Sylvia V. Linsteadt (she/her) is a novelist, poet, and student of ancient history. She is the author of the short story collection Our Lady of the Dark Country, two novels for young readers, The Wild Folk and The Wild Folk Rising, and the folktale cycle Tatterdemalion with painter Rima Staines. Her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay, and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently working on a novel set in pre-historic Crete, and has a collection of short stories and poems called The Venus Year forthcoming this December.
Sylvia is one of my favorite writers of all time and this conversation is truly one of the great gifts of my life.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Sylvia’s process for approaching creativity and her creative practice as ritual
- Sylvia’s experience with surrendering to her creative voice
- How Sylvia receives inspiration for her writing and how she moves through creative blocks
- How Sylvia carries out her incredibly extensive research process, how this process brings Sylvia great joy but can also be a distraction from and roadblock to her writing
- Sylvia’s experience with listening to her body’s sensations to find guidance and trust within
- Sylvia also shares a super exciting announcement for the first time publicly in this conversation about new writing she is releasing this winter!
You can find Sylvia’s work on her:
website sylviavictorlinsteadt.com
Substack The Pollen Basket
Instagram @sylivavlinsteadt