1). How did your writing journey begin?
My writing journey began in 2009 when I started writing a multicultural science fiction space opera that ended up being four books- still not published. At this point they need a good rewrite.
2). Who are your writing inspirations?
What woman sci-fi writer is not inspired by Octavia butler? Add Nnedi Okorafor and Nalo Hopkinson. But a fresh young voice is Tiffany Mugo who was in my writivism class of 2014.
3). You seem to prefer writing short stories. Why is that?
I have been a fan of the short story form since reading Harlan Ellison as a teen. However male sci-fi writers suck in terms of 4d women characters, so I mainly read women authors.
4). When did you write these stories?
I wrote Cape Town Curios over several years while living in Cape Town. Stories would come to me as I went about my everyday life. I would ask myself - how can I turn this into a short story?
5). What inspired you to write Cape Town Curios?
I like to write short stories connected to a city or region. So I’m focusing on some places that I visit frequently. It was much easier to write about Cape Town because the stimulus was all around me. When I am just visiting a place, I make notes but never finish a story while I’m there, so the writing is slower.
6). Was there any particular story you found challenging to write?
There are three stories that I wrote connected to the Cape Town drought of 2017 and 2018. It really pushed me to tell the story of how the water became enchanted by doing research to weave real colony stories into this fiction.
7). What do you hope accomplish with Cape Town Curios?
With Cape Town Curios I hope to push the kinds of stories told about Africa and taking place in Africa. Aliens, space ships, scientists, magical water, gay characters- bring it on!
8). Some of your stories were previously published. What has been the response?
The South African response to Peppermint Pelargonium was very satisfying. A mythological story that was so real that people started asking their elders if such a myth really existed. Just wonderful! They also like that almost every name is ‘love’ in one of the indigenous languages.
9). Will there be more Cape Town Curios stories?
I wanted to write stories that stuck with people as well those where you want to read the next adventure. I have been asked to expand some of the stories into novels. I think about it from time to time.
10). How do we keep up with all things Colin Cloud Dance?
You can find me on Twitter and Facebook under Colin Clouddance or cloud dance.
Cape Town Curios by Colin Cloud Dance will be released March 2, 2020. You can pre-order the paperback and e-book from MVmedia, Amazon and everywhere books are sold.
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