Karissa Venne
Karissa Venne is a writer who lives in Western Massachusetts with her wife and their epileptic kitten. She received her MFA from The New School and works as a Digital Resource Development Editor at Oxford University Press.
Karissa’s work has appeared in Okay Donkey, Bridge House: Resolutions, Sonder Magazine, F(r)iction’s Dually Noted, and Pure Slush: Growing Up. The House on Ophelia Street is her first story to be published with Fairlight Books.
Q: What is the first book you remember reading or having read to you as a child?
A: The first non-picture book that I remember my dad reading to my siblings and I was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I loved that book, and was immediately enthralled by portals to other worlds in fiction. We read Harry Potter soon thereafter.
Q: Do you have a lucky writing talisman? If so, what is it?
A: Espresso! No, really, I always make a Moka pot before writing in the early mornings. It’s the only time I drink it and there’s something about the taste and ritual of it that puts me into the writing mindset.
Q: What is the least interesting part of writing for you?
A: How independent it is. In my wildest writing dreams, I have an easily accessible gaggle of writer friends to bounce ideas off of at all times. I’m really social, so the sitting by myself quietly part of writing does not come easily to me. Also, writing is so vulnerable, and having a constant writing community would be reassuring in my lowest moments.
Q: What superpower would you like to have and why?
A: Teleportation. I truly despise driving, flying, any travel really, mostly because it tends to leave me feeling pretty restless and trapped. I love visiting new places though, so if I could magically teleport to my dream destinations, that would change things (and be so much cheaper!).
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