with Amara George Parker::
Q1: When did you start writing and first influences?
Amara: As soon as I learnt to write, I began making stuff up. I loved creating stories and putting images in people’s heads. My first influences – the ones I can remember – were R. L. Stein, Ursula K. Le Guin and Chris Riddell. Looking back now, it’s clear they set the tone for my future work!
Q2: Who are your biggest influences today?
Amara: . Ursula K. Le Guin is still a firm favourite, but she’s up there with Neil Gaiman, Octavia E. Butler, Vylar Kaftan, and N. K. Jemisin. I absolutely refuse to narrow it down any further than that!
Q3: Where did you grow up and how did that influence your writing? Have any travels away from home influence your work?
Amara: When I was very small – six weeks old until 4 years – I lived on a sailing boat called Hobo. My parents hadn’t been sure they could have children, so they sold up and bought a boat, fully intending to sail around for a few years. My mum ended up studying for her Ocean Master’s qualification while pregnant with me! We spent four years sailing around Europe, and I remember some of it. It’s definitely something that creeps into my work. I’ve written a kids’ book about a magic boat called Little Wanderer, and an adult SFF called Rafterland which heavily features boats! In later life, I did work on boats for over a decade, though!
Q4: What do you consider the most meaningful work that you’ve done creatively so far?
Amara: With the pandemic and ableism raging all around us, I’d say my most meaningful creative work to be a poem I wrote called Casual Eugenics. It’s about the government’s appalling handling of the Covid-19 situation and people’s attitude toward disabled people. It’s been tough having to hear how many people don’t think you should live. You can find a video of me performing it at a poetry slam (I won that round with it!) but I haven’t yet got a decent recording of the whole poem – something which is on my ever-growing to do list!
Q5: Any pivotal moment when you knew you wanted to be a writer?
Amara: I wanted it SO BADLY when I was younger, and while I was good at it, the feedback I got from those around me was that it was a hard career to get into, so find something else. My other passion, obviously, was being on the water, so I trained as a sailing, powerboating and kayaking instructor and worked my way toward running my own centre. Just as I got all the qualifications to do just that, my genetic disability – something I hadn’t known I’d had until hiking at 16 – reared its head and put a stop to that. I picked up writing again as a way to cope with immobility and to handle the grief that invariably sets in when your whole life changes. Since, there’s been so many moments that have affirmed why I write. Sometimes it’s a message from someone saying how important it was they found a nonbinary character, or a queer protagonist, or that something I said touched them, but most days – even if the work is hard and the words that come out are drivel – it’s the process that lights me up. Honestly, it feels like nothing else. If that ever changes, I’ll know it’s time to do something else.
Q6: Favorite activities to relax?
Amara: . Reading, being on the water, meditating, walking in nature, sex, singing, gentle yoga.
Q7: Any recent or forthcoming projects that you’d like to promote?
Amara:
MY DEBUT NOVEL IS OUT!
White lies and good intentions have paved the way for Laela’s untamed magic to bleed into the land, resurrecting a terrible power intent on vengeance.
Twisted Roots is available on Kindle or via my website. It’s a perfect dose of dark fantasy and escapism, and I hope you love it!
And for anyone interested in watching an excerpt of Casual Eugenics: https://youtu.be/MfV5pGibsOk
and Small Hate Stops Big Change https://youtu.be/HNJTL19abYU?t=700
Q8: What is a favorite line/stanza from a poem of yours or others?
Amara: “…we are waves seducing land into entropy…”
Q9: Who has helped you most with writing?
Amara: My writer friends! Having a community to share with is incredible, and we all support each other. My partner, too, has been amazing.
George Parker (A. G. Parker)
(they/them/Mx)
Writer | Poet | Editor
Reader for
@prismaticamag
| Editor for Angeprangert! Spoken Word
Insta @a_g_parker
Twitter @amara_gparker
amaragparker.wixsite.com/agparker
Fevers of the Mind 