Theresa Derwin: Hi Mercedes, thanks for taking the time to chat to us. I wanted to start by talking about Fairy Tales – adapting and reimagining From ‘Little Dead Red’ to ‘Pretty Little Dead Girls’, and the world of other writers out there such as Angela Carter and many more. What is it about these stories that keep us coming back to them?
Mercedes M. Yardley: I think we keep coming back to them because they manage to be cozily familiar and deliciously horrific at the same time. Fairytales, at least the Grimm versions, were meant to be told often and to have a moral couched inside. They’re fairly simple, have delightful repetition, and are easy to tell. Yet at the same time, they are adaptable to our place and time. It’s like when somebody tells you to read a piece of religious scripture and “liken it unto yourself.” This religious text, whichever you choose, was most likely written such a long time ago in a vastly different environment, but it’s still applicable to our current needs. Fairytales are like that. We’ll always need to learn that love conquers most, cleverness shall be rewarded, and wolves have teeth.
TD Amidst Covid, you released the anthology Arterial Bloom through CLP, your first time editing an anthology. There is a lyrical beauty to your works and the covers that accompany them. ‘Arterial Bloom’ features a fantastic crop of writers and includes some beautiful interior illustrations. As noted, there’s “an artful juxtaposition of the magnificence and macabre that exist within mankind.” We have tales of beauty and darkness in this anthology.
I’d like to know more, including the initial idea behind this anthology and the steps involved please. Such as what are the pitfalls – ie what are the pitfalls writers should try to avoid?
What are you looking for in terms of practical aspects when you receive a submission?
MMY: Arterial Bloom is a rare, unthemed anthology. Most anthologies have a chosen theme that forcibly ties all of the stories together, but Arterial Bloom was a gorgeous, free beast. I loved that. Still, I noticed that many of the stories had to do with monsters, both human and inhuman. They had to do with love. There was a broken beauty to the chosen stories, and it’s such a lush anthology. I couldn’t be happier with the submissions I received. I think there are a few pitfalls for writers. One is that I was surprised how many people expected to be in the anthology because we were colleagues…. (subscribe to our Patreon page to continue reading)