Q&A with Author, H.T. Schwartz

H.T. Schwartz – Author Bio

H. T. Schwartz is an English teacher with almost two decades of experience. She made speculative fiction her whole personality after her junior high librarian told her she should find something better than books about magic “and all that crazy stuff”. As a scholar, she researches literary genre, science fiction, and anthologies. In your face, Ms. Librarian! She now lives in Canada, where she moved to for her PhD, and where a husband, a cat, a dog, and a baby joined her party. She has a couple of articles in scholarly journals, but the short story “Rain Reverie Dance” is her first ever creative text to be published.

Q&A

What is it about dragons that you love so much?

I think it’s the fond memories. I was lucky enough to grow in a home where people read and told me all sorts of stories. My favourite ones were always the ones about some magic, witches, ghosts or talking animals – dragons among them, of course. I remember being about six or seven years old and someone told me a story in which dragons really loved art and every time there was a play, a concert, or someone painting, or writing, there was an invisible dragon flying around the room. From that day on, I can feel a dragon flapping their wings around in the room whenever I go to the theatre, watch a good lecture, listen to music, and whenever I’m writing, too.

Why do you enjoy writing about dragons?

To me, dragons embody a majesty of character that I look up to. I associate them with wisdom and serenity, and that is why they are always the heroes in my stories. This seems quite contradictory coming from someone who grew up watching Malevolent and Madam Mim turning into dragons and wanting to be a villainess just like them. In a sense, there is also an aesthetic appeal about them. Forget cottagecore, I am more of a dragoncore type of person! There is this powerful image of the Western dragon as a fire-spitting winged giant that has become ingrained in pop culture. But dragons are not necessarily huge or even powerful. They come in different colours and shapes. You can imagine your dragon as a fluffball or with steely scales; they can fly or swim; they can be idiosyncratically unique, and still, one will be able to identify them as a dragon no matter how creative you get with them. To me, it is all about the versatile story element they can become.

What are some of your favorite books to read featuring dragons?

I must mention Eragon and all The Inheritance Cycle series that were an important part of my formation as a reader. Also, one of my most recent reads, A Natural History of Dragons.

What got you into writing?

I can’t tell how it actually started. As a child, I made up stories accompanied by poorly drawn characters. I like telling, reading, and listening to stories. I study and teach English as a career hence I mainly wrote literary analyses and theory most of my life. But the truth is I always wrote fiction in the background for fun or as a means of organizing my mind. I believe it’s equal parts trying to emulate a lot of what I learned and authors I love, as well as a need for self-expression.

If there was one piece of advice you could give to other writers, what would it be?

The internet is an amazing thing that has done great and not-so-great things for humankind. Thence, be mindful of writing advice you find here, especially in the format of “this less-than-a- minute long video will teach you everything you need to know about getting published and becoming a bestseller”. In my experience, it has become more and more common to see students and starting writers show up looking for feedback on a promising idea, but then the actual telling of the story becomes secondary to the delirium about publishing, selling millions of copies, turning it into a film, retiring because of all the passive income. It is great to have dreams and goals but adjust your expectations. Lower the bar so you don’t pressure yourself out of writing. Focus on your craft first, then finish a story. Just then you can figure out what you will do with it.

Where can readers follow your writer platform?

Learn more about H.T. at: Instagram