Featured Storyteller Eric Kent Edstrom – Q & A

‘Sup, nerds! Author Eric K. Edstrom is going to be on our next podcast EpiXode, but before we  have him on, we had a couple of questions to ask him.

  • Why don’t we start with the basics? Who is Eric Kent Destrom?
I am a writer. I live in southeastern Wisconsin with my wife, teenage daughter, and dog. I derive immense joy from writing, especially when using old typewriters. I also occasionally use dictation when the arms and hands need a rest from too much typing.
  • We recently had a discussion about the young adult genre on the podcast. Looking at your book covers and descriptions, it seems you would fall in that category. Correct?
Yes. All of my novels are YA. My short fiction is all over the genre map.
  • Where does your inspiration from these stories come from?
For the fantasy series comes from my internal sense of feel and atmosphere. I crave suspense and interesting twists as a reader, so I put that sort of thing in. My favorite TV show is Orphan Black, and it is all about the slow reveal of deepr and deeper mystery. But I don’t go into a project–or even a scene–knowing much of anything about what will happen. That makes it exciting.
  • You just recently published the third installment in your Starside Saga series. How would you describe it in 20 words or less?
Sixteen year old Kila Sigh is growing in her magical powers, but sinister forces seek to capture and control her.
  • Okay. We also noticed your series involves telepathic cats… Reallllly???
The telepathic cats thing happened by accident. I was writing a fantasy short story about thieves. All of a sudden a cat started to talk into Kila’s mind. That story got thrown out, but the characters and cats got repurposed because the cat was so mean to Kila. They traded insults constantly. So the cats are important to the series, but they are not the entire focus. Kila is special and nobody knows why. That is the main storyline.
  • Why should people root for Kila throughout the series?
First, I love fantasy tropes and use them shamelessly. Kila is an orphan with a mysterious parentage she doesn’t know anything about. She’s a skilled thief scraping by to fend for herself and her brother, but she has a good (if somewhat greedy) heart. She’s extraordinarily scrappy and she has a cutting sense of humor.
  • There are currently three books in the series, and it doesn’t sound like Mind of Mercusine will be the last one.
I just finished writing the fourth book, which is in the revision process now. There are also three Starside short stories, two of which are only available to newsletter subscribers. I try to keep them short, so even if the series goes for ten books, that’ll be the approximate length of The Lord of the Rings + The Hobbit. A tiny fraction of my beloved Wheel of Time series (which I never wanted to end).

 

We’ll go deeper into these questions and more on our next EpiXode of the SFN Podcast, so stay tuned!

Raphyel M Jordan

When drawing fanfic graphic novels was no longer fulfilling enough as a teen, Jordan ventured to greater adventures in storytelling. Now, when he isn’t busy saving the world through the trusty arsenal called “video games,” the author fancies spending time writing about exciting worlds untouched by man. Jordan writes Young Adult science fiction and fantasy. For more details on characters and art, visit RaphyelMJordan.com

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