An interview with Erica Drayton
On storytelling, forbidden magic, and her new novel!
Good afternoon, readers, writers and friends. This is my third podcast post with the talented Erica Drayton. She has five - yes, FIVE Substacks, with her 100-words stories perhaps being the most famous. Erica generously shares her time with us, revealing the secrets behind her prolific publishing, her passion for magic and the name of her upcoming novel, which launches in January for her paid subscribers. If you are impatient to know more, skip straight to my ‘preview’ of the book, below our interview.
Erica’s Substacks:
1. Erica Drayton Writes (her novels and flash fiction)
2.The Poison Pen (contests/awards for mystery & suspense writers)
3. Beyond the Wizard (read-along of The Famous 40 Oz books)
4. The Pickwick Club (read-along of the book)
5. Ensign's Log, Stardate... (watching & reviewing all of the Star Trek franchise shows and movies)
Author Interview: Erica Drayton
“If this chick can do it, you can too.
Steal like an artist.”
Audio Highlights
Join us for an intriguing conversation with the Queen of 100 World Stories. Erica offers a fascinating look at her life, creative process, and her (frankly staggering!) number of upcoming projects. With her focus set on 2024, she discusses her approach to managing her writing diary, including a new serial novel, multiple Substacks, and a read-along of Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers.
In an industry where monetizing creativity is a tightrope walk, Erica Drayton showcases her deftness at juggling artistic passion with audience engagement. She elaborates on her plans for her upcoming novel and why she won't be creating an eBook version. Erica ends on the note of the importance of finding a mentor or someone to look up to for inspiration and advice, and the necessity of taking risks in the face of fear. Tune in to this enriching conversation, and you might just find your next source of inspiration!
The Juicy Details…
(00:01) About Erica Drayton
(14:06) Writing and the Concept of Magicianary
(22:23) Gender Dynamics and Forbidden Magic
(33:03) Balancing Artistry and Paid Subscriptions
(49:53) Inspiration and Motivation to Succeed
Notes and transcript produced with the help of Podium. Recorded with Riverside
Substack Preview: Sleight of Hand
A Wondermere novel
Listen to Erica’s revelations about her novel in the clip below…
Rating: If it’s not 3+ by the end of the year, someone has kidnapped Erica and replaced her with ChatGPT.
For fans of: magic tricks, historical fiction, detective mysteries and strong female characters. If you enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell or The Prestige (movie), you will enjoy this.
Why you will want to read it…
It starts with a knock on Jan’s door and a dead man on her floor with a forbidden deck of cards. Jan is no stranger to secrets - she’s a woman in charge of a magic shop when females are barred from such things - but this deck could get her beheaded.
Join us in Wandermere, with a delicious cast of characters, from tutors and patrons to illusionists and caretakers, all scrabbling for their place in the Colosseum of Bullmar. Over the next 12 months, Erica will guide you through a meticulously plotted real-time novel full of ambition, mystery and intrigue. Because it’s on Substack, you will have an entire community reading along with you and commenting on it.
Why it will annoy you…
Erica will only be issuing this in instalments, so you will have to wait for each new chapter to come out. On the plus side, it also means no spoilers.