An Interview with Yanyi on Reality TV, Gardens, and Traveling Alone

Writers Talking About Anything but Writing is a series of interviews in which we ask writers to take a break from trying to document the world and just kinda chill out in it for a while.

Laura Villareal (LV)

I think most people indulge in at least one reality TV show; mine is Below Deck. It’s wild to me that rich people can effortlessly request out-of-season food or demand something inconvenient. Like I have trouble saying yes when someone offers me water. I feel like the appeal of reality TV is getting to see people living in a way we can’t imagine. What are some of your favorite reality shows and what do you enjoy about them?

Yanyi (Y)

There’s something valuable though voyeuristic about seeing how other people respond to situations, however produced the situations are.

I have a conspicuous love for HGTV—more recently, Restored with the Fords, which I discovered last year on a flight on my way to AWP (Does HGTV follow me, or do I follow HGTV?). I have a soft spot for homemaking, spatial pleasure, and interior design: it’s one of those shows I can reliably watch for something more than the complete IKEA gut-cut that many other renovation shows offer. Thanks to HGTV, I’ve also gradually built up enough interest about objects to watch Antiques Roadshow, which deeply bored me as a child. As an adult, it’s both painful and informative for me: knowing that these pieces are everywhere gives me a small thrill, but it’s offset by imagining the kinds of violence that brought many of those pieces into the basements of these mostly white owners. One could apply many more kinds of analysis on any of these shows, honestly, though that would be a longer conversation.

I derive so much specific entertainment from reality shows that this question is a bit overwhelming, honestly. I would be remiss not to mention Are You the One?, the dating show to end dating shows that’s airing its first gender and sexually fluid season this summer—needless to say, MTV didn’t cast the series with fluency in trans issues in mind. Nevertheless, so much of what’s good about reality shows are their particular parodies of reality TV: AYTO combines a kitsch of Survivor-esque challenges with elements from The Bachelor, Blind Date, and Big Brother (the show, but shout-out to Terrence J). I will never stop deriving entertainment from its meta-joke on all game shows ever: the cast members are led in a chant every match ceremony extolling a million-dollar prize (conveniently omitting the facts that the money will be divided amongst the twenty-two of them, and taxed).

The other shows on rotation right now are Project Runway and 90 Day Fiancé (recommended by my endocrinologist, haha).

LV

That’s a great thought. I usually think of museums when I think of objects being acquired through violence, but I hadn’t thought of how it applies to house restoration shows.

I have to admit I’m wary of shows that use marginalized people as promotion, like the new season of AYTO—it feels disingenuous and I worry the scripted part of reality TV will lean into tropes, but I watched a couple episodes of the new season of Are You the One? last night out of curiosity. It was kind of refreshing to see a whole house full of sexually and/or gender fluid folks approaching love and fluidity in different ways.

But going back to what you said at the beginning, “There’s something valuable though voyeuristic about seeing how other people respond to situations, however produced the situations are.” Can reality TV ever provide more value than voyeurism?   

Y

I think the only problem with representation is the myth perpetuated by colonialism and white supremacy that it is liberation. Representation matters and is a part of it, but not it. Representation restores humanity to marginalized people—perceived and actual political invisibility is a whole other problem. AYTO is one example, and perhaps another less likely example is the homoerotic and platonic relationships that are represented on “accident” on The Bachelor. The other reason I like reality TV is more pedestrian, and a more basic facet of why I read or engage with anything that other people make: I’m interested in expanding my own ideas of humanity and of how people can be together or individually. I don’t mean that in the sense that I’m learning from the premise of The Bachelor: life is what emerges in the timbre from the notes. The production when it gets ugly, the ethical choices made (or not made) and the inevitable mess that must be sorted, understood, made note of, witnessed. It is life because it is happening in the lives of these people, no matter what the editing wants us to see. Oh, and I can go on. I love gossip. There’s something Shakespearean about the interweaved confessionals (often recorded after the actual events) that produce this pleasurable dramatic irony and power of both hindsight and foresight. Once you become acquainted with the genre, you can basically predict what will happen from the editing alone. The pleasure of genre waits wherever a reader goes. And it’s absolutely useless knowledge, only increasing as one goes further and deeper into these shows. But then again, why does that value have to be utilitarian? For whom is our productivity and self-improvement, whatever that education is, useful?

LV

You mentioned gardens as a topic for discussion. Can you tell me more about that? Do you garden or enjoy visiting gardens or both?

Y

I would love to have a real garden someday, but for now I enjoy visiting them. I used to live next to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and over the years, the lives of plants gave me another way to experience time. Every year I look forward to the blooms of cherry blossoms, bluebells, tulips, and irises; I look to the new growths on my plants from buds to vines and leaves—they age faster than my body and at the same pace.

