Meet Our Author: Eden S. French

It’s a messy situation. My first two novels were published as Sophia French, which is my legal name, and my third as Eden S. French, which is my preferred name. But I’ve recently gotten engaged to my girlfriend, the artist Wren Fay, and will be taking her name—so my future work will be published as Eden Sophia Fay. A publicist’s nightmare, I’m sure.

Tell Us Something About Yourself

I live in Hobart. That’s a messy situation too, but only because we keep leaving our clothes on the floor.

Who is a character from a TV show or a book that you’ve always resonated with?

Deadwood has always impressed me through its use of a troubled and lawless cast to articulate an ethos of kindness, community, and moral courage. But I wouldn’t single out any one of its characters: it’s an ensemble drama, and what resonates with me is the interplay of conflict and understanding. (Though I never fail to tear up for Joanie Stubbs.)

Where is your favorite place to go on a weekday afternoon when you have no plans or obligations?

I can do most of the things I love at home. You can interpret this as cleanly or lewdly as you please.

Tell us about your short story in Queerly Loving

This story “More Than Anything” is a prequel to my third novel, Reintegration. In that book, one major character, Lexi, proves often difficult to love. (I sometime strain the “likeability test” with my protagonists, as I’m not shy about writing damaged narcissists—see also The Diplomat.)

Here, an adolescent Lexi features in a story about relinquishment. Both this story and Reintegration are about pain, love, and the vital paradox of wanting to forget, yet needing the memory to survive.

This story, however, has more mutants in it.

Queerly Loving author Eden S. French is an award-winning novelist, a graduate researcher at the University of Tasmania, and nothing but trouble. She lives in Hobart, Tasmania with her enchanting artist girlfriend, at least one cat, and a sense of foreboding. Eden has just published Reintegration with Queer Pack. Find Eden on Twitter.