to know where all these stories came from, I mean geographically – like I think I could tell who was from Edmonton and who was from Vancouver! (Where do you live, and did that affect your story/poem at all?) I live in Calgary, but my heart lies on the West Coast of Vancouver Island where my story is set, in the village of Ucluelet.
Mr. Yegpie: I also would sure love to know where they got their ideas from! I caught several familiar references from existing books and mythology and fairy tales; I like seeing people riff off stuff. (What inspired your story/poem?) My story was inspired by various Raven stories of the Pacific Northwest people, especially the Nuu-chah-nulth.
Mr. Yegpie: I think I would like to know what people’s favourite corvid is though; and if it isn’t a magpie, WHYEVER NOT?!? (If they come back with some guff about crows using tools, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL SEND THEM A COPY OF MY ROGERS BILL. Pffft, crows.) (What is your favourite corvid?) It’s hard to choose between my beloved magpie friends, the noisy but entertaining jays, the wonderful crow girls I’ve met, and the magnificent raven characters I’ve known. Mr. Yegpie, we are all family, I cannot choose a favourite!
Adria has stories in IGMS, the Third Flatiron Anthology Abbreviated Epics, FAE, OnSpec Magazine, Tesseracts Sixteen, James Gunn’s Ad Astra, Neo-opsis Magazine, and Hypersonic Tales, among others. She is a graduate of the Odyssey Writers Workshop and a member of the Imaginative Fiction Writers Association (IFWA). Adria is also an award-nominated editor. For more details visit adrialaycraft.com.
Available Direct from the Publisher:
World Weaver Press
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