We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sara Walker-Howe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sara below.

Sara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

In 2017 my story “True Nature” was accepted for inclusion in the anthology, Alice Unbound: Beyond Wonderland edited by Colleen Anderson, published by Exile Editions. It wasn’t my first acceptance, nor was it the first dollar I earned. But it was my first sale at a pro rate for a pro publisher. I was over the moon. Up until this point I was feeling frustrated with the mounting rejections, and I’d worked hard on this story, developing an original tale specifically for this anthology. Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite stories, and I loved the anthology’s concept of looking beyond Alice. I found the editor and publisher were terrific to work with, and this was a good experience. But this acceptance was about more than the money for me. I felt for sure that this would open doors for me, and I was right. I went on to have several more short stories published in professional markets. This experience was one I wanted to pay forward so I published several anthologies myself, buying stories from other authors. I strongly believe that rising tides lift all boats.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

As Sara C. Walker, I write speculative fiction and urban fantasy novels, creating the kinds of stories that I always wanted to read but didn’t exist. As a kid, I wanted to read fantasy stories, but it seemed they were always about boys, and I also didn’t love the long descriptions of places and scenery. When urban fantasy came along in the 90s, I knew I’d found my genre.

I also write non-fiction, local history books and articles as Sara Walker-Howe, despite hating history studies in school. It seemed we were always learning about politicians and war, when I wanted to know about the real lives of the people who used to live in my area. Who were they? What did their everyday look like? So I started doing my own research, found a treasure trove of untold stories and felt they needed to be shared.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Support local. Go to the book signings. Go to the speaker events. We too often require authors to be proven successes before we show up to support them. If you don’t have events for authors near you, create something. Contact your library. For the past two years I’ve partnered with my local library to create an annual book fair event for authors. Again, rising tides lift all boats. You have to build the community you want to live in.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Early on in my writing career, I listened to everybody. I felt that others had more experience than I did, and I certainly didn’t want to be someone who refused to accept criticism, so I incorporated everyone’s advice and suggestions. This was a terrible thing to do. Writing can’t happen by committee. Some advice was just plain wrong. Worst of all, this really watered down my voice. I had to learn that as a writer, I could not please everyone. I had to learn who my audience was and who it wasn’t. I had to learn to be confident with myself, something I still struggle with every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: sarawalker.ca
• Other: bannisterpress.com