Interview With Author Erin K. Larson-Burnett
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Erin, and I’m an unrepentant ink drinker—I live and breathe books! I read for my job (as a proofreader), my side hustle (as a copyeditor), and for pleasure (nom nom nom). And because consuming words isn’t enough, I also create them.
I’ve written and published two award-winning novels so far: The Bear & the Rose, a mythological fantasy, and A Madness Unmade, the first in my gaslamp fantasy duology. My third book, Prickle—a body-horror novella—releases in November 2025. My writing tends to mix whimsy and weirdness with raw, realistic takes on mental illness.
I live in Texas with my husband—the gamer to my reader—and our two rescued furbabies, plus one very entitled tortoise. I come from a big family, and when I’m not editing, you’ll probably find me building Lego sets or losing at board games with alarming consistency.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My forthcoming body-horror novella, Prickle, was actually inspired by an anthology call for short story submissions on the theme of “ashes, bones, and relics.” I know, not terribly exciting! But then my late grandma showed up on the page while I was writing, and she kind of took over the story, turning it into an exploration of generational trauma and inherited wounds, and the body horror aspect spiraled from there, because necessary transformation hurts.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
It would be unusual for me to have a writing habit at all, hah! No, but really, I’m not a very disciplined writer, so every writing session is different and the only real constant is a cup of coffee, a dog warming my feet, and my terrible tendency of picking at my eyebrows while I think.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, so many! From childhood, there’s the whole gamut of MG fantasy authors who will forever hold a special place in my heart for creating stories and worlds for my anxious, introverted child self to escape into — Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap series and Cornelia Funke’s Dragon Rider in particular. Most of my early writing was Magyk fanfiction.
Fast forward a decade or so, and what really inspired me to start working toward publishing my books was the small group of indie fantasy authors I connected with via the magical realm of Boosktagram — the creative entrepreneurial spirits of friends such as Lindsay Clement (An Absolute Bloody Disaster), Miranda Joy (These Wicked Lies), and TM Ghent (Lume), among others, really motivated me to get serious about my writing.
Further, I’m very much an author drawn to writing style and rhythm, so any writer who has a distinctively unique voice really appeals to me. My brain juices have been strongly roused by the narrative prowess and prose of authors like Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Neon Yang, Sarah Penner, Charlie N. Holmberg, and Jess Kidd. Not an extensive list, but some standout favorites for sure!
What are you working on now?
I’m not seriously working on anything right now, but rather rotating through brainstorming sessions for a variety of different projects while keeping my words sharp by penning short stories here and there. I have four “main” projects I’m really excited about, so here are some badly written descriptions of those!
1. Project Final Death: Nordic myth meets postapocalyptic future wherein shieldmaidens with a few lives to spare battle cybominations with mud magic
2. Project Seven Eight: Dark fantasy noir in a classically dystopic tower-bound setting in which a disgruntled mid-tier garbagewoman gets really hungry
3. Project Relic Hunger: Gale Dekarios-coded cursed girl secludes herself with some strange artifact-seeking bats until she has to plan a heist with a Vodou practitioner’s granddaughter
4. Project Mecha MMA: Literally a sports romance but make it sci-fi and sapphic
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Do you have any advice for new authors?
This is my favorite question because I scream the answer often: Break the rules!! Write what you want!! Screw the market!!
To elaborate: I am a strong advocate for style/tone/voice over strict “proper” grammar. That’s not to say you shouldn’t hire editors (I’d be out of a job if that were my suggestion), but I really do think you should hone your author voice so it’s distinctive, and if that means run-on sentences or strange structure, then I’m all for it, so long as it’s readable.
As for “screw the market,” I just think it’s important to write what YOU want, not what the mainstream wants. I’ve watched authors chase what’s popular instead of what they love, and it burns them out fast. Trends fade, but those weird little passion projects that keep you up at night are more likely to be the thing readers remember you for, and will be what you find most fulfillment in.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Don’t compare your chapter one to someone else’s chapter twenty.”
It’s so easy to look at other authors, comparing myself and my work, and feel like I’m falling behind, but creativity isn’t linear. Everyone’s timeline is different. Everyone has their own pace, their own path, and every story unfolds in its own time.
What are you reading now?
This is a bit of an unusual one, because I don’t really tend to read super hyped-up books, and I’ve also moved away from YA for the most part, but I decided to give Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao a chance, and I’m so glad I did. It’s incredible.
I’m also reading Sky on Fire by E.K. Johnston (Aetherbound is one of my all-time favorites!) and Honeyeater by Kathleen Jennings (gorgeous).
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m actually in the querying trenches, hoping to maybe start wriggling my way into the traditional publishing world, because self-publishing is exhausting and just doesn’t feel quite right for me anymore!
In the meantime, though perhaps I shouldn’t, I will keep pushing out my weird little stories in an indie author capacity because there’s no feeling like bringing a book into the real, physical world and connecting with readers about the worlds and characters I’ve created.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
OOF, what a cruel question! I would want a variety, so I would probably bring a couple of favorites — maybe The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde — and then a couple of chonkers I haven’t read but “keep meaning to” — Ursula K. Le Guin’s Books of Earthsea (the omnibus for prolonged absorbtion) for sure, aaaand thennn…ohgoshthepressure (why does this feel like life-or-death?)…maybe Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (this is somewhat of a panic answer but I would definitely want a standalone space opera in the mix).
Author Websites and Profiles
Erin K. Larson-Burnett Website
Erin K. Larson-Burnett Amazon Profile
Erin K. Larson-Burnett’s Social Media Links
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