Joma West
I think all freelancers have that frustrating feeling of chasing cheques — feeling the need to take on every job you can because you never know when the work offers will stop. The sense of uncertainty and the drive to work makes taking the time to focus on creative endeavours difficult. Being awarded the funding from Creative Scotland really takes the pressure off and it’ll give me space to focus on writing my third novel — The Waiting Room.
Whilst The Waiting Room is ostensibly SFF, I am planning to create a more experimental piece that weaves together different genre tropes and which is told from multiple perspectives. I am most interested in exploring the kinds of voices that aren’t seen very often in science fiction and fantasy. Over recent years there’s been an upswell in SFF work by people of colour and in particular women of colour and I am hoping to add a thoughtful work to this vibrant new strand within this genre.
The Waiting Room will explore the nature of creativity and how it is linked to health and survival. Assuming I survive this creative adventure in good health, you’ll be able to keep track of the novel’s progress on my twitter page.
Find out more about Joma’s writing by following her on Twitter