The garden is one of my favorite metaphors for how I like to write and live: seeding the earth and the sections hanging over each other; editing back, letting new shoots appear. Day by day, the garden changes itself in ways I can see, but over the years it transforms in ways I can never imagine.

LV

Wow, I love that. If you were to have a garden of your own, what would you grow and why?

Y

Difficult, difficult question! I would honestly have to discover the garden: where it is, what the weather is like year-round. And anticipate that changing, too. I know nothing about gardening but I love flowers and could probably name the ones I love. But this is not a recitation. The truth is, I like the idea of a native flora garden but don’t know where I’ll be living or what I’ll be doing yet. There are only questions. What do I want the garden to be like in spring? Summer? Fall? Winter? Do I want the growth to come up in concert, or shoot in intervals or waves? How would I like to be in my garden—does it matter to me that I would need to work hard to keep it up or alive? Or is it better that I let it go a little wild, here or there? What vegetables and fruits do I actually like to eat? What animals and insects will I be welcoming into my world? And are weeds really weeds? Are there weeds I might like? Where will I read? And have tea? And friends?

LV

Traveling alone is something I enjoy too. Where did you go on your first trip alone? Were you nervous? Are you a planner or someone who wanders?

Y

I just read this beautiful line from Elizabeth Hardwick’s Sleepless Nights: “When you travel, your first discovery is that you do not exist.” It took me some years before I could understand how I wanted to not-exist: that is, being no one and anyone. On a trip with friends to Iceland in 2015, we separated halfway through: I left Reykjavik for the Westfjords. I landed in a fishing village with a maritime museum, a famous fish restaurant, a bakery that had been there since the late 19th century, a library that used to be a hospital, and a hotel with the only free WiFi in town. I was in heaven and also restless. I realized both that I missed people to talk to and that I could triangulate for abnormally long between bakery, restaurant, and library. And of course, the long walks along the docks watching the sun set over the fjord. I had no idea what I was going to do when I got there. In those four days, I wandered into myself. I consider it an accidental first residency.

LV

You captured the feelings of traveling alone beautifully. Where will your next solo trip take you?

Y

I’m taking a trip to Porto this winter. But one does not need to go far. It’s enough to walk somewhere else for a change, even to a new thrift shop, diner, bookstore. It’s a gift of the city.

Aries

The Ram / Courageous, Adventurous, Independent / Domineering, Selfish, Arrogant

Now that it’s pumpkin spice season, you might want to cool it with the nightly shenanigans (unless you remember to bring a coat). In November, you’ll have an opportunity to see things for what they are—try not to bury your head in the sand afterward.

Or, you know, find a shovel. But read this story pick first.

• When You Sang Back to Us,
  by Chloie Piveral

• Teaser: “The sound
  reverberated so deeply I felt it in my chest; diffuse and reflective. Above it,
  notes broke like raindrops on the sea.”

Taurus

The Bull / Loyal, Friendly, Resourceful / Self-Indulgent, Possessive, Greedy

No spoilers or anything, but you’re headed for shaky ground in the friend department. Try to stabilize one of your relationships by examining the foundation. In the end, maybe you’ll need to rip out the floorboards and start fresh.

When you need a break, I have the perfect treat for you.

• Under Their Wings,
  These Starving Ghosts,
  by Grace Yang

• Teaser: “The
  third time the boy is resurrected, his feet are nearly burned to blisters. He
  had not seen the careful mound of salt the owners here had lined around their
  house.”

Gemini

The Twins / Intelligent, Adaptable, Creative / Moody, Opportunistic, Inconsistent

November is shaping up to be a great time for you! Continue the trend and treat yourself to something sweet, shiny, or stylish. As if that isn’t enough, a potential fling might walk into your life around the 18th.

Consider this charming story pick an added bonus.

• Scheveningen Beach, by Maureen
  Buchanan Jones

• Teaser: “She always thought of brown sugar when her
  feet sank just an inch or so into warm, slightly damp sand. This sand, this
  beach was no different.”

Cancer

The Crab / Honest, Generous, Faithful / Insecure, Needy, Crabby

It’s time to work it, Cancer! If there’s something extra you’ve wanted to take on, this is the time to take the metaphorical plunge. You’ll be smacked by a confidence boost early in the month, which will hopefully inspire you to dropkick any pesky doubts.

Let’s cap off this fist-pumping month with some exceptional reading.

• Place, by Jayne Martin

• Teaser: “Your face is the
  first to fade from memory; still your voice, a bow caressing the strings of a
  cello, holds me close. Your scent, evergreens dipping to the sea shore, calms
  me on days when I cannot locate your name.”

Leo

The Lion / Cheery, Noble, Imaginative / Demanding, Boastful, Melodramatic

You might be cast in the role of peacekeeper for this year’s production of “Awkward Family Holiday Functions at So and So’s House in the Armpit of Town.” Try not to let any negativity get to you, and enjoy spending time with the good eggs in your family.

