Jewel is an Asian-Australian writer from Perth. She studied creative writing at Curtin University. Her free time is usually spent experimenting with lyrical prose. She adores reading atmospheric fiction with a focus on detail.
What inspired you to write ‘Death and Decomposition’?
Jewel’s Inspiration is drawn from the prose in This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, as well as fungi artwork by her favourite artist Feefal.
What draws you to explore death creatively?
“I have always been fascinated by the things we leave behind when we die. Bones, teeth, hair, memories, grief and loved ones.
“It’s also fascinating that even as we die, we become food for other things like bacteria and fungi,” Swe admitted.
“Imagery of death also tends to creep into many of my fantasy pieces without me actively thinking about it. It’s just one of my many fixations.”
You mentioned that you were heavily inspired by artwork. Where else do you find writing inspiration?
“I find inspiration everywhere.”
“Books I’ve read, insects in the garden, the strangely lopsided croissant I had for breakfast. I write down a lot of ideas but very few of them become a full-fledged story.”
Are plants and fungi topics you were already passionate about, or did this story require a lot of research?
“I love looking at mushrooms, my gallery is full of mushroom photographs, but I know very little about them so I had to do a lot of research.”
However, it was ultimately Feefal’s fungi artwork that really drove Jewel to delve into a deep investigation of the themes that make up Death and Decomposition.
What do you hope readers take away from your story? Is there a moral you hope they connect with?
“This is difficult to answer. I wrote this because I wanted to portray the beauty I find in death and rot but also because I just like mushrooms.”
Jewel says she’s really interested in discovering how the readers interpret her work.
“I hope they’ll each find their own way to connect with it.”
You can read Jewel’s Slinkies 2024 short story, Death and Decomposition, in our shop on October 24th.