Interesting Intersections with Esme Symes-Smith and a SIGNED BOOK GIVEAWAY!! (US ONLY, please)

A big interesting intersections welcome to Esme Symes-Smith! They are one of my favorite people, and I cannot tell you how much this means to me. Check out their GORGEOUS book with TWO STARRED REVIEWS!

Follow Esme on social media. They are so much fun to talk to and are a huge champion of authors!

Twitter: @EsmeSymesSmith

Can you share a picture of your writing space with us?

I adore the giant poster of your book cover! OMG! Why is this place great for your creativity?

I love going all sorts of places to write and edit! It took a long time to learn that I needed variation in my routine, and as long as I could get the words down, it didn’t really matter where I did them. I love being around the bustle of people and the potential for conversation (as long as I have headphones handy in case I need peace and quiet!) I’m definitely the kind of writer who needs to set aside time and space to do my best work.

Saaaaame on so many levels. Tell us a bit about yourself and why you became a writer.

I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. Putting words down on the page just made sense to me in a way that not much else did. I was a very imaginative kid who loved playing all kinds of make-believe, so writing fiction was an automatic next step when I got a little older. I love telling people stories but more than that I love telling myself stories. Fiction has always been a safe place to explore scary things!

Very cool that you tell yourself stories! Now, we’re dying to know about you and, if you are willing to share, your intersections.

I consider myself miscellaneous queer, currently finding the right balance between Nonbinary and Trans, with a large dose of neuro-spicy, both diagnosed and undiagnosed. I’m working myself out!

May I ask if the plot of your current book or your main character mirrors you in any way?

Callie is very me, in that they’re small, scrappy and a through-and-through Aries! Callie is much more well-adjusted than I’ve ever been, though. There are parts of myself in all my characters but nothing is taken specifically from life. Their adventures are ones I wish I could take myself.

I love that Callie is you!! Speaking of mirroring, who is one intersectional author you find inspirational and why?

A.J White, the author of Hell Followed With Us is truly amazing, and the depth and complexity he brings to his characters, especially Benji and Nick, is stunning!

What is one hope you have for the future of publishing?

I really want intersectional stories to be the standard and not the exception. These stories and authors shouldn’t be treated as special just because we’re telling stories about ourselves. I look forward to the day where every experience is taken at face value instead of being held as some kind of example.

You are LGBTQIA+. What hopes do you have for this community beyond writing?

Peace. The right to exist.

Who is one LGBTQIA+ writer you look up to and why?

Ash Van Otterloo, author of Cattywampus and A Touch of Ruckus. He is the most talented, generous author I have ever had the honor to know.

I agree with you so much about Ash. An amazing person! What are you working on aside from the SIR CALLIE sequel?

Uh, self-care? I’m very much a one-book-at-a-time kind of author, so it’s gonna be SIR CALLIE for the foreseeable future! Mostly I’m just trying to find the balance between writer/author/human, which is surprisingly hard!

Self-care can be so very hard. I hope you've found the time to relax and enjoy!!

FRIENDS!!! I am giving away not 1, not 2 but 3 editions of SIR CALLIE AND THE CHAMPIONS OF HELSTON SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR (US ONLY, please)!!!!

All you have to do is retweet my original post or like my original post or comment on the original post or comment on the blog for a chance to win this amazing book!! Good luck!!