Before you settle in, though, crack open this truly stunning read.

• Girls in the Woods, by Madeline
  Anthes

• Teaser: “Years later, children will tell your story
  around campfires. They’ll sit shoulder-to-shoulder, clutching their elbows,
  whispering about you. Of course, you can’t know that now. You just know he’s
  late.”

Virgo

The Maiden / Practical, Diligent, Kind / Obsessive, Self-Righteous, Compulsive

Last month was a topsy-turvy ride, and I wish I could tell you November will be different (I’m winking, if you can’t tell). On the plus side, you’ll get the chance to solve a crisis at work, which will knock the socks off your boss. On the not-so-fun side, a relationship in your life might lose some ground.

Keep doing you with this captivating 100-word piece.

• Because Some
  Doors Never Open, by Tommy Dean

• Teaser: “The rest of the house is locked up tight, suffocatingly cold, because
  the psychic said that ghosts only return to the drafts of their deaths.”

Libra

The Scales / Compassionate, Trustworthy, Peacemaker / Disorganized, Materialistic, Indecisive

Your compassionate, trustworthy nature will be put to the test over the holidays. Honestly, that might say a lot more about the people around you. Remember to set aside time for yourself—maybe take a mental health day, or plan a sun-drenched/margarita-filled vacation. You’ve earned it, kiddo.

Save this gorgeous story pick for your plane ride.

• Painted
  Lady, by Margaret McGoverne

• Teaser: “Her name was Dana, sometimes; her taxonomy morphed to match her mood.
  She married young, white lace arms clutching the man every girl wanted to net.
  She was his queen, he, her monarch, at least for a summer.”

Scorpio

The Scorpion / Purposeful, Charismatic, Cunning / Aggressive, Manipulative, Possessive

In November, the torch will pass to you. You know what I say? Go crazy with it! Kick back and enjoy your month. For the foreseeable future, the stars are gloriously aligned in your favor. Full speed ahead, you charmer.

And don’t forget your story pick(s).

• Five Micros, by Rainie Oet

• Teaser: “As Simon talks, years pass, marked by the back and forth passing of geese shadows in a V formation. The flock gets sparser with each pass.”

Sagittarius

The Archer / Straightforward, Optimistic, Adventurous / Careless, Impatient, Hotheaded

Winter is right around the corner, which means you might be feeling antsy (just a smidge). I know you’re dreaming of snow, hot cocoa, and bonfires, but you’ll have to rein yourself in for a little longer. Distract yourself with some spandex-gym-time or an old-fashioned friend date.

Of course, this monthly read might be the best distraction of all.

• There Was Always Beth, by Emily James

• Teaser: “And Beth always drove. Champagne-colored Saturn, we called it the Bullet, but it looked like ET with those pop-up headlights. She’d pull up the driveway and do a quick high-pitched honk, the Alien Cry.”

Capricorn

The Mountain Sea-Goat / Traditional, Responsible, Ambitious / Unforgiving, Blunt, Pessimistic

October might have been about feeding your gremlins, but November is the time to buckle down and dive into work. I know you hate networking, but an opportunity will drop into your lap at the height of the month. Schmooze with the best of them, my friend.

Don’t forget your story pick for all those bathroom escapes—er, I mean breaks.

• Breaking and Entering, by Andrea Anderson

• Teaser: “It’s Sunday afternoon and the big pot of marinara simmering on the
  stove looks like blood. ‘Nana,’ you call out, unwinding your scarf from your
  neck and dropping your keys into the cut-crystal bowl by the sink.”

Aquarius

The Water-Bearer / Intellectual, Open-Minded, Outgoing / Unpredictable, Self-Conscious, Chaotic

Try not to rely on others too much this season. You got to revisit old relationships last month—kudos on being the winner, ahem, I mean bigger person—but now is the time to look inward. Give your future some serious thought, and think about where you see yourself in five years. The answer can’t be a shack in the woods. Mostly because I already took it (sorry not sorry).

When you’re done meditating, I have a gorgeously penned story for you.

• The Girl Next Door, by Kelsey Ipsen

• Teaser: “Under Caitlyn’s belly grew
  a part neighbour boy, part hurricane. She told us it would be a girl, bigger
  than all of us because it came from us. We bent our heads forward to hear it
  gathering strength.”

Pisces

The Fish / Charitable, Intuitive, Artistic / Timid, Impractical, Indolent

Good news, Pisces! You should be a magnet for monetary goodness this month. Toward the end of November, you’ll also find two cuties in your orbit. Enjoy some good old-fashioned wooing and paint the town red. Oh, you don’t know what that means? I don’t feel old at all.

Anyway! Save this flash fiction piece for a morning treat.

• Hippodrome, by A V Arsic

• Teaser: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Mallory veered off the path without a pad or pencil, yet she took notes.”

