Writer Interview: Andi C. Buchanan

Andi C. Buchanan is a writer of speculative fiction who has had short stories published in various magazines and won a Sir Julius Vogel Award in 2019. From A Shadow Grave is their new release. The novella is based on a historical murder of a teenager by the Mount Victoria tunnel and combines history, urban fantasy and time travel.  

K: Welcome. What are you reading now?

I’m someone who always has a lot of books on the go – I hoard all the bookmarks from convention packs for this purpose. I’ll just give you a few examples:

• The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffmann – I’ve been a fan of her since my teens and she still provides some of my comfort reading. 
• The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson is a historical fantasy set in Inquisition era Spain, a story unlike anything I’ve read before, and beautifully written. 
• All that Remains by Sue Black. I’m a bit of a death nerd as well as a history nerd and History Cold Case – which Black was at the centre of – is one of my all time favourite TV series. I love her blunt, confident, and yet ultimately very compassionate style.
• A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine is a combination of space opera and political thriller, with amazingly intricate world-building.

K: What is your daily writing schedule like?

I don’t write at a specific time each day, but I do have daily writing targets, as well as setting fortnightly and longer term goals. As a freelancer I work mostly from home, and I plan my day to incorporate blocks of time on writing and other (more predictably paying) work, as well as writing admin. I write mostly from my home office, but if I need to focus there’s a library in walking distance with a corner perfect for writing that catches the morning sun.

K: What are you most proud of?

This has been an exciting year writing wise – and both winning the Sir Julius Vogel award (short story category) and From a Shadow Grave making number three in the New Zealand bestseller list have been absolute highlights.

” I think pushing past some of those weird feelings is really hard “

– Andi Buchanan

But there’s another, less obvious, answer to this question. When I started writing it was very hard to take critique, and difficult to see people achieving success I desperately wanted. These are very normal feelings – when your writing is important to you sometimes just the idea of someone reading it is difficult, let alone telling you what’s not working – and I still have moments reading critique when I want to crawl under my desk, or stabs of jealousy at other writers’ achievements. But I’m also so excited by what my friends have achieved and delighted by the stories they’ve created – and thankful for the guidance I’ve been given. I think pushing past some of those weird feelings is really hard – but also essential for being a writer, so in some ways I’m more proud of that than anything.

K: What do you hope people get out of reading your work?

When I think about the books that mean the most to me, they’re the ones that have resonated with my experiences in ways nothing else can, they’ve been fun, they’ve intrigued me. And I think that’s what’s important to me in writing. I hope people who don’t see themselves or their experiences often enough in books can find them in mine. I hope something of what I’ve written stays with them. And I hope they enjoy the read.

K: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Wow, there are so many potential answers to this question, and yet I think everyone has to go through the process of learning these things, so not too much regret. I think I’d tell them to aim high but be prepared to be rejected, to try out most pieces of writing advice but not be afraid to abandon what doesn’t work, and to read widely as well as deeply.

K: Thank you so much, Andi. You’ve had an amazing year – congratulations on the Sir Julius Vogel Award!

The Book

From a Shadow Grave published by Paper Road Press October 2019.

Find out more: https://paperroadpress.co.nz/from-a-shadow-grave/

The Bio

Andi C. Buchanan lives among streams and faultlines, just north of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. Winner of a 2019 Sir Julius Vogel Award in the Best Short Story category, their fiction has been published in Apex, Kaleidotrope, Glittership, and more. You can find Andi on Twitter @andicbuchanan or at www.andicbuchanan.org.