What is the book about? Promise is a collection of dark stories ranging from more or less plausible stories about future technology to fantasy stories about aliens. All of them explore the inherent dangers and potentialities of the future. What are the underlying themes? If I had to highlight one theme, it would have to do with art and artistry as a key to surviving, reimagining, and communicating about the future. Art comes up again and again in these stories, whether it is sculpture as in "Finishers;" painting as in "The Earthly Garden;" worldbuilding and virtual design as in "Promise" and "Paper Dragonfly, Paper Mountain;" writing and storytelling in "An Account," "Fables of the Future," and "Flexible Off-Time; or more domestic arts such as cooking in "Cocooning." Art is the way we make sense of things as they are and imagine the future. Wonder and wish fulfillment are also themes here--what would be wonderful, and what would happen after that wonderful invention or dream came to life? Several of the characters have their greatest wishes granted by technology. They can communicate meaningfully with their pets, or communicate with a departed loved one, or come face to face with the extraordinary chameleonic foil that can morph and reshape itself into any form, even that of a human being. The theme of being trapped comes up several times as well.

How do you survive when you are restrained, and what does it look like to break out of a trap? For example, the mother and daughter in "Finishers" are trapped underground as they work on artisanal robots. In "Cocooning," the husband and wife are imprisoned in testing center, finally breaking free into a transformed future. In the title story "Promise," a young woman is afforded a chance to attend an exclusive academy of game design but eventually finds she is trapped as an elevated sort of cog in a system that has little to do with her. Death and dying--and being exiled far from those one loves--is another theme that comes through in much of my work, including the stories here. Did you base your characters on anyone you knew? In a way, yes. Characters are never exactly like real people, but they can share some features. The dynamic between characters in "The Laffun Head," for example, is similar to that between my grandparents and uncle. The characters in "Cocooning" are something like my partner and me, and the characters in "What Do You See When You''re Both Asleep?" remind me of myself and the various dogs I have had with separation anxiety.

I suppose, too, that the idea for "Finishers" was inspired by the pottery business my mother kept up for many years, and the child character in "A Fully Chameleonic Foil" reminds me of her. Who influenced you most in the writing of the book? Oddly enough, I think the thing that prompted me to write the consumer tech-based science fiction stories in this book, beginning with the earliest stories "Cubby" and Promise," was attending a few large academic conferences from 2013 to 2018. I am always overstimulated and inspired listening to people at conferences--the newer people so excited about their field and trying to make waves even as they''re just becoming familiar with the area of study, and then the more established and relaxed folks with their "been there, done that" vibe. These conferences got me thinking about the future, not just how technology and the environment would change in the future, though that was a part of it, but rather how our daily lives and human milestones might look. Wherever we ended up would feel new and exciting (or terrifying) to some, and to others it would be more of the same. The more fantastical stories in the book had different influences, I think. With "Substance," for example, I was struck all of a sudden with an idea of aliens who were in some ways more advanced than humans and yet fell in love with human life and culture, to the point that they began pretending they were human. "Laurel''s First Chase" follows a similar idea, only in this case the aliens are not in love with human culture; they''re stranded down here trying to find ways to survive like everyone else.

The book is dedicated to my friends in the Sawtooth Alliance of Women Writers, who have been some of my first and most consistent supporters. My partner Jim Clinton, has always supported my work by giving me the time to pursue it, talking over story ideas with me, and being confident and enthusiastic about any successes I''ve had. My late mother, Pat Hobbs, was also great influence on all of my writing. She always encouraged my artistic and literary pursuits and was a good storyteller, constantly talking to me so that the world went strangely silent after she died. My many other critique partners and friends from various writing groups have been wonderful influences as well. Knowing that I owe them a story, a chapter, or a critique helps keep me focused! Is there any advice you can give someone starting to write? So much advice! I recently taught a workshop for horror writers and devoted a page on my website to "Getting Started" advice for those new to writing, horror writing, and/or the submission process. There is a lot to read there, so I''ll give the one piece of advice that might be most comprehensive: be open to influence, but don''t forget to be yourself too. Seek out advice, read in and outside of your area, read craft books, take classes if you like.

Be willing to try out different processes and genres but know it''s okay to set aside anything and everything you have been told if you have a desire to do something new, or if you see a better way. Where did you write the book? I do most of my writing at home, in my living room and occasionally in my home office. A few of the stories were written on writing retreats with my friends in the Sawtooth Alliance of Women Writers.