In our latest Tarot Interviews episode, we meet writer and editor Lindz McLeod, whose literary repertoire spans from award-winning short story collections to erotic horror novellas, with a Jane Austen continuation on the horizon. The interview, guided by tarot cards rather than conventional questions, revealed profound insights into McLeod's creative process, professional journey, and philosophical approach to storytelling.
McLeod's workspace, a library with shelves encircling the room, provided the perfect backdrop for our conversation about literary inspiration. Among her most treasured influences are short story collections by Carmen Maria Machado and Colin Barrett, alongside Benjamin Labatut's "When We Cease to Understand the World," which McLeod admires for its seamless blending of nonfiction and creative storytelling. This appreciation for genre-bending narratives permeates McLeod's own work, where she frequently navigates between horror, romance, and the surreal.
When confronted with the Three of Swords, a tarot card representing heartbreak and emotional pain, McLeod reflected on how she incorporates these themes into her storytelling. She explained that universal emotions like love, loss, and sacrifice serve as anchoring points even in her most experimental work. "No matter how weird the story is," McLeod noted, "I'm always thinking: what does this character love? What have they lost? What would they do to get what they want?" She illustrated this approach through two contrasting works: a historical fantasy about palaeontologist Mary Anning discovering dinosaurs, and a flash fiction piece about "Howdy Cat" (legally distinct from Hello Kitty) becoming an astronaut.
Perhaps the most revealing segment came when the Ten of Wands appeared, symbolizing burden and overwhelming responsibility. McLeod candidly discussed her prolific 2023, during which she wrote approximately 430,000 words, completing four novels while partially writing five others. This extraordinary output came at a cost, however, as she deferred her PhD studies and evaded well-meaning "interventions" from concerned friends. "Publishing is a glacial industry and I'm quite a fast writer," she explained, describing her frustration with the slow pace of traditional publishing.
Beyond her personal creative journey, McLeod spoke passionately about her commitment to supporting fellow writers, especially those from marginalized communities. Despite her own heavy workload, she regularly mentors emerging authors, edits queries free of charge, and shares opportunities. "I don't understand why we can't lift each other up," she stated, rejecting the competitive mindset that often pervades the publishing industry. This philosophy of generosity extends to her approach to representation as a queer writer, where she acknowledges the pressure to be "flawless" while representing her community.
The interview concluded with insights into McLeod's upcoming romance novel, "The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennett," a continuation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" that explores Charlotte Lucas's story through a queer lens. Written as "a labor of love" for her fiancée, the novel examines what might happen if Charlotte (a character McLeod has always read as queer) were given different choices and opportunities beyond those available in Austen's original text.
