We contacted some of the authors that wrote faery-based stories for the anthology not seen in the 1st view we released on 5/10, that we thought would like to share why the mythwhisper, and wrote stories for Lunewing. Valjeanne Jeffers is one of these contributors. Well known in Lycan circles as the author of Immortal, she crafted an engaging tale introducing us to her trolls, winged ones, and even mermaids in her piece for the antho.

She sent us this response:

‘I’ve been writing stories since I was around nine or ten years old. As a little girl I loved stories of the paranormal too. During the 1990s I rediscovered my love of SF reading folks like Octavia Butler and Tananarive Due. When I caught the “fire” and started writing fiction again it had to be speculative fiction. I’m in love with this genre — in love with stories of the fantastic and strange.

In the 21th century there are very still few characters like us, and out of this small pool many are post-modern “Step-and Fetchits” (stereotypes). This is why speculative fiction is so important. This genre helps us to see outside reality, to say: what if? It helps us to imagine and create spectacular, wondrous realms, step back and find the beauty and wisdom there, and then transform our own space.

We need to dream, and we need our writers to help us to dream. Even if – especially if – these dreams are of fantastic, imaginary creatures and happenings. We need this because dreaming can be an escape. One should never underestimate the power of escape. Imagine a child living in squalor, and escaping into pages of a novel. Or a slave reading by lamplight and envisioning her freedom. Or a man working as a sharecropper, and at sunset telling his story with harmonica. We all need to escape, at least sometimes, into the worlds of those who dream like us, who understand us; who look like us. To paraphrase B.B. King, we need authors who get us where we live. Second of all dreaming helps us to change. If you can dream it, you can do it. You can move yourself and your corner of life forward.’

Scroll down to see Valjeanne’s excerpt among a few of the other excerpts from stories coming in the second part of the first installment, and click the link in ‘The Visitor’ excerpt to visit her network AAR.