|
The
ShatterColors
Standard Interview
-- Author Version:
Susan
DiPlacido (6/2009)
(Interview
consists of 15
pre-set questions.
Authors have published
at least one novel
or short story/poetry
collection.)
1)
Why did you begin
writing, and how
long have you
been doing so?
I
started in 2002,
and I think I
started because
I was bored at
work. So I started
writing the exact
kind of book I'd
want to read --
totally smutty
with circumspect
characters doing
shady things.
2) What does your
writing routine
consist of?
I'm
very manic. Either
I'm not writing
at all, and that
can go on for
months, or, when
I'm working on
a project, I obsess
about it and work
on it near constantly
until it's finished.
3) Have specific
events ever flung
you into an extended
and productive
period of creativity?
No,
not events, really.
Once I get an
idea, I just like
to let it roll
around in my mind
and let it pick
up momentum until
it starts marching
and I can't ignore
it. Then I'll
work on it.
4) What are common
sources of inspiration?
Vacations
can end up inspiring.
The different
atmosphere and
environment. Odd
things can end
up in my work.
Like, last summer,
I got on a fresh
coconut kick.
They're a pain
in the ass to
open and get the
meat out of, but
my nephew and
I spent a good
couple of weeks
doing all sorts
of abusive and
undignified things
to those poor
coconuts. That
ended up being
a major plot point
in a book of mine.
5) What does a
book need to do
to get you to
read it from beginning
to end?
It's
got to be entertaining.
Either have great
characters or
a page-turning
story or great
humor or just
something that
keeps me hooked.
6) Who are some
of the authors
you most admire?
Jackie
Collins, Tom Robbins,
Chris Moore, Elmore
Leonard, Chuck
Palahniuk, Charles
Bukowski, Helen
Fielding. They're
always on my bookshelf.
Of course Shakespeare,
even though that's
more plays than
books, and Quentin
Tarantino, even
though that's
screenplays.
7) How familiar
are you with the
literary canon?
I
don't know. Is
there a list somewhere
I should consult?
Over the years,
I've tried to
pick up "well-known"
books and "classics"
and read them.
Some I love, some
not so much. Is
Dickens part of
the canon? Is
Kerouac? I assume
Dante and Camus
are, but don't
really know if
Jane Austen qualifies,
but I've read
them all.
8) What's your
take on politics
and literary endeavor?
I
don't mind as
long as it's kept
entertaining.
Go ahead and sermonize
to me in a book
if you want, but
if the book blows,
I won't read it.
If it rocks, I'll
read it. Doesn't
mean I'll just
swallow the shit
that's being shoveled,
though. I mean,
I believe in capitalism,
and I do like
Atlas Shrugged,
but I still think
Ayn Rand was really
full of shit with
a lot of what
she wrote in that
book. But ole
Dagny Taggart
kept me following
along anyhow.
9) What are your
feelings about
formal vs. free
verse?
I
don't know. I
guess if it's
got a good beat
and you can dance
to it, I'm down.
10) Do you feel
"flash"
fiction (300 words
or less) is a
viable form, or
nothing more than
a writing exercise?
Shit,
can you imagine
the time we'd
all have saved
if the works in
the literary canon
were just 300
words each? "The
Divine Comedy:
Canto 1
Dante enters hell
on Good Friday.
Virgil takes him
through nine circles
of escalating
horrors.
Canto 2
In Purgatory,
Dante gets seven
Ps tattooed on
his forehead.
Once they're brushed
off, he can move
upward toward
heaven.
Canto 3
Beatrice guides
Dante through
the nine circles
of heaven, concluding
with God and the
angels, where
creation is explained
to him."
That would've
saved us all a
shitload of time
reading and researching
all those historical
people he loved
referencing.
11) When not writing,
what do you do
for amusement?
I
like to drink
and gamble. Those
two activities
often lead to
a plethora of
other even less
respectable pastimes,
but I'll let discretion
take over instead
of going into
details. I watch
way too much TV
and too many movies.
And if it's nice
weather, I'll
hang outside and
find stuff to
do.
12) What's one
of the most annoying
things you can
think of?
Cell
phones.
13) Briefly describe
what you consider
to be one of your
standout childhood
pranks.
I
once burned the
bay. Where I live,
we have a lot
of Poplar trees,
or, some people
call them Cottonwoods.
For about three
weeks in the early
summer, they give
off these white
puffs that blow
all over. There
are tons of them
surrounding our
beach, and particularly
the bay. Well,
these little white
puffy things are
extraordinarily
flammable, and
also light enough
that on a calm
day, they sit
right on the meniscus
of water. Therefore,
the bay can covered
in this white
fuzz. On a good
day, all it takes
is one well-placed
ignition and you
can get to see
a huge flame travel
across the bay.
I was once successful
at burning the
bay like that.
It's a big thing
and you're not
supposed to do
it, because you
can cause damage
to boats and piers
and shit like
that. But a pyro
kid doesn't think
of all that, she
just wants to
see a magnificent
blaze, and I did.
14) What are your
upcoming projects/works
in progress?
I
have a book coming
out this fall,
House Money,
that's sort of
my weird version
of Goodfellas/Ocean's
11/Sex And the
City. It's a follow
up to my first
novel, 24/7, but
it's, hopefully,
a little faster
and more fun.
Then, I'm looking
for a publisher
for another book
-- the one with
the whole coconut
subplot I was
telling you about.
It's loosely based
on Hamlet, but
it's about a Vegas
showgirl who thinks
she's Lady Luck.
And there's those
coconuts. Hamlet,
Lady Luck, and
coconuts. I'm
frankly stunned,
just stunned that
no publisher has
snapped this up
yet, you know?
: )
15) Care to conclude
with a sweeping
philosophical
statement?
Smoke
'em if you got
'em!
_______________
The
ShatterColors
Standard Interview
-- Author Version
©
2006 by Robert
Scott Leyse
Susan
DiPlacido
Responses
© 2009 by
Susan
DiPlacido
|