Published June 4, 2019 by Tin House Books.

Mostly Dead Things is exactly what the title promises. In Kristen Arnett’s debut novel, a family of taxidermists in Florida are rocked to their core when the family patriarch suddenly commits suicide, leaving himself on one of the worktables. Deeply affected by their father’s death, eldest daughter Jessa steps up to take over the family business, struggling to manage debt and keep the family close—including both an absentee brother and a mother who’s begun to make suggestive poses with their taxidermy creations. Shockwaves of love and loss echo throughout the novel as Jessa reflects on her relationships with others—her father, a vanished lover, and a new mysterious flame. The novel takes us through Jessa’s efforts to hold everything together, and even more inexplicably, find a way forward through the gristle and mess of existence.
 
Readers of Arnett have anxiously awaited her first novel, and longtime fans will not be disappointed. Each page is rife with her trademark dark humor, spilling over at the edges with a wry voice. This book also builds on many of the themes present in her debut collection Felt in the Jaw: queer women, issues of intimacy, loneliness, and family. Arnett’s narration is as bleak as it is engaging, often using humor as a way to disarm the darkness. Jessa may be a traumatized, flawed human being, but her vulnerability sweeps the reader into her life, her inner thoughts giving fascinating insights into a person mired in different forms of unaddressed grief.

However, the real star of this book is the intense web of relationships between characters. The novel leans heavily into the drama that lurks within interpersonal relationships both romantic and platonic. Jessa’s dissatisfaction with her mother drives them to fight over her mother’s increasingly provocative and horrifying art projects. Jessa clashes with her brother’s comparatively timid personality and with her troubled niece and nephew, who become determined to gather fresh taxidermy material by any means possible. She strikes up a heated relationship with a woman named Lucinda Rex, but their romance may have disastrous consequences—especially when all these sparks ignite during Jessa’s mother’s art show.

In Mostly Dead Things, the critical mass of tragedy starts weird and never stops being weird, dipping often into gray areas and dynamics that polite society would prefer to ignore. For instance, Jessa and her brother share a tangled relationship with one woman, Brynn—married to the latter while sleeping with the former. But this novel’s strength lies in how it is unflinching in recognizing those realities. The content has a taste for the depressing, though that may indeed be the point. Messy and raw, readers are treated to a buffet of emotions and the never-ending push of trying to shape a life out of one more day.

Overall, Mostly Dead Things represents the confident foray of a skilled writer into a new format, carrying all her favorite themes with her. In many ways, the novel is a lot like the taxidermy subjects that mark its pages—somewhat unnerving at times, charmingly out-of-whack, a shuffling approximation of life, and a testament to death. But that in itself is what makes it so alluring. By the novel’s conclusion, Mostly Dead Things stands as an ode to the messiness of life, the ever-presence of loss, and how often the two are closely entwined.

Published September 24, 2019 by Tor Teen.

Even superheroes go to therapy. That’s the concept of Lauren Shippen’s debut novel The Infinite Noise. You might know Shippen as the creator and head writer of The Bright Sessions, an award-winning science fiction podcast tracking the lives of therapy patients termed Atypicals for their supernatural abilities. If you’re a fan of The Bright Sessions, then you’re in luck; The Infinite Noise is the first book in a YA trilogy that will expand on Shippen’s thrillingly original universe.

The book opens with Caleb Michaels, a sixteen-year-old football player who’s having trouble concentrating at school and keeping his mood in check. It turns out that both issues are due to a nascent ability to experience the emotional states of those around him. Caleb is a special type of Atypical, what his new therapist Dr. Bright calls an empath. Through Dr. Bright, he learns how to distinguish other people’s emotions from his own and how to manage the onslaught of stress, anxiety, and dread that festers in any high school.

Only one classmate’s emotions are different. Adam Hayes is an intelligent, if lonely, student whose emotions Caleb describes as “always a shade of blue. . . .not blue like the sky; blue like the ocean.” When Caleb tells Dr. Bright about Adam’s calming effect on him, she encourages him to reach out. And so, when Caleb asks to join him at lunch, Adam is stunned. But Adam has his own secret that he’s been keeping from everybody except his parents, one he worries no one—least of all Caleb—could accept.

The Infinite Noise is more than just a book about teens with superpowers trying to avoid suspicious organizations that seem intent on experimenting on them—although there’s some of that too! At its core, it is a character study of two teens trying to belong despite how different they think they are from their peers. We follow Caleb and Adam as they help each other navigate the treacherous terrain that is high school and eventually fall in love. What’s so remarkable about this book is the emphasis it places on the feelings of loneliness, insecurity, and distrust we experience as youth (and, let’s be real here, as adults). The book tackles the ever-pertinent issues of sexuality, mental health, and bullying in an appreciable effort to show the reality many teens face today.

