Gretchen started her day as the TA for Introduction to Archeology, supervising her grumpy, hungover undergrads, who she is sure hate her, although maybe that’s her anxiety disorder, on a field visit to the former colony of Avalon in Newfoundland- but ends up having a panic attack in space with air-guitaring purple aliens who assure her that she will NOT be probed and telling her that she is their only hope to restore sacred artifacts, prove their ruler’s legitimate claim to the throne, and prevent a war.

E.C. Spence is the shared nom de plume of best friends and long-time writing partners, Chrissy Brinkman and Debbie Kerr.

This fun space adventure is full of pop-culture references, humor, and plenty of dramatic moments possibly best described as uncomfortable tortoise. The characters are incredibly relatable and I read this book in one shot, which doesn’t happen often.

They first caught my attention at FlameCon by their signs and merch saying “Space is Gay” and “Bisexual Space Disaster”. I knew right then I had to talk to them. And now, on to the interview!

Damon: Have you had a big presence at Conventions (ie. Flame Con.)? Either way, how has it been interacting with your fans, whether in person or online? 

E.C: We have been lucky enough to have a Pride Alley table at Awesome Con in DC three years in a row and were thrilled to get to exhibit at Flame Con this year finally! We have been extremely privileged to meet people who have already read Anxious Gretchen: Space Archaeologist and came looking for the sequel and to talk about the series with us. But our favorite moments are seeing the reactions of readers newly introduced to Gretchen, who aren’t used to seeing themselves represented in sci-fi and fantasy media.

Also, as members of multiple fandoms ourselves, it’s always a blast meeting people who love sci-fi, fantasy, anime, and comics as much as we do and getting new recommendations for shows, movies, and books to enjoy!

Damon: How does your personal identity and experiences as an LGBT individual influence your creative process and the stories you choose to tell? 

E.C: Both of us identify as bisexual—and grew up with little to no representation. What there was of it perpetuated negative stereotypes of bi people as over-sexualized homewreckers, overly tortured, mentally ill artists, or worse, a combination of all those things. 

Today, we write characters that provide the authentic representation we lacked. To that end, we always aim to write well-rounded, complex, painfully, wonderfully human characters who are also bisexual. 

Often we explore circumstances or themes from our lives through the stories we tell—for example, Gretchen is accompanied by a queer crew that turns into a found family. This is inspired by our own experiences as queer individuals finding a strong, supportive community of friends. In addition, you’ll always find at least one set of unbreakable friends, in this case Fleetwood Mercury and Chester, whose bond reflects our own.

A recurring theme of Gretchen’s series is, of course, mental health. Who could’ve guessed from the title? Both of us are diligent about attending to our own mental health. Debbie has anxiety, and I (Chrissy) have recurring depression. We grew increasingly tired of having those issues romanticized in the media—or having the character’s mental health struggles become their entire personality. So, we created in Gretchen and Azo’lah the heroes we wanted to see—coping with but hardly defined by their mental illnesses, living and loving to their kickass, fullest potential.

Damon: Can you walk us through your typical creative process? How do you develop ideas, create characters, and bring your stories to life on the page?

E.C: We aren’t just writing partners; we’re best friends who have been writing together for 17 years so we have a language all our own when it comes to creating together. 

Most of our ideas come from one of us making an absurd tangential joke while telling a story about our day, and the other one just runs with it. Anxious Gretchen: Space Archaeologist came from Chrissy going on a train trip back home to visit family. When the train broke down, she ended up on a spontaneous road trip with a group of fellow travelers. One of them was an archaeologist named Gretchen, who was a very nervous driver. Chrissy later called me (Debbie) about it, and by the end of the call, the main crew of the book, Gretchen, Chester, Fleetwood Mercury, and Azo’lah were born.

For each project, we try to have the first three chapters fairly well-plotted out as well as our main characters’ arcs roughly established before we start writing. Once we get into the meat of the story-telling and world-building, the characters tend to take the reins and we run with it, adjusting our plot as they unfold the narrative for us. 

Damon: Are there any specific comic book artists or writers who have influenced your style or storytelling approach? How have they inspired you?

E.C: Our writing style has been shaped by the enormous amount of books, graphic novels, comics, and other media we have consumed. Debbie, especially, reads almost three times as fast as I (Chrissy) do. Inspiration and influence are always different depending on the project. For instance, we’re currently drafting our first fantasy novel and our work is drawing heavily from my love of Shakespeare, Bardcore music, Debbie’s extensive travel experience, and our combined love of weird history.

For Gretchen, we often describe it as “old-school sci-fi meets Indiana Jones/The Mummy with a modern, queer twist.” The world of Destyr was inspired by pulp sci-fi, the retro-futuristic worlds seen in early sci-fi like Star Trek: The Original Series, and even cartoons like The Jetsons. We also drew on a lot of the 80s rock aesthetic (and music) due to our earth-obsessed alien princess, Fleetwood Mercury (who renamed herself after Freddy Mercury and Fleetwood Mac), and starts the series in a glam rock era. 

Gretchen is also hugely influenced by our collaboration with our graphic designer, Jenn Drucker, who seems to reach inside our heads to bring the characters to life exactly as we pictured them—with an additional Jenn flair that often permanently alters the characters for the better. She has a tendency to add little details to her designs that we end up incorporating into the book. For example, Jenn took our original description of the ship, The Killer Qu’een, and married it with design details from Freddy Mercury’s car collection to make the final design shown on the book cover. Ryan (our teenage Captain who debuts in the second book) had their entire wardrobe description edited to match how Jenn had drawn them because we loved it so much. 

Damon: How do you envision your work impacting readers, particularly those who identify as LGBTQ+? What messages or emotions do you hope to convey through your stories? 

E.C: As LGBTQ+ authors, we have hoped to bring the characters into the world we needed growing up. 

LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream sci-fi and fantasy was practically non-existent in the 90s and early 2000s, and if it was there, it was abysmal. We were provided either a caricature of a gross stereotype or the character was fridged for a straight character’s emotional growth.

We write LGBTQ+ characters who are more than just their sexual identities. They are nuanced and complex, silly and fun, and most of all, they love themselves and they love being LGBTQ+. We hope that our readers can see the honest joy of living as they are in any universe and that they are seen, appreciated, and loved no matter how they identify.

Damon: Who is your favorite Federation Captain, and why?

Chrissy: Captain Kirk. You may not be the safest on his ship, but you’re definitely always going to be in the middle of the action with him. I always found it endearing that he was so eager to explore that he violated ship protocol to personally lead the away teams.  As someone who currently has to work a day job instead of just writing with my best friend, I also commiserate with his desire to be (and eventual success at getting) demoted back to Captain so he can spend his days doing what he loves with his favorite people.

Debbie: Admiral Kathryn Janeway, hands down. She is one of my first memories from childhood of an unapologetically strong and competent female leader–she is a straight-up badass. Her adversaries continually underestimate her, but with the support of the Voyager crew, she always finds a solution. Death couldn’t even beat her. Also, she had some of the mic drop lines of the 90s.