Where Did That Come From? – Julayne Hughes

Where did that come from is a series where we ask our authors the question, “Where did you get the idea for your story?”

Today, we feature author, editor, teacher and author of The Plumber’s Portal in our latest book Dimensional Abscesses , Julayne Hughes.

When I heard that Evil Alter Ego Press was accepting open submissions for a new anthology tentatively titled “There’s a Portal Under My Kitchen Sink,” my story practically laid itself out before me.

The first question that answered itself was “What would someone be doing under the sink?” Plumbing, of course. What else? The next self-answering question was “A professional plumber or a do-it-yourself homeowner?” DIY, naturally. The answer to “Where does the portal take him?” was other kitchens, obviously. Ideas about what those other kitchens might be like bloomed in my head like lilacs flowering in May.

But there I was stuck. I couldn’t think of a good way to animate the story; make it interesting enough that people might want to read it, let alone decent enough that EAEP might include it in the anthology.

After stewing about it for a while, I realized I simply didn’t know who my DIY plumbing character was. I could not tell his story and articulate how he reacted when I didn’t know enough about him to see how he would respond.

So who was he? What was he like? I stewed about it some more and still didn’t have a clue. Then it hit me. He had a particular character trait that I could capitalize on and wrap the story around. The rest of his personality filled out naturally from that. Then it was just a matter of tapping out “The Plumber’s Portal” on the computer.

I had a lot of fun explaining the source of a certain immodesty plumbers are known for as well as why plumbers tend to take so long to do the job. I am thrilled to be a part of the Dimensional Abscesses anthology and the group of authors contained within its pages.

Julayne Hughes is a freelance writer and editor with almost 25 years’ experience in that field. Her science fiction short story “Solara Nova” was published in FlagShip magazine; two fantasy shorts, “The Ghost of Edinburgh Castle” and “The Caprine Catastrope,” were featured on the Every Photo Tells . . . podcast; and her flash fiction has appeared on The Melting Potcast.

On the editing side, she has done everything from books of poetry to full-length novels for a variety of small publishers and independent authors. Some of her recent work includes Scouts of the Apocalypse by Michell Plested, The Way of the Gun: A Bushido Western Anthology compiled by Scott Roche,The Starter by Scott Sigler, and Smoke Stories: Tales of a Volunteer Firefighter by Mike Davis. She has also edited the work of her husband, podcaster Keith Hughes (Borrowed Time, Stolen Time, and The Guerrilla Poet).

When Julayne is not writing and editing, she plays piano and teaches music classes at a local private college. She lives in southeastern Michigan with her husband, their grown daughter, and a gray-and-white cat named Gandalf.

Julayne has a website at http://www.julayne.net and can be found on Facebook and Twitter as pianoeditor.

You can get a copy of Dimensional Abscesses at any of these fine retailers
Smashwords

Amazon

Kobo