Name: Polenth Blake
Author of: “Thwarting the Fiends”
Current Geographic Location: England
Twitter: @Polenth
Website: http://www.polenthblake.com/
Recent publications: “Visions of Destruction Series, Mixed Media” published in July 2011 by ChiZine, and “Missed Connection: Lizard in the Dog Park” published in November 2011 by Strange Horizons.
Which zodiac sign where you born under? I’m a fishmonkey.
If a magic fish granted you one wish, what would it be? I want my own airship, so I can travel the world (at a suitably leisurely pace, with plenty of time for tea).
What inspired your story? The story was inspired by my own feelings of having a lost cultural past. I can guess at some of it, but I’ll never really know. It’s been forgotten, and all that’s left is fragments. This is a story about a child trying to piece together his own fragments, mixed in with a bit of Alice in Wonderland and a few goldfish secrets.
Did you listen to music while writing it? If so, what, and why? No. I have hearing problems, so I like it quiet.
How many rewrites did you do before submitting? I did one major rewrite and a lot of little edits. The first line never changed.
What is your favorite bit?
Broccoli wanted to give it a hug, but he didn’t know if fish liked hugs. He didn’t know if explorers liked hugs either. They were probably too brave to need them.
