* Who are you and why?

Hello! I’m Jaime Nyx, a fluffy zine reviewer in Australia. I bake, I write books, and do heaps of zine-related activities. I am simultaneously fascinated with and terrified by people. I live with two silly puppers, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and my partner, Wanderer. As for why am I, I haven’t been able to figure that out just yet.

* Writing and zines are a big part of your life. When/How did you start writing and when/how did you learn about zines?

One of the small but persistent annoyances of my life is that I can’t remember exactly how or when I found out about zines. All I know is that shortly after discovering them, I decided I wanted to join in and started making them.

I was a bit shy about sharing my own life and personality out there, so I started with my series Dear Anonymous (a zine of anonymous letters sent to me) and a mini-zine I made in honour of Wanderer’s love of Guinness. Haha. It’s been nothing but love and zine appreciation since.

* Not only are you a zine maker yourself, you also review zines on your website and have recently started a zine podcast. What is it about zines that you love so much?

That is a very good question. It’s hard for me to point at just one thing, specifically – or put it into words, really.

No one makes you make a zine. No one forces you. Yet there are thousands of people all around the world who are picking up their paper and pens to not only create something but share it with the rest of the world as well. People are sharing and communicating in ways that aren’t restricted by age, education, or anyone dictating whether your words are worthy. I think there’s something inherently beautiful in that.

* You also write books. Does your way of planning/writing/editing differ when writing books or do you tackle both books and zines in the same way?

My approach to both is fairly similar in that, when I’m ready to start, I have a stack of sticky notes and scraps of paper that give me a general idea of what I want to write. Also with both, I insist on editing on a print copy. It’s easier to pick up things on paper.

My fiction writing involves considerably more sticky notes and scraps of paper just because of the nature of the thing. With zines, I have a fairly firm image of what the end result will be and how to get there. With novels, I’m balancing plot lines, characters, and so on.

I’m a lot more tense when it comes to writing books than I am when writing zines, though. I have a lot more hang ups about writing fiction than writing about my life, which is a little strange and sad to me.

* What do you want to achieve? What have you already achieved?

I feel like I’ve made a good start in helping people to feel encouraged and inspired in their zinemaking – whether they’re starting out, have been doing it for a while, or are coming back to zines after a break. I’d like to think that Sea Green Zines is now bigger than me and bigger than the blog by itself in that people can see it as a space to discover other zines, find tips (though I could definitely do more of those posts), and (with some more work) see it as a good resource in the zine world. There’s also the Instagram and even the podcast (and video cast) to go along with it.

That being said, I don’t have a firm view of what I would like to achieve from here on out. Upward and onward? I want to keep doing what I’m doing, but I’m not quite sure yet what ‘bigger and better’ looks like.

(Photo credit: Jaime Nyx)

Links:

Sea Green Zines blog
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Next week’s “Get out of the house!” will be about my floating adventures –  in the dark. See you then!

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