I have adored magical realism since I was in fifth grade. My first notable introduction to the genre was Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit, a middle-grade book that I still reread every August. It tells the tale of the Tucks, a humble family who accidentally drink from a fantastical spring that grants them immortality.
As a budding film student, I also found inspiration in movies like Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003) and Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993). Many short films also captured my attention; notably Friend like Me (Sammy Paul, 2016) and Let it Be (Bertie Gilbert, 2016). I was transfixed by worlds that reminded me of my own, but were elevated by elements of magic.
How magic is treated within these worlds’ contexts also fascinated me. I’ve noticed fantastical elements in these stories are either treated as A) explained intrusions on the ordinary world, B) unexplained intrusions on the ordinary world, or C) as ordinary as the rest of the world.
I approached Blood, Moonlight, and Poppyseeds with option C) in mind.
My stories often reflect my experience as a neurodivergent woman. When I normalize the existence of vampires and werewolves in my fictional worlds, I feel like I am normalizing the existence of neurodivergent folks in the real world.
As I wrote this short story about a stuffy vampire becoming half-werewolf, I was actively seeking an AuDHD diagnosis. After getting laid off from a video editing job I held for four years, I began re-evaluating the mechanics of my Autistic mind. Not only did my Autism mask my ADHD traits, but my multiple anxiety disorders likely distracted from my hyperactive nature.
I was harboring order and chaos in one body.
Writing Xander’s story made my journey accepting my own diagnosis infinitely easier. Though this story is heavily inspired by my AuDHD, I can honestly see anyone relating to it. From gender-fluidity to biracialism, many of us live between two or more conflicting identities. My greatest hope is that this story helps you find balance between the vampires and werewolves in your selfhood, whatever that looks like for you.
I want to thank Electric Spec for giving Xander’s little identity crisis a home! Also, I have to thank all of my loved ones who took time out of their lives to read this story before I submitted it anywhere: Tim, Macie, Heather, Lindsey, and Jolene. Finally, thank you to Electric Spec’s audience for reading Blood, Moonlight, and Poppyseeds.
Interesting! Thanks, Julia! Be sure to check out "Blood, Moonlight, and Poppyseeds" and the rest of the August 2026 stories!
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