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Weird Tales and Stories of Wonder (Creativity Series: Guest Post)

Of all the wonderful people who have come to help me out, Mary Pax is least known to me. I do know she is a commenter par excellence, not only here but on many of the blogs I visit as well as our Triberr group.

May says of herself: “I write mostly science fiction and fantasy. It calls to me. I started with more literary stuff [as I'm quite enamored with Jane Austen, Hesse, Tolstoy and Thomas Hardy], but a dude with a jet pack and blaster kept yelling at me, “Hey you! Over here. Remember your awe for Dune and 2001?” Oh yeah. Vonnegut and Bradbury, too.”

So…here is my way of getting to know this awesome and well liked writer.

# Five in the Creativity Series (Guest Posts)

Mary Pax: Weird Tales and Stories of Wonder

Thanks for having me on your great blog, Stuart.

Writing is my biggest creative outlet. I wish I could paint, but I can’t. Nor can I sing. I once played the flute and received pleasure from that. My most vivid memory, besides a great sense of joy when playing well, was a comic I’d read while waiting on my lesson to start.

I can’t recall the name of the comic book, but it had several strange tales in it. One was about this town where the residents had eyes in the back of their heads. Every week when my dad came to pick me up, he’d ask what had happened in that story. All these years later, that weird and fantastic graphic fiction sticks with me. The wonder it kicked up in me is something I strive to capture in my stories.

Around that same time, I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey. Arthur C. Clarke blew me away. I didn’t fully understand it, but I loved thinking about it, wondering about it. The visual poetry spoke to me, drew me in. Later, the book did the same. To this day, I consider that story my idea of fiction perfection. Besides Clarke, I’ve been influenced by Thomas Hardy, Hermann Hesse, Kurt Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury.

Doling out wonder in the tales I write, is a real need. Perhaps an ode to a memory of happiness, security and simplicity. A reminder of when awe was awakened in me … by a comic book and Arthur C. Clarke.

What has influenced your creative journey?

M. Pax: Inspiring the words I write, I spend my summers as a star guide at Pine Mountain Observatory in stunning Central Oregon where I live with the husband unit and two loving cats. I write speculative fiction mostly and have a slight obsession with giant, man-eating reptiles and Jane Austen. I know, they don’t really go together, but it’d be interesting to insert Godzilla in the middle of Pride & Prejudice.

Author of free reads Plantgirl, Small Graces and Translations, the recently released novelette, Semper Audacia only 99 cents from:

Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/92160