Second Q & A With The Author (Part 2)

Continued From Previous Month

Q: Talk to me about what “paranormal” means to you.

A: Well, it means exactly what it says. But for me as an author, that means writing about the world of the capital “U” Unseen. The world of: ghosts, the other side, psychic phenomena, magic, beings which are not human, etcetera.

Q: How is this different than Horror, or Fantasy?

A: Well, with Horror, I feel like the objective is to scare you, or to make it spooky or creepy. That’s not my objective when I write. I write stories about things which might not be able to be explained away or rationalized through the same linear thought processes we use to build our societal structures in our day-to-day lives. I write about things which have their own fundamental concepts, their own laws, their own “norms”. It’s just that those “norms” are outside of the everyday existence of the average person; thus, “paranormal”. And for Fantasy…well, I guess anything can really be Fantasy, but I feel like something isn’t really regarded as Fantasy in the English language literary world unless it has elements of European folklore or cultural traditions intertwined within it. That is to say, usually there is some sort of monarchy with stations and titles that are compatible with European ones—if not the same—and the people and their clothing, customs, food, and traditions are generally ones that are associated with medieval Europe, and the different types of beings that exist are the ones typically found in European folklore. It’s—admittedly—a very narrow definition of Fantasy, and I think that a lot more could be included in that category, but in any event, I haven’t written stories with those general cultural elements serving in the background as a landscape, so I wouldn’t say that I write Fantasy either…if we’re sticking with that definition of Fantasy, that is. So, I’m an author of Fiction, and maybe some of my stories have parts within them which are frightening, or have storylines which might be considered fantastical, but I would say that I deal much more with the paranormal in general, rather than Horror or Fantasy.

Q: Speak to me about the women in your stories.

A: What about them in particular?

Q: So, I’d say it’s a bit of a departure from any of your previous works, right? You have main characters which are women. Talk to me a little bit about that. Was that difficult for you? Was writing from the viewpoint of a woman challenging for you? How was that overall?

A: I’ve only published two books prior to this one, and they were both illustrated tales which featured boys as their main characters, so in that sense it may seem new for me to have stories with women as main characters, but I’d written stories with women as the main characters long before I was ever published…so, for me, there’s nothing new or novel about it at all. No, I didn’t really find it especially challenging or different. I wrote those characters like I would any other: basically, it is the characters which are telling the story, and I just write what it is they are telling me.

Q: That’s interesting, and it’s something I’ve heard before in the literary field…this concept of the characters doing the telling of the stories. Tell me more about that.

A: Well, in my case, it’s a lot like I described before. When I write, I see the different scenes and scenarios in my mind. This includes the characters. Imagine that you are watching a movie, or that that you are seeing something and you have to describe it to someone who is blind. You aren’t in the actual movie itself, but you have the perspective of the observer. That’s a lot what it is like for me. I can observe what is going on in any particular scene, and I can do it from various perspectives or angles. So that means when there are characters involved, I can observe things how the characters would observe them. I know what their emotions are. I understand their underlying motivations—even if they themselves do not at first—and I just write that. I guess it is similar to taking dictation, or being a court stenographer. I am just writing what I observe. So, when the character is experiencing something, as someone who is able to intimately observe what the character is experiencing, I write all of that experience down. And so in that sense, the particular gender of a character isn’t important. They don’t even have to be human characters.

Q: Wow! Thank you for elaborating! I feel like there is so much more I’d like to ask.

A: Ask away!

Q: Did you have any reservations with putting out something that was so different than your other books?

A: I don’t think I had any reservations in particular, no. As I mentioned, The Finality Of Fruitcake is a work that is more targeted towards adults. And this isn’t to say that my other books haven’t been, but I feel as if the other books are more for anyone from about nine years of age and up, whereas this one is definitely for a mature reader.

Q: Can you elaborate? What do you see as a “mature” reader?

A: Sure. For me, a “mature” reader is someone who is capable of seeing more deeply into a particular work. It is someone who enjoys the different details and nuances of the plot and how the characters navigate their way through the different situations they find themselves in. It is someone who recognizes that life can be quite complex, and yet it can also be very simple. They recognize that the world that we live in is full of people, circumstances, and situations which are not always pleasant, and which can sometimes be horridly cruel. They don’t shy away from reading about such things. In my mind, a “mature” reader isn’t someone who is looking for a cut-and-dry, run-of-the-mill type of story, and they aren’t interested in your typical “happily-ever-after” type of tale. They appreciate something more real…something that is more representative of the world they are likely to—or could possibly—encounter and experience themselves in their daily lives. It is someone who appreciates complex themes…themes that prompt them to think…themes that awaken their own drive to delve deeper…themes that challenge them or cause them to consider a new perspective. These are some of the qualities of a Reader whom I would consider to be “mature”.

Q: So, I guess that could really be anyone.

A: Most definitely, but it all depends on individual personality, and how much growth you’ve done as a person to begin with. I feel like I was a “mature” reader by the time I was in junior high…but it all depends on the person. You are the best judge of what type of reader you are, and you know what types of stories speak to you the best.

To Be Continued Next Month