I’m excited to be part of the upcoming Strong Women Strange Worlds on June 18th—and honestly, the lineup is incredible!
For those unfamiliar, Strong Women Strange Worlds is a long-running virtual reading series celebrating women and nonbinary creators in speculative fiction. They bring together authors of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and the wonderfully strange for fast-paced live readings packed with imagination, emotion, and unforgettable ideas. Oh, and giveaways too!
Since one of my favorite parts of events like this is discovering the inspirations and creative processes behind stories, I am interviewing several of the participating authors to spotlight their work and the strange sparks that fuel it.
Today I am interviewing Sage Tyrtle. Their fiction blends surreal concepts, emotional impact, and sharp observation in unforgettable ways.
And be sure too to register for this free event at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/strong-women-strange-worlds-33460611105
The event is fun, fast, and always amazing. And you’re sure to find at least one author to love! And now without further ado…
What’s the story behind the story you’ll be reading at Strong Women Strange Worlds?
In 2016 we briefly lived in a really fancy neighbourhood. One day a huge crowd of people, all dressed in white, started arriving. We looked it up, and it’s a project people can join, to show up in white and eat dinner. That’s it. The whole point is to be like, “Hi, I’m rich enough to wildly overpay for this food while dressed in white! Look at me!” Like a bunch of irritating toddlers. I found the whole project really creepy. You can see the photo my son took on my website.
I knew I wanted to write about the all-white party eventually, and almost ten years later, I suddenly was like — OF COURSE. In the story they are ALL billionaires.
What drew you to speculative fiction in the first place?
I read Handmaid’s Tale in 1985. I was thirteen, growing up in California. The first image, of the woman trying to get across the border to Canada and failing, was one of the scariest scenes I’ve ever read — then, and now. I thought, “I never want to be that woman.” And 19 years later, I made good on that promise by moving to Canada permanently. If you’d asked me at age 13 if I wanted to read a nonfiction book about disenfranchised women and the patriarchy, my answer would have been a solid no thank you. But Margaret Atwood literally changed the course of my life by writing a speculative fiction book about disenfranchised women and the patriarchy that I gobbled up like it was cake, and I can’t think of anything more powerful than that.
What kind of emotional experience do you hope readers walk away with after finishing one of your stories?
I love making people cry. Like, LOVE IT. PROFOUNDLY. *laughing*
If readers could experience one location from your books in real life, where should they visit first?
In my short story “The Lurching Horror of Kennewick Road” in Does It Have Pockets, I create a dual world, half the black and white of a low budget 1960s monster movie, half the real world 1960s. I’m very proud of the duality and the story that results from this surreal setting. I think it would be fascinating to visit (but you probably wouldn’t want to stay…)
Which character of yours surprised you the most while writing them?
I’m working on a novel about a fictional 1970s cult. I know charming people who are creeps, and charming people who are delightful, but I’ve never been able to quantify what MAKES someone charming. I can point to them and say, “Charming person!” but ask me why and I’m stumped. I knew I wanted the evil cult leader in the story to be charming, and I was really nervous about diving in to that characterization. In the end I tried my level best, and have been so happy to find from my beta readers that I managed it, that he comes across as evil AND charming.
Bio: Sage Tyrtle is an award-winning storyteller, writer, workshop facilitator. A Moth GrandSLAM winner and Pushcart nominee, they’ve taught 150+ workshops for Smokelong Quarterly, Second City, and Clarion West among others. Their stories have been published in Barrelhouse, Baltimore Review, Apex, etc. Their work lives at the intersection of literary craft and, “Wait, did they just say that?”
If you would like to follow Sage, her website is https://tyrtle.com/stories/
And again, be sure to register for this free event at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/strong-women-strange-worlds-33460611105
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