J.A. Bryson is a writer, teacher, and musician. Her body of work is mostly SFF with the occasional education policy piece, poem, or song. She lives in New York with her wife, kiddo, and three spoiled cats and is a graduate of the Viable Paradise Writing Workshop.
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AW: What inspired “Senescence”?
JAB: I wrote “Senescence” while attending the Viable Paradise writing workshop on Martha’s Vineyard. A discussion of lobster DNA and longevity transpired over lunch (yes, I was eating a lobster roll), and I got to thinking—why should vampires be the definitive sexy immortals?
AW: What music do you play? What do you teach?
JAB: I am a classically trained pianist, Craigslist trained guitarist, and vocal switch-hitter. At present, I write and perform folk music and parodies, and sing contrapuntal pop songs with a women’s a cappella choir.
In dayjob life, I teach English Language Arts and Social Studies to preteens who very much would like to know my pen name—which, I am not telling them.
AW: What do you think education should look like in the future? What should it focus more/less on?
JAB: This past year, I taught an entirely remote 5th grade class and—dare I say—loved it. Remote learning isn’t for everyone (don’t get me started on the inequities), but for this particular cohort, the experience was incredible. The way the internet can tap intrinsic motivation and curiosity and even facilitate collaboration is second to none. And while I’ll be happy to return to the classroom come fall, I feel like the future of education must incorporate high-tech learning's highlights and maybe even offer a remote option more broadly for students who thrive outside the four walls of the school building.
AW: Do you have any specific formative memories that roped you into Gothic fiction?
JAB: As a teen, I cut my teeth on Edgar Allen Poe and Dracula, but it was Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith that rocked my literary foundations. I remember talking to a stranger reading it on the subway and thinking—My God, I am so jealous of you reading this for the first time! Its plot twist is that delicious. Not only is Waters’ prose spellbinding, but her books were the first I’d ever read with lesbian protagonists. I fangirl-ed so hard over her early works and the BBC adaptations. I was a little obsessed.
AW: Did you ever embrace the Goth culture? Carry a parasol? Do you still? If not, what was your teen ‘scene’?
JAB: No parasol. I did have a black lipstick though. And I know all the words to Mozart’s Requiem—that counts, right? I’d say, I dabbled in Goth but was mostly a theater geek.
Now, I parent an 11-year-old emo. That's something.
AW: Why Horror? Are you and Horror exclusive, and if not, what else do you flirt with?
JAB: I suppose my love of Horror is a beauty in darkness thing. I’m no fan of splatter but give me a narrative that bleeds its heart out all over the page, and I’m there for it. Horror and I are not exclusive. These days, I write Science Fiction/Fantasy mostly, but I flirt with satire and poetry too.
AW: Where can people see more of your past/upcoming work?
JAB: Sadly, my past works are no longer in print. I do have several works in progress though, including an aliens and cowgirls short, a vampire novella, and a steampunk fantasy novel inspired by the legendary pirate duo Anne Bonny and Mary Read.
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IN HER OWN WORDS:
J.A. Bryson reads a selection from her story, “Senescence”; watch below, then please support the IN SOMNIO campaign on Kickstarter!