Today Iyana Jenna is visiting the blog to talk about her new seasonal short story.
Welcome, Iyana! Why are you visiting today!
Yeah, I released my short story, Santa’s Reindeer, on October 7. It is a YA MM Christmas romance about a young Reindeer shapeshifter.
What started you writing?
I began writing because I didn’t find what I wanted to read. At that someone I asked about it told me, “So, why don’t you write the story? You know what you want, so go ahead.”
Where do you write?
I used to write on my way to the office on my cellphone. Due to the pandemic, I have to write anywhere at home. But still on my cellphone.
What do you like to read?
It depends on my mood. Sometimes I like action stories, sometimes espionage, other times something that can make cry my eyes out.
What are the three books you’d take to a desert island? Why would you choose them?
A Matter of Honour by Jeffrey Archer
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Because of these books I started writing.
Writing is an intrinsically solo occupation. Do you belong to any groups or associations, either online or in the ‘real’ world? How does that work for you?
I happen to agree that writing is a solo occupation. I don’t belong to any writing groups because I believe that you will jinx it if you talk or tell someone else about your story before you finish writing it.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I have lots of cats, like, more than 10. Besides that I spend my time watching my favorite TV series. Some of them are Succession, Seal Team, SWAT, Titans, Roswell, etc.
Tell me a little bit about your most recent release. What gave you the idea for it? How long did it take to write? What did you enjoy about writing it? What did you hate?
It is a story about the youngest reindeer shapeshifter. But it’s a very short story so it didn’t take a long time to write it. It was written quite a long time ago so I kind of forget what inspired me. What I like about it is just that story is sweet and clean.
Santa’s Reindeer
Tyler gets left behind by the group. He makes a mistake of landing on earth when Santa is delivering a package. He is enticed by the sparkly stuff at a window. He has seen things like that when he was with Santa going places but never got a chance to watch closer. Now he does.
Excerpt
The night was getting dark and the snow was falling harder and thicker. Tyler tightened the thin blanket he’d snatched from a clothesline earlier this afternoon around his body. It didn’t help much. The best it could do was keep his dignity.
He looked around the town. It wasn’t as lively as several hours before. Not many people were still on the streets—which was completely understandable judging from the weather and cold temperature—and not for the first time Tyler regretted his own stupidity. He wanted to blame those sparkling lights coming from the stores and the streets’ Christmas decorations, but that wouldn’t be fair. Those lights had always been there every time he stopped by the town, which was only his second time this year. Yeah, what did you expect? He was just thirteen. The youngest Santa allowed a boy to come along was twelve.
Thanks again, Ally!