Three Question Interviews with Adventures in Zookeeping Contributors

In case you missed my post last week, Adventures in Zookeeping is the newest MileHiCon fundraiser anthology, edited by Sam Knight and published by Villainous Press. They were nice enough to include my story "The Fourth Lemur." I asked some of the other authors about their stories, their writing, and their favorite memory of the zoo. My answers are at the bottom!

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C S Peterson, "The Jeweled Black Quaver"

Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
In "The Jeweled Black Quaver" Ranger Callie Orpheo walks a thin line between paradise and hellfire to preserve a creature that prefers a post apocalyptic habitat.

What's your favorite zoo-related memory?
When my daughter, Keziah, was six years old she climbed into a 'bubble' window in the beluga whales exhibit at Mystic Aquarium in CT and put her forehead against the glass. Aurora, one of the whales, swam over and pressed her head against the other side of the glass. They stayed like that for several minutes, then Keziah said good-bye, crawled out of the bubble and Aurora swam away. Sadly, Aurora the whale passed away quite suddenly a few months later from a ruptured aorta. We will never forget that moment they shared.

What are you working on now? Where can readers find you?
Readers can find me at cspetersonauthor.com and as a contributor at fictionunbound.com, a speculative fiction blog. Right now I am working on a YA historical fantasy about a girl named Scralig who has one golden eye and one blue eye: Once, by her blue eye, she swore she saw the ravens laughing before they flew off to whisper into Odin's ear. Once, through her golden eye, she saw a thunder creature land in the upper pasture. Black smoke rolled off its wings and nets of lightning flickered along its arms. That was when she was small. Perhaps it was just her grandmother’s stories that put the visions in her head. Now Scralig is older and she knows better than to trust visions. Besides, in a Viking village, a dark-skinned girl with an evil eye has other things to worry about.

Alicia Cay, "Monsters of Yesterday"

Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
"Monsters of Yesterday" takes you to where the monsters, creatures, and myths of imagination end up when they are no longer remembered.

What's your favorite zoo-related memory?
When I was much younger I got to visit the zoo on a school field trip. Two things about that trip remain memorable for me. I got to ride on an elephant, which by the way, is super uncomfortable. Seriously, those pachyderms have spines like butter knives. The second was having an animal toy made for me in one of those machines where you put in a dollar or two and get to watch a plastic animal molded right before your eyes. I had seen some girls use the machine on our way into the zoo, and I had to wait the entire day when we were leaving, to pass the same machine and have one of my own made. I wanted one of those things so badly! And in fact, I ended up keeping that plastic, yellow lion for years afterwards. But do I remember seeing the actual animals? No. It's hilarious the stuff that sticks with us.

What are you working on now? Where can readers find you?
I continue to hone my abilities by writing short stories, then for fun I enter them in contests. All of my entered stories have 'placed', but none have yet won. Our legion of adoring fans can find me on my blogsite: aliciacay.com. Links to my Facebook, Twitter, and a few other places can be found there.

Carolyn Kay, "The Corpse Flower"

Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
In "The Corpse Flower", a rare African flower breaks out of its enclosure, causing mayhem at the Steam City Zoo, and it's only a matter of time before it eats someone.

What's your favorite zoo-related memory?
I got to see Shamu at Sea World when I was 7. It started me on the path to a science career.

What are you working on now? Where can readers find you?
I'm currently working on a steampunk/fantasy novella that should be out in early 2017. People can find me at www.bewitchinghips.com

Ashley Vasquez, "Bound by Death"

Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
In "Bound by Death", havoc ensues when the newest attraction in a zoo in the afterlife realizes that she's dead, and the rules of the zoo (like enclosures) don't apply.

What's your favorite zoo-related memory?
My favorite zoo trip was in Belize, where the zoo is made up of local animals from the country. Because it's a small country, and a lot of the animals are hunted for food, I spent part of my time horrifying tourists by talking loudly about the creatures in the zoo that I had eaten during my time there, such as deer, picary, gibnut, and iguana.

What are you working on now? Where can readers find you?
I'm currently working on a Steampunk Noir novel set in the 1940's. People can find me at facebook.com/ashleyvasquezauthor

Susan Adams, "Sanctuary"

Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
"Sanctuary" is a safe haven to outcasts from all walks of life, but that safety is threatened when some one starts sabotaging the sanctuary's protective spells.

What's your favorite zoo-related memory?
My Uncle Denny, to whom this story dedicated, was an enthusiastic conservationist and had a small, private zoo, specializing in large cats. He obtained a Siberian tiger, named Boomer, when Boomer was just a cub and trained him to accept commands. In spite of Boomer's obedience, he was not my uncle's pet. Uncle Denny kept Boomer in an enclosure surrounded by a double fence. When I was about fifteen, Uncle Denny let my younger sisters and me into the outer fence; Boomer laid down against the inner one. And that's how I got to pet a tiger.

What are you working on now? Where can readers find you?
My current work in progress is a mainstream fiction novel, much of which takes place in a zoo. I can be found on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Scadamsauthor and on Twitter at: @adams226sc.

Sarena Ulibarri, "The Fourth Lemur"

Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
A disgruntled zookeeper thinks she's turning into a were-lemur, but the truth is even weirder than that.

What's your favorite zoo-related memory?
During the 2014 Clarion Workshop, several of us took a break from the non-stop writing and critiquing to go explore the labyrinthine San Diego Zoo. We wandered until our feet were sore, and then it took us another hour to actually find our way out. I was sure all the workshop stories for the coming week would be about being lost in a Gothic menagerie. My friend Vida Cruz blogged about this zoo trip in much more depth here.

What are you working on now? Where can readers find you?
You've found me! I hope you'll poke around, read some other blog entries, and, of course, grab your copy of ADVENTURES IN ZOOKEEPING from the link below!