Themes, Editing, and Getting Your Work Out There with Leslie Edens
by J.W. Donley
We have published Leslie Eden’s work multiple times in HamLit, and every time it is a treat. We decided it was time to pick her brain a bit and let her share some of herself with the HamLit community. Below is my interview with Leslie Edens conducted over email.
J.W. Donley (JW): So, Leslie. How did you originally hear about HamLit?
Leslie Edens (LE): I was on Discord for NaNoWriMo (now defunct), and either David Beaumier or Joe Donley said, “HamLit is back!” This was in approximately 2022 when the pandemic was waning. I may have heard about HamLit earlier, and if so, it was through the writing scene here in Bellingham.
JW: You’ve been published in three issues. Thinking back, do you have a favorite
theme?
LE: There seems to be a lot of death in these stories, but I think death is more
representative of loss of hope the way I write about it. So, my favorite theme is
regaining hope, personal power, or agency/sovereignty when it looks like all hope has
been lost.
JW: Do you have a favorite story that you wrote?
LE: Yes, among the ones published with HamLit, it would have to be Resolution. That
one came together the best, and the message it sends or the questions it asks are
clear.
Outside of stories published in HamLit, I love Fairy Wing Factory, about a trans kid and his imaginary friend triumphing against a fairy-processing factory and the forces of industrialization and genocide.
JW: With so many titles available from you, where would you suggest readers start with your work, that is, outside of HamLit?
L: If you like YA Fantasy that is sweet and not spicy PNR, Mortals: Heather Despair
Book One is a good place to start. There are three trilogies, and Heather is a
Wednesday Addams-like character whose boyfriend is a ghost and who talks to the
dead and lives in a gloomy haunted house full of quirky characters. These books are
appropriate for ages 11 and up.
For adults who like comedy mixed with a fair amount of gore and drama, there is the
80s Kind of Vampire series, vampire comedy, and the spinoff, I Was a Millennial
Werewolf, more vampire + werewolf comedy.
A lot of what I have published is either YA fantasy or comedy horror, and these titles are on Amazon. They’re listed on my author page here: https://amzn.to/2lWrRWy
JW: What’s on the horizon for you?
L: A lot of editing, because I am a fiction editor who specializes in fantasy, science
fiction, romantasy, LitRPG, and cozy mysteries. I’m also taking on some coaching jobs now, and I’ve been offered a couple of ghostwriting jobs, though nothing has as yet materialized.
I’m also doing movie reviews in the Dark Forest Press zine Scattered.
I have a short story about AI that is not written by AI, a large series called Above &
Beyond that I describe as Twin Peaks meets Stranger Things, and I am working on a
nonfiction book about editing as well. All these are in the works.
JW: If you could offer one piece of advice to writers seeking publication for the first time, what would you share?
L: If possible, just fire off the pieces with minimum drama. Put them through one round of editing and one nice beta reader who is on your side, then send them off. And do it regularly. I’ve known people who had great success with this method. I am not one of them, but that, I attribute to my neuroticism, not my inability to write or get published.
If you can find a nice and supportive publisher for your first publication, such as a
college journal or a local publication, it will be a lot less painful. I also am published in
Bewildering Stories, and they were great—very supportive of new writers.
JW: Any final thoughts?
L: HamLit has been great, and I’m privileged to be able to work with the people on this team and to be able to interact with them and the other writers I’ve met through HamLit publications and events. I’ve particularly enjoyed the readings. Twice when HamLit published me, I was going through some really rough things. I considered not sending in my work, but I did, and that made a huge difference in my life, whether they know it or not. So, my final thoughts are that it’s best to try. Send in your work and take a chance. It could be that thing that makes a huge difference in your life.
Leslie Edens grew up in New Mexico and lives in Bellingham, Washington. Usual hobbies include drinking coffee, hobnobbing with other writers, playing D&D, and riding a tiny ebike really fast. She writes far too much supernatural comedy, fantasy, horror, and science fiction. She especially loves reading at the Village Books open mic and chatting with the other writers on the NaNoWriMo discord server. In real life, she is a freelance editor of genre fiction. She’s currently writing a supernatural scifi horror series she likes to call Stranger Things meets Twin Peaks, but the real title is Above & Beyond.
Leslie’s short story “Resolution” was featured in HamLit: After Dark: Special Issue ’24, “The 7 Habits of Highly Magical People” was featured in Autumnal Equinox: Hearth Songs, and “Old Punks Die Hard” was featured in Summer Solstice Issue: Life Expectancy.
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