Piecing together a whole new world full of depth and creativity and making magic from the typical: Greta Hayer takes us inside her passion-filled process of weaving short stories from history, her studies and her travels to South Korea. Taking from history can get tricky, she explains the hardships and struggles of fantasy writing and the solutions she’s found along the way. A history graduate, she loves retellings and often applies that love to her own works. Greta Hayer is a fantasy author living in New Orleans. She has her MFA from the University of New Orleans and a bachelor’s degree in history from her studies of medieval medicine and fairy tales at the College of Wooster. 

Show Notes:

(00:00-09:50) Background and Inspiration: Having turned to writing after winning a contest in 5th grade for her short story “Vivian’s Quest,” Greta explains how her writing developed in her early years through college. 

(9:50-12:00) Why Speculative Fiction: She doesn’t exclusively write speculative fiction but enjoys the creativity it provides. Greta explains her favorite aspects of the genre.

(12:00-18:00) History in Sci Fi: Greta discusses different moments in science fiction writing where history is portrayed and woven into story-lines. 

(18:00-22:48) Stand Alone Short Stories: Taking us inside her process for short story writing, Greta reveals whether some of her short stories are connected to each other.  

(22:48-27:30) A Father’s Influence: From magical lights to keys to the future and the past, much of this author’s inspiration has close ties to the way she was raised, she gives us more insight.

(27:30-30:00) The Auger and Girl Left at His Door: One of Greta’s works “The Auger and Girl Left at his Door” is explained from the creative process to its influences gathered from her travels and other works. 

(30:26-33:58) Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation in Story Building: Greta and the host discuss an author’s role in portraying other cultures and histories and what is appreciation vs. appropriation. 

(34:00-41:52)  Written Inspiration from Reading: Greta takes us through some of her favorite books that helped enlighten her writing starting in her early years with the work of acclaimed author Tamora Pierce. 

(41:52-52:29) Connecting with Other Writers: Greta talks about her public writers group called “Third Lantern Lit” and how connecting in person with the writing community provides support for her writing process and that of others. 

(52:29-55:07)  Scrapping & Re-Telling: Greta walks us through her advice on re-working or re-telling your stories in a whole new way. 

(55:25-01:00:00) Dating your Readers (Metaphorically): For authors to be successful, they need feedback from people reading their work. But, that can be difficult. Greta gives advice on how writers can find balanced feedback that keeps authors developing in the right direction. 

“More Real than Real” Andromeda Spaceways (2021)

“Eight Steps to Enlightenment” Maudlin House (2021)

“The Auger and Girl Left At His Door” Beneath Ceaseless Skies (2020)

“The Cossmass Infinities” The First Year (2020)

“Hashtag Buzzkill” The Daily Drunk (2020)

“Into the Ruins” Winter (2018)

“The Blinded God” Luna Station Quarterly 

Full List: https://www.gretahayer.com/publications

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