Jayden Bird

What was your favorite book as a child?

Definitely the German translation of The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. I remember lying on the floor of my childhood bedroom, the window wide open, birds chirping in the trees outside, a warm breeze drifting in, while I read about the adventures of Alec Ramsay and the wild, untamed stallion The Black. I could sink into those books for hours on end, forgetting the world around me.

What was the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?

Growing up, I’ve been known for answering simple homework questions with long essays, which usually granted me an “am Thema vorbei” (point missed) from teachers, but really writing creatively? I didn’t start that until my late thirties. By then, I was reading widely in English — Harry Potter, The Bourne Trilogy, and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. I was waiting for a new release when I discovered online fan communities, people like me taking their favorite characters and writing their own stories with them. I remember thinking, If others can do this, maybe I can, too. For a few years, I lived and breathed creating fanfiction before my writing gradually found other forms: original long fiction, then poetry, and eventually short fiction.

What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?

This is a tough question. For me, adventure has never been about taking risks. It’s been about facing life as it is, facing my fears, and choosing to do whatever scares me anyway. That has shaped how I see the world, how I listen, and therefore how I write. If you want to know what adventure means to me, look for everyday displays of grit, for people not folding in the face of fear. These moments are quieter than the stories we often hear others tell, but they are no less real.

Do you listen to music while reading or writing?

No — at least not music with lyrics. Listening to songs makes it impossible for me to focus on my own words, or on the words I’m trying to read. From time to time, I listen to instrumental music while writing, especially pieces by Ludovico Einaudi or Secret Garden — usually to get into the right mindset for a scene or a poem, or to let myself be carried through it. Once the music has done its job, though, I turn it off before it can disrupt my focus.