I was delighted
when I opened up Issue #66 of Cemetery
Dance and saw a story from you. Then I read the tale, “Inside,” and was
totally blown away. It’s one of the best pieces of fiction I’ve read in a long
time. Where did you find that story?
First of
all, Peter, thank you for inviting me to your blog. I like what you've done
with the place. This e-chair is cozy, and the interweb tea is to die for.
Speaking of dying, my story "Inside" was born from various real world
nightmares, such as factory farms. I find it more than a little horrifying when
people treat other beings as if they are soulless. With these feelings swirling
around in my gut, eventually I came up with the idea of a vending machine full
of humans.
Tell us a little
about Bizarro fiction. Where do you see yourself in this movement? What
attracted you to Bizarro?
In a sense,
I see Bizarro as a genre for tales that defy genre. This is a bit paradoxical,
but that's OK, because Bizarro fiction eats paradoxes for breakfast (along with
Boo Berry cereal and spambled eggs). I see myself on the horror and dark
fantasy side of the Bizarro teeter-totter. I never think today
I'm going to write a Bizarro story or today
I'm going to write a horror story. I just write whatever comes to my mind,
and when I'm done I find a home for it where I can. I love the imagination and
freshness of Bizarro fiction. It's an honor to be associated with the movement.
You have a
wonderful and wicked, dark yet lighthearted sense of humor. It’s a strange mix,
in my humble estimation, of deep meaning and utter ephemera. A brilliant
juxtaposition. Where does this come from?
I'm a big
fan of humor. I believe humor helps people to not only cope with darkness, but
to defend themselves against it. Also, I like humor because it's funny. Humor's
probably one of the funniest things in the world.
What is your
personal favorite among your works? Your least favorite? Why?
I don't
think I could choose a favorite story or book, but I can choose a couple
favorite characters. Cicely from my novel CURSED and Globcow from my ATTIC
CLOWNS collection. Cicely's a strong, caring person with a unique sense of
humor. And Globcow: he's as evil as he is innocent, which is an interesting
combination. I would have a lot of fun hanging out with these two (I mean,
other than those moments when Globcow was eating my feet). My least favorite
story is probably a horror story I wrote when I was a teenager. This story was
never published (thankfully). There was way too much gore, and not nearly
enough talking animals.
Why attic clowns?
Tell us about these creatures and why they interest you.
It all
started years ago when I bought an antique mirror at a yard sale. When I
brought the mirror home, I realized that my reflection didn't look quite right
in the mirror. My face was too white and my nose was too red. It creeped me
out. So I put the mirror in the attic, and of course a demonic clown soon oozed
his way out of the looking glass. At this point, there are about 1400 demonic
clowns living up there. I'm not so much fascinated by them as I am tormented.
Not a day goes by without a clown tossing a flaming pie at my face. I can't
even count how many times I've been attacked by a giant rubber chicken. Anyway,
I write about attic clowns in order to process these horrible yet pretty funny
experiences.
That’s pretty much
what I thought, but I had to ask. So, what are you working on right now?
I'm almost
done with a new story collection called MONSTROSITIES. I'm also working on a
novel, a screenplay, and a couple other projects.
What can we expect
to see from you in the future?
Other than
the projects that I already mentioned, there might be a movie eventually based
on my novel CURSED. Also, there's a good chance I'll start work on a graphic
novel in the near future.
Who are your
literary influences? And what’s your all-time favorite book?
There are
so many writers out there who influence and inspire me. I love Kurt Vonnegut,
Haruki Murakami, George Orwell, Amy Tan, Roald Dahl, Anthony Burgess. The list
could go on and on. My favorite book might be The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I find her innovate use
of language to be brilliant.
I had the pleasure
of working with you a little on your ATTIC TOYS anthology. It’s a remarkable
collection. Tell us a little bit about that book and the process involved with
putting it together.
I had a
blast working with you and Charles Day on this anthology. The editing process
involved a lot of blood, sweat and tears (but mostly blood. Who knew that toys
could bleed so much?). I received so many marvelous submissions from amazing
writers around the world. I'm very happy with how the anthology turned out.
What lights you up?
Monsters,
animals, nice/creative people, cheesy horror movies, sporks, plushies, peanut
butter, forests, nerdy stuff.
What shuts you
down?
Prejudices,
abuses of power, heights, parties that aren't nerdy enough, bad movies that
aren't cheesy, traffic cones.
You seem to be
writing a lot of short fiction lately. Do you prefer short fiction?
The thing I
like about short stories is that I can finish one in less than a year. But to
be honest, I love writing novels more than anything. It's a special experience,
sticking with the same group of characters for so long. They become my dear
friends and my dear enemies. I let my stories end when they will, and most of
my tales don't need to be novels in order to be told effectively.
You’ve written
brilliant novels. Tell us a little about your process with long fiction? Do you
outline? How do you work?
I often
start a novel by brainstorming out ideas. I'll brainstorm again numerous times
as I'm working through the story. As I'm writing, I'll have an idea where I
want the novel to end up, but the story sometimes surprises me and takes me
somewhere I didn't expect. I like to write organically. Let the story go where
it needs to go, where the fun and the horror and the humor is.
Read and
write every day. Don't give up on your dreams, no matter what people might say
(even if they're wearing top hats and monocles). Connect with other writers.
Have fun. Write what you would enjoy reading.
What else would you
like everyone to know?
1. Never
insult a demon's mustache.
2. Not all Care Bears actually care about you. I learned that the hard way.
3. If an attic clown offers you a candy shaped like your head, don't eat it.
2. Not all Care Bears actually care about you. I learned that the hard way.
3. If an attic clown offers you a candy shaped like your head, don't eat it.
I'm a big fan of Jeremy, and so is the evil little jester. In fact, the jester and the attic clown have become great friends and can be seen wandering around late at night, looking for trouble.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, great interview yet again, Pete. And Jeremy is a fantastic writer!!
Awesome interview! I like Jeremy's style!
ReplyDelete