Elana Gomel

Elana Gomel was born in a country that no longer exists and has lived in many others that may, or may not, be on the road to extinction. She is an academic with a long list of publications, specializing in science fiction, Victorian literature, and serial killers. She is also a fiction writer who has published more than eighty short stories, several novellas, and three novels: A Tale of Three Cities (2013), The Hungry Ones (2018) and The Cryptids (2019). Her story “Where the Streets Have No Name” was the winner of the 2020 Gravity Award and her story “Mine Seven” is included in The Best Horror of the Year 13 edited by Ellen Datlow. She speaks three languages, has two children, and is currently dividing her time between California, Tel Aviv, and any other tourist destination that is willing to take her in.

She is a member of Horror Writers of America.

She can be found at https://www.citiesoflightanddarkness.com/.

Get to know Elana...

Birthdate?

November 5: the time of creeping darkness and lurking ghosts.

When did you start writing?

Apparently I wrote my first and last poem at the age of 3. I have no recollection of it, but my mother, also a writer, believed it was a sign of poetic genius. She was disappointed when I decisively shifted to prose at the age of 8. Having read my first sci-fi novel at that time (it was Wells' The Time Machine), I decided that writing like this was what I wanted to do with my life. I never stopped scribbling stories but my first publications were academic (including an article about The Time Machine). I published six academic books and lots of articles until I came back to writing fiction about ten years ago.

When and what and where did you first get published?

My first published book was called "Bloodscripts." People still raise eyebrows when they hear this title but while dealing with serial killers and bodies in the library, it is actually a serious exploration of violence in literature. It was published by OSU Press.

Why do you write?

Writers often say "Because I have to". But while somewhat trite, this response is true. I cannot imagine NOT writing. It is as natural as breathing, and just as necessary.

Why do you write Science Fiction and/or Fantasy?

I write both SF and fantasy (and occasionally dark fantasy verging on horror) because there are so many different worlds hiding beneath the surface of everyday reality, and I want to explore all of them. People read fiction for different reasons. Some are interested in characters and their inner lives; some are looking for an exciting plot. And some - like me - read for the world the author creates, for the sense of the miraculous and the unexpected. And if wonder is spiced with fear, it is even better.

Who is your favorite author? Your favorite story?

With classics, it would be the two great Victorians: Charles Dickens and H. G. Wells. I consider Dickens to be a science-fiction writer because his world is so strange, so vivid, and so different from ours. As for contemporary writers, there are many more than I can name, but if I were forced to, I would say Stanislaw Lem and his masterpiece of alien encounters, "Solaris".

What are you trying to say with your fiction?

Imagination is the greatest power in the world. It is what makes us human, and maybe one day, more than human.

If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?

Too many projects, too little time.

Do you blog?

I blog occasionally on my website but my New Year resolution is to blog more, and more consistently. What? It's not January anymore?