Out and about: Two alums recent work in the publishing world
Dawsyn Wilson - Copy Editor
Ink & Quill Press’s recent release, ‘Distant Worlds’ includes two Monmouth College alums, Jan Abel ‘24 and Jennie Elaine ‘23. Released on March 7, ‘Distant Worlds’ is an anthology of short stories from 14 authors.
Abel and Elaine both work for Ink & Quill in multiple capacities. “Jennie does a lot of their graphics work, both of us work in sales, and all their social media stuff is my realm,” said Abel. They also work together at FM 95, The Country Station, in Galesburg.
“It's kind of interesting finding a creative friend to work with. But honestly, this entire process is far from where I imagined myself when I went to college, but I'd still very much use the skills I've learned there, and just kind of goes to show you that you never know where it's going,” Elaine said.
They originally weren’t included in the anthology. Ink & Quill Press had their fourteen authors set, but then they had a couple of authors drop out. They turned to Abel and Elaine. “They had the spaces and asked us if we had any stories to put in, and we both kind of looked at each other across the table and we were like, ‘Give us the weekend,’” said Elaine. The two also worked on the project as editors, helping with the last rounds of edits.
“They're just so wonderful and you get to explore all these different worlds, and that was the concept behind ‘Distant Worlds.’ All these different genres of sci-fi and authors and the stories to come together,” Elaine said.
A year ago, Elaine published her debut novel, ‘Melded’ through Ink & Quill Press. The novel is a dark romance steeped in fantasy. Elaine found much of her inspiration from Eastern storytelling like manga and anime. “I know a lot of the concept for ‘Melded’ as far as like being an illustrated book came from the ‘Leviathan’ trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. It wouldn't be what it is without that.”
At Monmouth, Abel worked for Proud Fighting Scots Radio. “Writing is my first love. Radio is definitely my second. It's fun. It's cool. It's always different every day,” Abel said. After graduating, she joined FM 95 full-time in June 2024.
“It's different because you have to follow a hell of a lot more rules, but you have a lot more people listening, which is so strange. Like the station I work for is 50,000 watts of power, which is the largest the FCC can give you. It's a little insane,” Abel said.