Lynn Slaughter

One of the pleasures of featuring authors on my blog is meeting folks who write in entirely different genres than I do as a mystery author. Today I’m delighted to welcome fantasy writer Shaelynn Long. Below are her responses to my interview questions, followed by her bio and contact/buy links:

Can you share with our readers a bit about your fantasy novel, Fury’s Fate, and what inspired it?

Of course! Fury’s Fate is an urban fantasy novel that follows our protagonist, Olivia, as she navigates a sort of mid-immortality crisis. She’s no longer content with performing her duty as a Fury, and breaking one rules only seems to make it easier to break more, including the one about not getting involved with humans.

I was initially inspired by an idea for an assassin-type character. Because I love the world-building and research that goes into fantasy-writing, I took advantage of a neurodivergent obsession with Greek mythology and realized I hadn’t read nearly enough stories about the Furies and the role they play. Bit by bit, I put together a world for Olivia, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What drew you to writing fantasy? Were there particular books and authors who inspired your interest in fantasy?

I’ve always been more into the idea of escaping reality and diving into another, different world of my own making, so fantasy is really where I’m most comfortable. I probably have a lot of writers to thank for that, including both Anne Bishop and Melissa Marr. Their works, at different points in my life, really helped me build a confidence around writing fantasy and believing there was an audience for stories like mine. I just finished reading Melanie Mar’s Of Stars and Lightning, and it had me itching to write. There’s something magical about reading really good storytelling that puts me in a fantastically creative headspace!

What do you hope readers will take away from reading Fury’s Fate?   

Olivia really struggles to adhere to the rules put before her, and it’ll surprise absolutely no one in my life that I encourage asking why and rebelling when necessary. I hope others will find Olivia’s courage inspiring, as well as her ability to rise out of the wreckage.

Did you always know that you wanted to write? And were you an avid reader as a child?

I’m pretty sure I’m the poster child for avid reading. I consume books like meals, and I think they probably do the same thing for my brain that other forms of sustenance do for the rest of my body. I have always wanted to write. I’ve always written. It’s truly the thing that keeps me going.

I read that you grew up as a “dirt road kid” from Michigan and you still live in a small town. How have these growing up experiences and your current life as an English teacher living in a small town impacted your fiction?

I think living in a rural area forces me to utilize my imagination, and thanks to my many, many years of living rurally, my imagination is quite active! The quieter lifestyle not only allows my mind to wander, but it also gives me the time and space to create. I’ve discovered busy environments do not lend themselves to the process of creation for me.

Teaching English is a dream, and I love working in a smaller community where I’m able to really get to know the learners in my classrooms. It also gives me an excuse to buy more books and read as much as I do!

What is your writing process like? Do you usually start with character? Or plot? And do you consider yourself a seat-of-the-pants writer, a planner, or somewhere in-between?

I’m all over the place. I suppose I’d be best categorized as a “plantser,” because I need to have some semblance of an idea of where the story is going, but I can’t know too much or figure out too much because I also get bored. I don’t have a tendency to either consistently begin with character or begin with a plot—it can really come at me from any direction. And it does.

My process usually involves coming up with either a plot or a character and then sitting with that for a while. It can take me up to six months or more to really ruminate over a story and piece together all the necessities. I’ll outline periodically as I assemble ideas so I have a rough sketch of each character. Then I create broad outlines of what each chapter will focus on. Once I’m finally drafting, I can have a manuscript together in about 90 days, but it’s only because of all the mental and emotional work I do before I even put something on the page.

When you decided to seriously write and submit your work for publication, what steps did you take to develop your craft as a writer?

I went to graduate school. I don’t think that’s the path for everyone, but I needed to build some confidence in my skill set and to meet other writers. An MFA program, then, was a great place for me, and it’s where I met my writing partners, my editor, and my publisher!

What’s next for you writing-wise?

I counted my ideas up today, and I think I’m somewhere in the ballpark of seven book ideas. I know for sure what the next three are, but there are a few more waiting in the wings for me to flesh out and develop. My plan right now is to keep writing and publishing for as long as I can.

When you’re not writing or teaching, what do you especially enjoy doing?

It really depends on where I’m at in the writing process. I enjoy cooking, and I bake quite often, especially when I’m on a deadline. Beyond that, I really like to crochet, which is something I picked up between creative projects last year and I’ve found is useful for helping me to sit down and do something non-work-related. My kid is also at an age where he’s really getting into sports, and it’s been pretty fun to go watch him and cheer him on.

Anything else you’d like to add, or wish I’d asked that I didn’t?

Something fun that I don’t often get to mention in interviews is that out of the six tattoos that I have, five are related to writing or books! My hope is to one day have an entire literary-themed sleeve on my left arm.

Bio: Shaelynn Long is a former dirt road kid from Michigan and current small-town English instructor. She has previously published Ache, Blur, Work In Progress, and Dirt Road Kid. Shaelynn can usually be found with a nose in a book and covered in Corgi fur. New poetry, wild thing, and a new romantasy, The Court of the Unwanted, are coming out in 2026.

Website: https://shaelynnlong.com

Links: https://twitter.com/shaelynnlong, https://instagram.com/shaelynnlong, https://shaelynnlong.substack.com

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Furys-Fate-Shaelynn-Long/dp/1958531367

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/furys-fate-shaelynn-long/1143876384