Paige Befeler was one of our 2024 Digital Residents. As a part of this program, we do Q&As with our residents to feature them, their work, and their words. See our Q&A with Paige below, and explore more Spotlights here.
TSW: Tell us about your work, writing, or project. What are you writing these days? How is your work changing, and how is it changing you?
Paige Befeler: I am currently in the process of querying agents for my first novel, Divine Imperfection. It is a new adult fantasy novel about magic, Gods, self-love and the importance of gender expression. This project is so important to me because it features a cast of queer and trans characters experiencing college and the wider world, facing their imperfections and finding community together. While I am looking for representation for this book, I am writing its sequel, Forgotten Redemption, which will focus on themes of grief and loss while exploring finding love and forgiveness. As I learn more about the publishing industry, I am trying to stay true to my own style and instincts while keeping in mind where my work might fit into a modern market. My writing definitely comes first, but I am working hard to accomplish the goal of seeing my work published so that it can enter the lives of readers who need it most. Along this process, I am growing stronger as a writer and practicing patience and persistence, striving toward the dream of being a full-time writer.
TSW: Who do you bring into the room with you when you write, and/or, who do you consider your work to be in conversation with? Who are you writing for?
PB: I am focused primarily on writing complex queer stories for a queer audience. In my novel, Divine Imperfection, some magic wielders have developed wings, a staple of their community and culture, but the government is threatening to make such magic illegal. I intend for this to be a direct analogy to discriminatory legislation against trans people.
TSW: What were you processing during our residency program? Did anything unlock for you? If so, what new entrance did you find for your work or for yourself as a writer in the world? And what caused that shift?
PB: During the residency, I was experimenting with the identity of being a writer first. Our sessions gave me the space to reflect on who I am as an artist and how I want to express myself. Listening, I found that I was passionate about my current novel and wanted to dedicate the time to improving it and beginning the publishing process. Here was one of my responses to the prompt “the body in my work___”:
The body in my work is malleable. It can and should be changed. The body is one of the best ways to express yourself, existing within the push and pull to exist in its natural state or change to your liking. Expression is the freedom to exist as you are or change as you please. Winged people named Ailerons in my novel have adjusted their bodies to accommodate wings, and their livelihood becomes at risk when their bodies become at risk to be moderated or controlled. Without wings – without the choice to have wings, they cannot live.
The body in my work is influenced by gender. Gender expression is explicitly tied to the body as magic allows for changes. One question I am still working out is how permanent magic is. What is the cost of un-changing? I work with the principle of something being as difficult to un-make as it was made.
The body in my work need not be changed at all to be good. Characters with disabilities choose not to use magic for some physical disabilities — one character born with a limb difference (a term I found for the first time doing this research!) and another who use a wheelchair talk about the pressures to use magic to “fix” their bodies, and their choice to stay as they are, yet use magic as a mobility aid/assistive device (more terms found through research). The magic is available for them to use, but not necessary.
TSW: What motivates you to keep beginning, and/or, what is a story that gave you permission to tell yours? Feel free to tell us what’s on your bookshelf or TBR list these days.
PB: Some of my all time favorites: Babel by R. F. Kuang, A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
