Editor: Hello, and thanks for taking the time to talk to us about your work! Let's start out with self promotion! Introduce yourselves and what you do. If you have social media, let us know! We'll give our readers links to the rest of your work.

Katie: Oh, no problem! I'm Katie, or Katie Alleena on social media. I have been writing since I was about 7 years old -- a while now! I usually write short fiction, or flash fiction like you'll see submitted here. But I am working on a novel. Professionally, I also write copy and edit. Oh, and rarely I'll do spoken word poetry performances. I won awards for that in college! [laughs] I also draw in my spare time. My instagram is ArtOfKatieAlleena. There'll be links there for, you know, Twitter and TikTok, too. I don't have writing social media set up, technically, anymore. I found it provided too much of a distraction, since I write more frequently than I draw. But I am reconsidering starting them again!

Andromaeda: Hi! I don't go by my real name online because of work; I'm Andromaeda. I've been working in concept art for gaming for almost five years now. I love to post my own projects on Instagram and Tumblr. It's always facinated me how a dynamic digital painting can turn into fully rendered animations and things. I'm honored to be part of that journey. Besides working on an upcoming video game for Bethesda, I am also in the middle of my first ever graphic novel. It's a stretch, because the format is so different than creating concept art pieces. Working on several collaborations here on Fine Art Fusion has helped me understand story a bit more and I feel that I can learn more by trying to write a comic or graphic novel using what I've learned with my fellow creatives and, now, friends here.

Editor: That's wonderful to hear. Everyone seems to have a lot of creative work going on. We love to see it. Thanks for sharing! Alright, well getting straight to the point -- we want to know how did you both decide to accept this collab?

Andromaeda: Oh I'll take this part! Obviously, the Fine Art Fusion app is super helpful in this regard. Especially for those of us who might be in different places in the world or if we're busy with work, it's hard to find new talent to collaborate with on projects like this. When I saw Katie's flash fiction, I kind of had an idea in mind.

Katie: Yeah, when Andromaeda pitched her idea, I almost wanted to change the story! [laughs] The stairway is an out for the subject of that painting, and it's just fantastic. I didn't realize that what I wrote could call up anything like what she drew. It's wild to me.

Editor: Is it? How so?

Katie: I always need references for my own art, but then again -- I'm not a professional artist. I need a clear picture in front of me to create something. I was just impressed Andromaeda could paint something so ethereal from less than 300 words. It's amazing!

Andromaeda: [laughs] Thank you! Yeah. From the main character in this piece, Night Shift, I got a sense of ennui, of maybe being resigned to one's lot in life. At first it seemed a little sad? I figured I'd try to portray that feeling of existential boredom and maybe offer redemption or something. It's hard to put words to, exactly. I'm still learning how. That's why I came here, originally, to match with an author who already could do that part and kind of show me the ropes of storytelling in a completely different medium than I am used to.

Editor: Perfect, thank you for that. To follow up with that, how did the prompt Overnight inspire this flash fiction story? It still fits in the Fantasy genre and follows the conventions of worldbuilding without, I'd say, being as wordy as we'd expect for something like that.

Katie: Ah yeah, I'd still consider it the Fantasy genre, for sure. I've written a lot in that genre, so when I pitch collaborations, I try to put my strongest skills forward. Oh, and I think fiction needs to bring up some facts and tie back in some way to our own experiences. Otherwise, how can our main characters be relatable? So here, even though our protagonist isn't human at all, we as readers can relate to maybe the feeling of clocking in to a dead end job, and daydreaming of a different life. We all can observe the world around us and see that what the protagonist brings up is pretty much true -- in our society, money and wealth mean more to most people than anything. It certainly dictates a lot of how we move through life, if nothing else. Rest is absolutely treated like a chore. A lot of us are very enmeshed in the hustle culture. We do what we must to get by, as does the protagonist here. I wanted to bring in those complex emotions and situations but still give the reader some distance, and see all this through the eyes of someone whose perspective is a little different. Good fantasy does give the reader an escape, after all. That's key to the genre.

Editor: Thank you! I couldn't have said it better myself. To bounce off of that question, I have a final few to ask of both of you. What inspires you to create, even when times are tough as they are these days? Do you believe art has the power to unite communities in a general sense?

Katie: That's a lot to think about at once. I mean, I've always felt creating art isn't a matter of being inspired per se, but having that drive within you. Like you simply can't decide not to draw, paint, write, sing -- it's part of who we are as creatives.

Andromaeda: Yeah, inspiration can come from everything all at once, but also some days it's nowhere to be found. Especially now with the economy as it is, and so on. Yet still we make art. I get that. I subscribe to that, too. That said, yes absolutely art can bring communities together. I think you prove it here with Fine Art Fusion, of course. But in general, who hasn't gone to their town's Arts Walk events each fall? What part of life isn't affected by art? People try to make themselves believe that they aren't creative, but isn't it a key facet of being human, creativity? We drew before we wrote, as far as anyone knows. I think most art is a learnable skill.

Katie: Yeah, it's a form of self expression, really. And where we can teach and encourage people to be themselves, the more we can bring people together. Absolutely.

Editor: Agreed! We're so proud to have you two with us on the platform. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to talk to us today, and for sharing your amazing work. We know you've been long-time contributors here, and who knows! Maybe we'll interview with you again on a future collaboration! To our Readers: Please be sure to check out the work integrated into this interview post. We'll see you next time with more Fine Art Fusions to feature!

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