As much as the book depicts the very real and very dark places we sometimes find ourselves in, it should also be commended for demonstrating an underlying but steadfast faith that there will always be a way out. The Infinite Noise is a book that illustrates the deep value of support systems, those predictable and those not, those that are already in place and those that are slowly being found. There is no shame, for example, associated with Caleb receiving therapy as an empath. Both Caleb’s and Adam’s parents (and, in Caleb’s case, his sister as well) offer reassurance and encouragement. As the book progresses, Caleb’s and Adam’s social circles expand to include friends both in and out of school.  

Because the book is so rich in secondary characters, however, they could have perhaps been utilized more in advancing and/or complicating the plot. There’s a moment when Adam finds himself sitting on the bleachers at a high school football game, sandwiched between two people he might actually consider friends. It’s gratifying to witness Adam find companionship among his peers after years of isolation, but it would have been sweeter if we’d had more insight into the development of these friendships. Instead, one of the two characters disappears for large stretches at a time prior to the game and the other is introduced too late in the text to expand upon at length. For now, these secondary characters act as reservoirs of potential, although it’s possible that they will take on more prominent roles in the two sequels.

If you’re a fan of endearing teen romances, plots that hint at secret societies lurking in the shadows, and snappy dialogue (Shippen’s podcasting background really shines here), you might want to pull The Infinite Noise off those shelves. Adolescence can be trying whether you’re an Atypical or not, but this book makes it easier to believe you don’t have to go through it alone.

Published August 6, 2019 by Macmillan.

The world’s collective nostalgia has lately led us toward a market saturated with reboots and retellings—and in literature, fairy tale retellings seem to be the order of the day. Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk is a treat for the mind and the heart. It dissects the age-old question of whether the ends justify the means, taking the classic story of Robin Hood and turning it into an even more intense commentary on the human limitations of perspective, violence, and greed. In accomplishing all of this, Makaryk creates a narrative that finds itself both flat and fascinating.

Nottingham is told in eight parts, with chapters shared between a cast of six recurring characters. It is this narrative style which contributes to the story’s slow start, as it takes time for the reader to fall deeply into the intricacies of the web Makaryk crafts and to fall, too, for the characters themselves. Loaded with political intrigue, the first portions of the story are largely an intellectual experience as we recognize familiar faces, try to guess at who will show up next, and attempt to maintain a grasp of the complex world we’ve entered. Makaryk’s own humor, though enjoyable, causes less distinction between characters than readers might prefer, and as a consequence it is difficult to appreciate each character for who they are during this early time in the narrative.

As we continue, however, Makaryk begins to find his rhythm. Characters become rich and compelling. True, gritty darkness enters the scene. And it becomes clear that Makaryk is weaving a different story than we’ve come to expect from Robin Hood. This is not a simple fable about taking from the rich and giving to the poor. It is a story about perspective, and how it changes everything. We are as convinced of the Sheriff’s goodness as we are of the outlaws’—as we are even of the infamous Guy of Gisbourne’s. This ability to traverse different walks of life and lend each character not only respectability but nobility, kindness, and empathy—this is where Makaryk truly shines.

At the same time, the reader’s ability to sympathize with every side of the central conflict is what contributes to the tale’s feeling of flatness. Because it lacks the framework of good versus bad, the overwhelming feeling in the reader is not drive, but frustration. Every single one of our recurring characters wants peace. They want to keep their humanity. They want to do what’s best for their world. But through all six narrative lenses, we see how actions perceived as heroic by some seem utterly cold and destructive to others. The unexpected twists Makaryk adds to the story build on the reader’s frustration; each tragedy feels futile, and the obstacles thrown in the path of our peacemakers by other peacemakers begin to blur together as all of their efforts fail.

And perhaps this is the feeling Makaryk sought to inspire—to demonstrate just how pointless fightingfor peace can be. The violence these players visit upon each other, the blame, the pointing fingers—they paint a harsh picture of what it can sometimes mean to be human. Yet there is light, here, too: Makaryk captures the complexities of human relationships with an honesty, an intimacy that can be felt in the body. Though their stories are slightly different than we might expect, the love between Marion and Robin is understood deeply, and the intense, youthful connection between Will Scarlet and Elena Gamwell makes for as tragic a love story as any classic.

But despite these great loves, and valiant efforts to the contrary, an alarming number of characters meet their ends in vain until only the smartest players are left on the board to continue the fight in the sequel. I hope that sequel holds more drive, more of an arc; a focus on approaching some firmer form of resolution might serve Markaryk well. But the quality of his writing, the emotions, the mettle of his characters—so bold and true—are more than enough to make me want to read it.

Mia Herman (MH)

Talk to me a bit about how the idea for Lars Breaxface: Werewolf in Space came about.

