What is your name/pen name/ name you are comfortable giving us?
My name is Scara and I am fine with people using it in the group. To the wider world I write under Leander Stardust.
What project or projects, if any, are you currently working on?
I have two unnamed projects but mainly I am working on the second book about Margaret, Margaret and the Annoying Crow. After completing Margaret and the Slightly Inconvenient Apocalypse, her story was beginning to be told, so I started a chronicle.
What project or projects, if any, are on your back burner?
I have two on the back burner right now. One is a fantasy short story with a horror vibe. The main character is being hunted by a creature who only hunts at night. The second is a high fantasy D&D-inspired adventure about a half dragon’s journey to confront his mother.
Why do you write?
This answer has evolved over the years. The younger me was vain and wanted to live in fame and luxury. Now I just find enjoyment in the act of creation. I am not artistic by any means or good with my hands, but I can be good with words.
How long have you been writing? How much of that time seriously? (You define what seriously means.)
I started my first novel when I was sixteen, so about 17 years now. If I define serious as when I was actively working on a project, about 8 years.
Do you have any published works?
I do not have any published works, but I do have a manuscript with Not a Pipe Publishing for review. I am hoping to have an answer sometime in June.
What is the best part of writing for you?
The puzzles. Why would this character act this way? What in their past created this decision? How does this affect the wider world? These questions define the story more than the descriptions or fantastical feats.
What is the hardest part of writing to you?
Wording and grammar. I usually need to re-read my work several times and still miss things. I tend to struggle with the beginning of the story.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
I meet it head on. If I end up in writer’s block I force myself to write at least a paragraph a week. It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be.
Have you ever seen the sun set over the ocean? (We’re Pen & Pier, we have to include the Pier somewhere.)
I have never seen it set over the ocean but I have seen it rise. I am about an hour from the Atlantic.
How did you find Pen & Pier?
Ute and I are on another server together, and they invited me.
What is your favorite genre to write? What is your favorite genre to read?
My favorite genre to write is fantasy; a close second is science fiction. World-building is always the best part. I love reading fantasy and LGBT+ fantasy romance, especially if it is lore-heavy.
If you could collaborate with any writer, who would that be?
Christopher Paolini. I love all of his books and they are still one of my favorite reads. I would love to pick his brain on lore and language building.
Would you like to live in your own stories? Why, or why not?
That heavily depends on what story. Margaret’s world? Probably—magic is still there even if it is middle-ages technology. My first novel, no, because that world was destined to be destroyed.
Do you have a favorite joke? (You can tell us, but you don’t have to.)
I don’t, but if I did it would likely be from Bianca del Rio or Jynx Monsoon.
What book(s) or stories would you want everyone to read? The one(s) that keep you going all night, if someone asks about them.
If you haven’t, I highly suggest the Dragonlance Chronicles or The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I have re-read them over a dozen times and always find hidden wisdom in the pages.
What are you looking forward to the most for your writing within the next year?
I am looking to broaden my horizons and discover my own style of fantasy. My crowning achievement this year will be if I can get through my second novella.
If you would like, share your sites and socials here.
I am still a baby author and am still figuring out websites and social media. As a person I don’t use them a ton, so it is a learning curve.
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