Author Interview: P.A. Cornell
Recently I had the absolute privilege to read an advance copy of P.A. Cornell’s The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories and it was a blast. So it’s my honour to be able to interview P.A. Cornell now on the blog about her writing journey.
Tell me a bit about yourself. Who are you and what do you write?
I’m a Chilean-Canadian speculative fiction author. Since around 2015, I’ve been writing primarily science fiction, fantasy and horror, pretty much in that order. I often blend these genres as well. I tend to write character-driven stories that centre around themes relating to human interactions and connections of all kinds.
What’s your favourite genre? Is it the same as the one you write in?
My favourite is probably science fiction; especially sci-fi horror. I do occasionally write it, but I also enjoy reading it and watching it in film or TV.
What do you do for inspiration?
I don’t find inspiration hard to come by. I get ideas in all kinds of ways, and I probably have more unwritten ideas than I’ll ever get to use. That said, I occasionally do writing exercises for fun, writing stories or scenes that are based on images, or sometimes prompts. I’m a member of the Codex writer’s group and they have yearly motivational contests that include prompts. I’ve often participated in these and several of my stories have come from Codex contests.
How do you approach building your worlds?
It really depends on the story. Sometimes I begin just by free-writing and seeing where it takes me, and once I have enough written, the world becomes clearer, so then I can go back and strengthen details about it and research what I may need to. If there’s more planning ahead of time, I tend to consider my characters or the plot I have in mind, then build the world around what those will require.
What comes first? Characters or plot?
Since my stories tend to be character-driven, I’d say I start with characters more often than not. When I have an idea whose story I’m telling, it’s easier to build on that for the rest.
What was the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
I suppose it depends on what you mean by “hardest.” Longer works, such as book-length manuscripts, tend to be more complex than short stories, so are inherently more difficult because of that. But I’ve also written stories that were thematically difficult. That took a toll on my emotional health. Those sometimes I need to take breaks from or find new ways to tackle them so they’re not so hard on me emotionally.
What’s your favourite/least favourite thing about the writing process?
Writing in general is just fun for me. I love discovery writing because I don’t necessarily know where the story’s going (at least not at first) so I love that the way they unfold can surprise even me. I don’t think there’s anything about writing itself that I dislike, but like most writers I don’t love promoting my work. I do it, because it’s part of the job, but it’s definitely not fun for me the way writing is.
Are you able to share any short snippets from the cutting room floor?
Not really. I mostly edit as I go, so there’s not always anything left to share. But even if there is, I don’t like to share my rough work.
What is your absolute favourite piece of your own writing? Could be a short scene, a bit of dialogue, a character or even the tiniest piece of worldbuilding.
That’s so tough to answer because there are several and I’d probably give a different answer depending on the day. Today, though, I think I’ll choose the opening and closing lines of my short story “The Body Remembers,” which is one of the stories in my collection The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories. I don’t want to give anything away there, but I like the way they wind up working together to give the ending more impact. In fact, the original editor who published it in Dark Matter’s Monstrous Futures anthology, said one of the reasons he selected that story was because of that detail.
What are you promoting at the moment?
Right now, I’m promoting my debut SFF collection The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories (out August 18). This book is made up of stories from my first decade or so publishing short fiction. It’s twenty-one stories, including award-winning and nominated ones, as well as two brand-new stories. Several of these pieces have never been available to read for free online, so there’s plenty there for readers to discover.
I’m also still promoting my book Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl, a novelette that came out in February. It’s a bit of a genre mashup that I’ve been describing as a retro-futuristic, noir, love story. It’s a fun, uplifting little book that readers seem to be really enjoying.
Both these books are published through Stars and Sabers Publishing.
Also in August, I have a new science fiction short story out in Adventitious magazine that I’m very proud of called, “A Game of Go.” I hope people will read that one because I think they’ll really like it.
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