Brandon Getz (BG)

I had spent a couple of years trying and failing to write two different novels. A friend had recently finished his first novel using JukePop Serials, which was a platform (now defunct) that hosted serialized stories. I chose the most ridiculous idea I could come up with so that I wouldn’t get anxious about “My Novel,” the way I had with the others, and just wrote because it could be silly and fun.

MH

What was the writing process like for you? How long did it take to write?

BG

The book took about two years to draft, another year or so to fully edit and revise. I started out writing a chapter a week, which took about an hour or two; the chapters typically hovered around 700 words. About nine months in, my son was born, and writing time was a little harder to come by, but I managed to keep at it.

MH

Was there any research involved while writing the book?

BG

The research was basically my whole life. Lars Breaxface in some ways became a culmination of all the pop culture I’d been ingesting since I was a kid: monster stories, sci-fi movies, even nods to some of the literary fiction I read in my 20s. It’s got a lot of influences, but not much hard research. I just let my imagination run wild.

MH

You’ve taken two typically unrelated genre elements—werewolves, usually associated with dark fantasy and horror, and space setting, which is very sci-fi—and meshed them together. What kinds of obstacles, if any, did you encounter when working to mesh the two genre elements together? 

BG

I think there’s a natural connection between sci-fi and horror, both dealing with the otherworldly, both touching on existential things and things we can’t comprehend. Take Alien, for example, which is a monster movie. The monster is from outer space but the film still utilizes the tropes of horror. I’d say Lars exists primarily in the space opera genre, but part of the fun for me was to see how I could create sci-fi versions of these classic monsters. An alien vampire, a robot Frankenstein, a cyborg mummy . . . and, of course, a space werewolf. 

MH

You’ve written short stories, many of which have been published in lit mags and journals, including F(r)iction. (I was lucky enough to edit that story with you!) What are some of the differences you’ve noticed in the editorial process between long form and short works?

BG

The novel was so much harder! There is just so much to keep track of in a novel, so many threads and details. I know I dropped a few—an item that seemed important in an earlier chapter, a character who might’ve had a bigger part—simply because it would’ve been too much to try to restructure the story and keep them in. That said, I did completely rework the middle of the book—almost fifteen thousand words!—to better handle some of the threads that weren’t working in the original draft.

I’ve also tended to be more serious in a lot of my short fiction, even when it incorporates weird or genre elements. My story in F(r)iction #8, “What Is There To Say”—which is still my favorite short story that I’ve written—is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from my writing in Lars Breaxface. The language is minimal, the scenes are brief, the tone is somber. Lars goes big. It’s ridiculous and adventure-driven, and the language is a wild and untamed thing.

MH

When you look at the first finished draft of Lars Breaxface in comparison to what the final book is now, what’s the biggest change you see?

BG

It makes more sense! I also had a better understanding of the characters by the time I finished. So, for example, I didn’t like the dialogue I’d given the witch in certain scenes later on in the book, but I didn’t know how to make it better as I was drafting the original serial. Going back, I knew her better, how she sounded, what she’d say.

MH

What was the publication process like, from beginning to end? Walk me through it, from first having the book idea to finally holding the galley proof.

BG

I posted the whole first draft, chapter by chapter, on the JukePop platform. When I first started, I didn’t think I’d do anything with it. It was just an exercise. After I finished, though, I printed out a hard copy and started editing it by hand, with an eye on self-publishing. I didn’t want to do the whole query-and-wait process for traditional publishing; this project was never supposed to be taken that seriously. But when I found out about Spaceboy Books, they seemed like a great fit for the book, so I hit them up. At the same time, I was querying artists I knew to see if they wanted to illustrate, and ended up with three dozen pieces of art, which are also in the book. Spaceboy accepted the manuscript immediately and enthusiastically, which was awesome. Earlier this year, I worked with Spaceboy editor Nate Ragolia to finalize the copy and fix up a few straggly bits. Then, suddenly, it was a whole book—a real artifact. I have an author copy here next to me and it still seems surreal.

MH

How did your manuscript make its way to Spaceboy Books? 

BG

They had just published a book called Leech Girl Lives by another Pittsburgh author, Rick Claypool. A friend of a friend knew him, connected us, and I checked out his book. I was still planning to self-publish at the time, but my partner, Hillary, pushed me to send the manuscript and see what would happen. Which, in retrospect, was the right move.

MH

What has surprised you about the book publication process?  

BG

You have to put a lot of trust in the publishers to get your book out looking as good as you want it to. Writing is such a solitary creative act most of the time, and you as the writer have total control. It’s hard to let that go. Luckily, Spaceboy did a great job, and they were amazing to work with the whole way, even as I nitpicked my own manuscript to death with edits.

MH

In one sentence, what would you say this book is about? What do you want your readers to take away from it?

BG

Lonely boy makes friends. It’s also about a mission of vengeance and the collection of some hell-keys and blood magic and monsters and Ragnarok, and I hope readers enjoy the ride. But at the heart of it, there’s this lone anti-hero pickled in machismo who learns that it actually kind of sucks being “lone” all the time.

