Seattle author Stacey Levine began writing when she was about 30 years old. "I always liked to write ... but I was very under-confident. I must have loved doing it enough to keep going, though," she said.

Over the years since, she's had short stories published in numerous magazines and journals, including the Iowa Review, the Denver Quarterly, Tin House, and more.

Stacey went to grad school at the University of Washington for Creative Writing, and soon after graduation, her first book was published. My Horse was published through Sun & Moon Press in 1993, which brought a feeling of validation to Levine's work. "It was more meaningful because they were strangers and they appreciated it. That's what really counts, because there's something fake about a lot of promotion," Stacey said.

"I'm really anti big companies, and I just assumed I would publish with an indie press. I sent it out and Sun & Moon really liked my work, and I met lots of other people through them," she says. "Also, a big publisher wouldn't have published My Horse, and I didn't want to fight an uphill battle."

My Horse was a second, edited version of her Master's Thesis, which was entitled, "Doll & Other Stories". "I kept adding stories, and I went over things over and over," she says. "The stories are inspired by both imagination and experiences. I fictionalize my experiences and go based on feeling and writing intuition. You can't express experiences by summary, but fiction can express experience ... it's better than summarizing or reporting."

She did some journalism work for awhile, interviewing musicians and writing about music. "Journalism influenced my writing ... I learned how to write a completely compressed sentence because in class we would do drills on taking everything unnecessary out of a sentence," Levine says. "I still love deflating a sentence like that, and I found I could bring that to fiction."

Since My Horse, Stacey Levine has written and published another collection of short stories, The Girl with Brown Fur, which was published in 2011. She has also authored two novels: Frances Johnson, published in 2010, and Dra --, first published in 1997, but re-released last year.

As Stacey describes her work - both novel and short story - "They are comic and reflective. They continue to be about how people have different amounts of power in relationships and society. It's about family a lot, but it's also about how you act in the world can change how much power you have," she said. "Like the 'Black Sheep' of the family - it's about the roles we take on and play, and how we're different."

Her stories include some unrealistic and some fairy tale aspects, which Stacey enjoys using to speak subtly to a bigger idea or issue. "I like taking elements from fairy tales and bringing it to an updated, contemporary setting," she said.

"Writing a novel is broader - I can go into all these long tangents ... I'm actually working on another one now, and I'm remembering the fun in it. But, it's really long-term fun, because there's no immediate reward in having it finished or published, like a short story," Stacey said.

For aspiring writers of novels or short fiction, Levine recommends, "Take care of yourself, both physically and mentally. If you're in it, it's long term and you have to last. Don't burn yourself out," she said. "Also don't rush any piece of writing."

Stacey Levine currently teaches composition at Seattle Central, and she's working on her next novel as well as some short stories.