Monday, March 2, 2020

Space Opera Libretti author interview: Jennifer Lee Rossman

Good evening, passengers of the good spaceship Space Opera Libretti! We hope you are enjoying your flight. Brian will be around with snacks shortly. Meanwhile, it's Monday, and Mondays are when we invite one of our authors up to the cockpit every Monday to discuss their story available now in Space Opera Libretti.

Today's guest is Jennifer Lee Rossman!

Wait. That can't be right. I can't interview myself.

Brian. Brian, where are you going. No, the snacks can wait. Brian! Come back and interview me!

Um.

Okey-dokey. I guess I'm interviewing myself this week. My story, Jukebox Ga Ga, involves two siblings on an intergalactic road trip that gets interrupted by invisible bears made of black holes.



In 10 words or less, how would you describe your story?
Bohemian Rhapsody sing-along saves the day.

What was the inspiration for this story? Be as brief or detailed as you want.
When I was younger, my dad went to Egypt with my uncle and came back with a wild story. Briefly…
Tour guide: we can't go any further down this river
Dad: OK but what if we did
[police boat shows up. There are guns. Tour guide and uncle think they are going to die]
Dad, who knows very little Arabic: i'll handle this
[10 minutes later, dad is in the police boat, smoking cigarettes and wearing the captain's hat]

There were pictures to prove this, but no one could tell me what happened in those 10 minutes. I finally got the full story this year, but it always stuck in my head because of the dynamic between my father and his brother. What was my introverted uncle thanking while my used car salesman dad was confidently charming the egyptian police?
And what if it was in space?

If your story had a theme song, what would it be?
Bohemian Rhapsody. Although I reference quite a few Queen songs in the story.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.
What if Dr. Temperance Brennan from Bones was a Disney princess?
I'm autistic, i'm disabled, i'm queer, and I like dinosaurs, dammit.

What was the last book you read? Did you like it?
Solarpunk Winters. I'm actually in the middle of it right now, but I am greatly enjoying it. Not every story is catching my attention, but that's the beauty of anthologies.
(my story Oil And Ivory, basically the movie Ferngully but with narwhals, is in it. And yes, I am shamelessly promoting my own work in this interview. I'm allowed. My blog.) 

Do you have anything you want to promote? Other stories or books, your Etsy shop, a cool video you found online of dancing llamas that you think the world needs to see?
I have a story coming out in Community Of Magic Pens. It's a choose your own adventure short story about the magic of friendship.
And also it's about a pretty girl with sharp teeth. (look. Dark Rey in The Rise Of Skywalker made me realize I have a thing for girls with sharp teeth. Don't judge me) 
The book is available for pre-order now and can I just say… the editor is an amazing person who has put her heart and soul and wallet into making this book as good as it can be. I've read some of the stories and they are just. Fantastic. 

Anything else you want to say?
I am so honored to have worked on this book, and thankful to Brian and our authors.




Every story in the paperback version of Space Opera Libretti is accompanied by a title page. Mine features a jukebox in space… and is that an invisible bear?


Jennifer Lee Rossman lives in a group home for disabled people in Binghamton, New York, and enjoys annoying certain staff members by singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody. She recently colored her hair blue because, you know. She's queer.



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