Everyone please welcome Astrid Brandon and her character Thurid Sevriens, from the fantasy/mystery series, Mysteries of the Astral. This is an own-voices tale for young adults.
Character Questions
Are you an insider or an outsider in your homeland? I’d say outsider. Being autistic in America, I feel so… unwanted sometimes, y’know? And now that I have these weird powers, great! I’m even more of an outsider.
Who is your closest friend? Before I met Avery, Murtagh was my best friend. Still is. I have multiple besties. Them, Erzulie, and now Avery. Don’t make me choose!
Author Questions
Is there something you wish you had done differently with your craft? I wish I had gone through my manuscript at least one more time before I published it. It’s good, but after months have passed, I wish I had sat down with it one more time.
Why do you write? I write because I look at myself now as a 22-year-old with different neurodivergencies and queer labels and I say, “I wish I had representation growing up.” I didn’t know much about the aro/ace communities, or non-binary communities, or autistic and ADHD communities until I was almost an adult. And there are so many people who feel the same way. I want late middle-schoolers to high-schoolers to read my book and go, “That’s me! I don’t feel that way either.” Or, “I do that thing too!”
Investigation in Nottingham
Autistic Thurid Sevriens has trouble comprehending her grandmother’s aversion to her fascination with Avery Norcova, a deceased actor whose kindness and talent while alive made him loved by millions, to point of his spirit living on long past his physical death. After Thurid gets in another fight with her grandmother, Avery’s spirit has had enough.
Taking Thurid under his wing in the astral plane, Avery takes her to medieval Nottingham, England, a place they could avoid the stresses of day to day life, far from the abuses of reality. But after the town sheriff’s mother is found dead, Thurid realizes that there might be more dangers than originally thought.
As if the dangers of the Astral Plane weren’t enough, the waking world holds its own perils. Far more dangerous than a non-supportive grandmother that hounds Thurid daily life, are magical powers and those who want to abuse them. With magical powers of her own beginning to emerge and danger around every corner, doubt begins to grow in her mind of who she truly, is both in body and in soul.
Astrid R. Brandon was born in southeastern Virginia (1999–present). They grew up in Chesapeake and are currently working on getting a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies with a minor in Japanese. Currently they live with their parents and their two cats. They hope to one day be a translator for the government and to help rescue cats and kittens. As a writer and someone who is actually autistic, they hope to be able to share their experiences and enlighten the world about what autism actually is.
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Wyrmflight 
Reblogged this on Legends of Windemere.
I never got notice today. I followed Charles’ link here. All the best to Astrid.
Thank you!!
Thanks for sharing the interview!
I was well into adulthood before I had even an inkling I might be on the autism spectrum. I knew I was different than most people; I just didn’t understand how or why.
As for gender identification, there’s the possibility of “e” for “he” or “she,” “es” for “his” or “hers,” “em” for “him” or “her,” and “emself” for “himself” or “herself.”