In this episode, I sit down once again with author and poet Stephanie Parent to explore her haunting and deeply personal poetry collection, Cinder Girl Grows Wings. We discuss the visceral power of free verse, the symbolic structure of the collection—from Kindling to Phoenix—and how themes of girlhood, desire, BDSM, and body image are woven through her work with gothic sensitivity and raw emotional truth.

Stephanie opens up about her early fascination with fairy tales, the duality of submission and autonomy, the influence of pop culture on self-perception, and the emotional complexities of working in a BDSM dungeon. We also talk about the poetic form itself—how shape and space on the page enhance meaning—and how storytelling can reclaim and reframe painful memories.

This is a conversation about transformation, vulnerability, and what it means to create beauty from ashes. Stick around to hear Stephanie read her favorite poem from the collection, Wildfire.

📚 Buy Cinder Girl Grows Wings

Amazon (Paperback): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2X9V5G9

Amazon (Kindle): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2X8XTZT

AbeBooks: https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31529109296

eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/335350805064

Indigo (Canada): https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/cinder-girl-grows-wings/9781962687184-item.html

The Nile (Australia): https://www.thenile.com.au/books/stephanie-parent/cinder-girl-grows-wings/9781962687184/

🔗 Connect with Stephanie Parent

Website: https://www.stephanieparent.net/

Instagram: https://www.stephanieparent.net/ (linked via homepage)

Facebook (Curious Corvid Publishing): https://www.facebook.com/curiouscorvidpublishing

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209535765-cinder-girl-grows-wings