MH

What are you currently working on?

My short story collection should be coming out next year! Details still to come. “What Is There To Say” will be the first story in that. I’ve got some unfinished stories I’m hoping to go back to, once the novel is out—a sci-fi horror story, and a straight haunted house story. I’m also planning a series of Lars Breaxface adventures. It’ll be interesting to see where the werewolf ends up after his big debut.

Published on April 2, 2019 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

The Union is losing the war. Their enemy, the Elda, has been manipulating the Weave for years. The Elda are relentless with their bombing and gas attacks, and the Union is now a machine for keeping the war effort going. Boys and men die on the front line while women work in factory towns, using spark magic to create living metal for crafting war machines.

Revna’s father is a convicted traitor, jailed for life after taking scraps of living metal home to make prosthetic legs for Revna.

Linné’s father is the fourth most powerful man in the nation, a general who has no idea his daughter has been posing as a boy in the military for the past three years.

When both are caught in compromising positions—Linné being found out as a girl, Revna for using the illegal Weave magic to rescue herself and a Skarov officer during a bombing—the Union cuts a deal.

They need to win the war but they’re running out of male resources. The 146^th Night Raiders (inspired by the USSR WWII female bomber pilots known as the Night Witches) are a desperate experiment: an all-female flight regiment, stealing over the frontlines at night and bombing what they can.

If Linné joins, she can keep fighting. If Revna joins, her family will be spared the consequences of her crimes and reinstated as citizens. The pair hate each other, but are forced to work together—Linné as navigator and Revna as pilot.

The world is exactly the right blend of magic and realism; 90% is so real that you can taste the fear and mud and fire, the sexism and the judgement, the risks, the setbacks—all of the obstacles the 146^th have to face. Skilfully and frugally intertwined with this harsh reality is magic: Skarov, terrifying and rumored to be magically enhanced; the Weave that wraps around the world and the Spark—both forms of raw magic are required to power a war plane, constructed of living metal that takes on the emotions that are fed into it.

We Rule the Night is a phenomenal book that explores prejudice, feminism, loyalty, and true determination. It is about inner fires and fire raining from the sky, about discovering who you are, what you believe is right, and how far you are willing to go for what you believe in.

Bartlett’s writing is an unusual blend of showing and telling—a room will be thoroughly described, but an important character won’t be. She’ll tell you how a character is feeling before following up with a description of that character’s action, which I found a little jarring. This also meant that when I finished the book, I had a sense of the story, characters, and action, but no true grasp of the details. Characters are sketched out and then colored in slowly, but there are thirty-two in the cohort and when several lose their lives in the end, I struggled to remember who was who.  Similarly, the world is hinted at, but Bartlett provides only just enough detail, leaving me hoping for a sequel in which we will get to know more about the States that make up the Union, learn more about who the Elda are, and witness the Skarov in their full power.

This is a book that I advise reading closely, but I want to stress that the story and the characters are worth it. I want to see Revna and Linné’s relationship develop, for the girls to come into their power and take on the world. They rule the night now, but I’m ready for them to rule the world together.

Emily Brill-Holland

I devoured The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.

The Calculating Stars follows war pilot and math genius Elma York after a massive meteorite hits the Earth, sparking an extinction event: York quickly figures out that temperatures will plummet for a few years, only to dramatically spike and go on to rise past habitable levels.

I’m a sucker for anything that has a mass apocalypse event in it—and the blinding light that startles York and her husband ticked my boxes. When they rapidly calculated a shockwave half an hour later, I was all over it. When the meteorite slammed into the US East Coast, I wasn’t putting the book down.

Add to that an alternate history space race, intelligent characters who are still human, sexism, racism, anxiety, math, science, history (when not alternate), and a supportive relationship that isn’t the main plot? Yes please.

TCS is a prequel to a piece of short fiction that Kowal wrote; I hadn’t read it and had no idea how TCS ended. The tension provided by sexism and humans who don’t think the world is warming kept me breathless until the end.

One of the best parts for me was that Kowal’s characters knew what they knew. If something was simple to them, like kriah (York is Jewish), the characters mentioned it and moved on—which left me curious and googling everything from religion to history and geography. None of it was necessary to understanding the story, but I wanted to know more. I also really appreciated Kowal’s handling of drama. Secrets were kept, yes. Secrets were discovered. But nothing was handled stupidly because plot required it.

TCS  is an effective remark on our time, with Kowal borrowing common twenty-first-century climate change denial arguments to provide a gentle reminder that while we didn’t face an extinction event when getting to the moon in the twentieth century, we could use some of York’s determination and ambition in the twenty-first.

