Has it really been six weeks since I last posted here? Time certainly flies when you’re desperately trying to work while fighting off allergens using mountains of ineffective pills and sprays. However, the outside being poison certainly does wonders for productivity, which is surely the only true measure of human worth – so let’s take a look at the past month and a half, while the incessant bleeping of a smoke alarm whose battery I’ve not yet changed endlessly shrieks in the background.
Reading at the CTSG
The 26th of April saw a reading of Proud Pink Sky at the University of Brighton’s Centre for Transforming Gender and Sexuality. The event was hosted by the wonderful Dr. Olu Jensen, and featured a fascinating and emotional discussion of both the book and issues faced by trans and nonbinary people. Sadly I don’t have any pictures of the event itself, but I did take a hotel room selfie of my makeup beforehand, which is surely all you wanted anyway.
Interviews!
It’s been quite a few weeks for lovers of my sultry voice, with a few different interviews coming out. First there was a lovely interview with radio host Daniel Aldridge for Berlin’s Radio Alex, complete with a fantastic sci-fi playlist Daniel put together specially. The interview aired April 21st, and I’ll post a link when it’s available online!
I was likewise thrilled to be interviewed by J. Scott Coatsworth, where I even got to talk about my absurdly colourful bedroom (which has now been relocated to another absurdly colourful bedroom due to all the excitement of moving apartments). The interview can be read here, but here’s a snippet:
Being a huge fan of dystopian fiction, I’ve thought a lot about utopia and dystopia, and I was very keen to explore the middle ground between the two. What can we learn from a society with very real extremes of both good and evil? The world always gets both better and worse, constantly shifting in different directions, and I wanted to represent that dramatic, ambiguous change. This is my first ambitopian novel, and I hope to write more.
But it doesn’t end there! I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by Christian Baines, a fantastic author whose dark yet innovative stories have really stuck with me (I recently read his new novel My Cat’s Guide to Online Dating and I still don’t don’t feel entirely comfortable around the animals…). Anyway, we talk more about Proud Pink Sky, and writing fiction in general:
I love reading nonfiction, only it's something very straightforward and linear: the writer has a message they want to convey, and they do so. Now, I'm an opinionated person with strong beliefs, but what I love about writing fiction that you're not doling out a single answer to the reader – you're presenting a whole multitude of possibilities, a lot of which you never intended, and letting the reader draw their own conclusions. You're presenting your worldview in a softer way, one which, I believe, engages with the reader on a deeper level. You work together to find the message.
The full interview is available here.
Finally, I was honoured to be interviewed by the lovely Alex Iantaffi for the Gender Stories podcast. We had a really great time talking about Proud Pink Sky (of course) and also connecting over nonbinary experiences. It’s very much worth a listen, and the episode is available on several channels which can be accessed here.
But for the full experience including my exciting purple eyeshadow, you can also watch the interview on YouTube! Simply click here.
To Be Reviewed…
Proud Pink Sky has been gathering several highly positive reviews, particularly on Goodreads, which surely warms my allergy-ridden heart. I was especially pleased with this review from author Kevin Klehr:
… important plot points are introduced slowly, skilfully, drip fed into scenes so the reader knows there is a more menacing side to this city. This, and the points I made in the previous paragraph, is why I admired Redfern’s storytelling style.
A great dystopian tale. Five stars.
For the full review click here.
Well that’s it for now! Join me next time for more sneezing, spluttering, and cursing the cruelties of nature with their filthy, poisonous pollen. Until then!
- Sneezefern