R. Leigh Hennig gathered many of the amazing authors from Mother: Tales of Love and Terror for a council at the roundtable about writing, mothers, and horror. Join us as we pop in for a brief spotlight on how the stories of Mother, and their makers, worked their horrible magic to create this book.
Author Spotlight: Tehnuka, author of “Transformative Love”
Q: What inspired your story?
A: There were many small inspirations behind my poem – some from my own life, others not. It was mainly inspired, however, by my perception of the unconditional love of some mothers, and the unhesitating sacrifices they make, for their children.
Q: Did you know what you wanted to do with this story from the start, or did it surprise you?
A: I had no idea where my poem (‘Transformative Love’) was going. I started with the first transformation brought about by a mother’s love, and the overarching theme of a mother doing anything for her child was present from the start. The second half was a complete surprise, but once I got there I felt it was the only direction the poem could have taken.
Q: What was your process for writing this, and did that at all differ from your usual approach?
A: The opening of the poem appeared in my head when I was lying in bed one night, I typed something garbled on my phone, and then started writing it when I was more awake. It took a couple of sittings because I didn’t know where it was going and needed to let it percolate, but I didn’t need to change direction once I got started – which is quite usual for me.
Q: If there were ever a FATHER anthology put together as a sequel, would you follow that up, or write something totally new?
A: A couple of elements of my poem rely on the gestational parent’s relationship to their child—the physical transformations, and how the physical bond between parent and child persists and evolves. While the themes of unwavering love and the commitment—and desperation—to do anything for a child could apply to any parent, the physical closeness and attitude towards the parent-child relationship in my poem is something I associate with mothers. This is based on my experience, because of course some fathers do give birth, but I might use a ‘FATHER’ theme to explore how that love would manifest for a father in the same situation who didn’t have the ability to transform.
Q: Do you have any thoughts on turning this story into something longer, or do you feel the tale has been told?
A: I don’t see myself expanding on the poem—I think the themes are clear enough and the story feels complete.
Q: Have you explored these themes before, and if so, to what depth?
A: I often write about mothers and their children, and about transformation (including in my first published speculative pieces – ‘Mothers of the Disappeared’ in Apparition Lit, and ‘Clutch. Stick. Shift.’ in Mermaids Monthly). The specific themes, including transformation due to motherhood, are new to me though.
Q: If your own mother could read this story, would you send it to her? Why or why not?
A: I wouldn’t be surprised if she finds out about this, so the real question is whether I share it before she asks to read it.
Q: Why did you decide to submit to this anthology? Was there something particular that called to you?
A: The anthology title and description both interested me. The horror I write tends to be less physically terrifying, and I’m sometimes unsure whether to categorise it as horror, but it does explore relationships, so I already had a couple of stories and a poem fitting the description when I saw the call for submissions. I decided the poem was a better fit then, since we could submit three, I wrote two more specifically for the call – including the one that made it into the anthology!
The Weird Team is comprised of several unhinged individuals that have a love of life and a lust for adventure. They scour the world to find the strangest, scariest, and most wonderful news in the universe.
