Hey! It’s time for another episode of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick! This time, I sit down and talk about making stuff (mostly writing), finding success as we each define it, and staying healthy and sane in the process with horror and “weird” fiction author Anna Ziegelhof!
In our wide-ranging and free-wheeling discussion, we touch on the shift from writing as an escape to writing as a vocation, crafting fiction from a thematic germ, employing dream logic in magic realism and weird fiction, asking questions of characters, method writing, “plantsing,” storyworlds and story wikis, anxiety vs. productive creativity… and much, much more.
The conversation with Anna Ziegelhof was recorded on June 5th, 2023. The rest of this episode was recorded on October 11, 2023.
About Anna Ziegelhof
Anna Ziegelhof writes horror and science fiction short stories. In either genre, she likes philosophical stories with themes like identity, memory, and belonging. There’s usually a spark of hope and whimsy, even in her darker stories. She also writes long-form fiction and has some science fiction novels and novellas in the works.
Her short stories can be found in many different online and print publications, like The Horror Library volume 8, Luna Station, Solarpunk Magazine, The Future Fire, Daily Science Fiction, the Flametree Press anthology Footsteps in the Dark, in several horror anthologies, and on the Tales to Terrify and Flash Fiction podcasts.
Anna is also an academic with a subject background in Sociology and Jewish Studies. She is a self-declared language-nerd and has been a language instructor, editor, translator, and, most recently, a linguist in the tech industry, working on Voice AI. She is currently on the editorial board of a magazine for academics who write fiction – AcademFic.
She is a member of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association) and HWA (Horror Writers Association).
Originally from Germany, she has lived abroad since 2008, first in England and then since 2015 in the San Francisco Bay Area. When she isn’t writing she enjoys reading, traveling, encountering strange places, being in nature, looking at art, as well as singing in a chamber choir. You can find her on Instagram as @anna with a z (all one word) and at www.annaziegelhof.com.
Also In This Episode
Stick around after the conversation with Anna Ziegelhof for big news about what’s coming next for Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, and my creative endeavors in general!
Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode
- My day job? I’m a creative services provider helping authors, podcasters and other creators. How can I help you?
- The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.
- The Horror Writers Association.
- The new wave science fiction movement of the mid-twentieth century. In the episode, I refer to it as “new fiction.”
- Michael Moorcock‘s Eternal Champion, Elric, and Jerry Cornelius.
- A quick search reveals I’m far from the first person to draw a line from Jerry Cornelius to Austin Powers.
- The Avengers television series.
- The abandoned building “backrooms” internet meme.
- Vantablack, the blackest black that ever did black.
- I touch on difficulties I had approaching the point of view for Shadow of the Outsider, the follow-up to my novel Light of the Outsider.
- That flash fiction probably erroneously attributed to Hemingway that’s almost a Zen koan.
- I swear I will try not to mention the damn David Simon quote for a few episodes. Pinky swear.
- Anna mentions a TED talk from JJ Abrams.
- I cannot promise this will be the last time Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin comes up on the podcast. But in my defense, I didn’t mention it first!
- Hugh Howey‘s Silo storyworld.
- I talk about a writing exercise on writing bad guys.
- Are you a writer or author? Want to be a future guest on Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick? Learn more!
- Big thanks to my Multiversalists patron community, including Amelia Bowen, Ted Leonhardt, Chuck Anderson, J. C. Hutchins, Jim Lewinson, and Pearl Zare! I’m incredibly grateful for the support of my patrons. If Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick brings you joy, become a patron!
- The Multiversalists patron member community receives the uncut, unedited version of every episode. For this episode, patrons get almost fifteen minutes of additional content! Want in on that?
- Become a patron for at least $5.00 per month (start with a free seven-day trial / cancel any time) and get a bunch of other perks and special access, too.
- Every month the member community has at least twenty members, I will donate 10% of net patron revenue to 826 National in support of literacy and creative writing advocacy for children. Let’s go!
Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and have the desire and means to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi, with my grateful thanks.