Kaley Kiermayr

Bitch is an independent quarterly magazine published in Portland, Oregon. Its tagline is “a feminist response to pop culture.” From their scandalous name to their bevy of thoughtful content, Bitch doesn’t pull any punches. Whether you’re looking for independent, feminist, radical thinking in a print magazine, or want to read explicitly political and feminist readings of pop culture on the daily, I think you’ll find Bitch to be critical, mandatory reading. I’ve been reading Bitch Magazine since 2014, and they’re on my mind as of late because they’re in the midst of an enormous fundraiser. Today is the last day to reach their $150,000 goal and #KeepBitchInPrint after 23 years!

Website

Fundraiser link

Stefanie Molina

I recently read Heart of Barkness which is the latest installment in the long-running Chet and Bernie series. Sometimes, after a marathon of dystopias, violent fantasy worlds, fairy tale retellings, and thrillers…you just need something light and happy. Chet and Bernie always provide that for me while also handing out a healthy dose of drama and intrigue. This dynamic duo’s private investigator adventures are narrated by Chet, whose fresh way of seeing the world makes any tale (tail?!) worth telling.

Oh, I forgot the best part.

Chet’s a dog.

Dog lovers everywhere will completely fall for his innocence, his smarts, the simplicity of his day-to-day in the face of danger and complexity. He loves his Bernie (as he calls him) to the ends of the earth, and Bernie, hapless and endearing yet completely capable and badass, returns the favor in spades. You won’t find a more charming voice anywhere. And you won’t find a more loyal friend than Chet the Jet!

Carolyn Janecek

Many of us joke about “our assigned FBI agents” watching us through our webcams––an attempt to make light of the pervasive surveillance and data mining of the 21st century. Well, I just finished reading data scientist Dr. Cathy O’Neil’s book Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy and learned about the incomprehensibly terrifying extent of corporate and governmental data mining in the United States. I was aware of many of the injustices laid out in this short, two-hundred-page book: standardized testing algorithms harming K-12 teachers, our country’s history of redlining, and healthcare discrimination based on preexisting conditions. But knowing about such examples in no way prepared me for the sheer proportions that Dr. O’Neil lays out. From fueling the Great Recession to curating our social media feeds, big data has permeated every part of our lives. Weapons of Math Destruction made me anxious about our future, but that’s exactly why I’ll be recommending it to everyone I know.

Eileen Silverthorn

I just finished listening to The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. We follow Theo, a psychotherapist, who is trying to get through to his newest patient, Alyssia, a woman who has been silent for six years following the murder of her husband. She is the only one who knows exactly what happened the night of the murder, and Theo—as he struggles with his own brand of psychosis—begins to unravel the pieces of what Alyssia has been keeping secret all these years. I was at the beach when I got to the super dark and twisty end of this novel (I sat up on my towel, shocked, screeching “WHAT!” and scaring my friends half to death). The writing is great, there are lots of interesting references to Greek tragedy weaved throughout the story, and again, the PLOT TWIST my friends, the PLOT TWIST. Highly recommend for those looking for a good mystery novel!

Ariel Fagiola

I’ve been deeply buried in Margaret Atwood’s new novel, The Testaments, and I’m already grieving it being over. She is one of my all-time favorite authors, and The Handmaid’s Tale (to be as dramatic as possible) changed my life in high school. And now she’s at it again with this long overdue and greatly appreciated continuation. I also only watched the first season of the show, so I felt even more desperate for this return. While I haven’t finished the book yet, and I’m sure I’ll have more opinions then, for now I highly recommend allowing yourself to be whisked away by Atwood’s stressful, beautiful, majorly screwed up, and heartbreaking writing.

Amanda Farbanish

Hi, yes, it is I, the staffer who won the Red, White & Royal Blue Battle of 2019. I’m back to give you another queer rec—this time, a queer feminist YA sci-fi horror thriller. (If you read that description and don’t immediately want to read the book, know that I’m judging you.) Wilder Girls by Rory Powers is everything I’ve ever wanted. You have an all-girl school that’s been infected by a mystery something (disease? alien infection?) they call the Tox, causing their bodies to develop weird and sometimes gross mutations. In fact, the entire island is infected, with a trip through the woods almost guaranteed to be deadly. Though the government promises to help, that help seems to be rather slow in coming.

But despite a horrific premise, what grounds this story and really makes it shine is the characters. The surviving girls and two teachers have to figure out how to survive together, creating a fascinating evolution of relationships. All of the characters are so incredibly realistic, their reactions, thoughts, and feelings in such a dangerous, high-stress environment wonderfully tailored to each character and their personality. Constantly facing death, they have to band together; Hetty, Reese, and Byatt—the trio the story centers on—have to manage their own fears along with their desire to protect and care for one another, a complicated line to walk when you’re constantly facing the creeping reality of death. If you’re in the mood for character-driven queer horror, this is the novel for you . . . what am I saying? No matter what, this is the novel for you.

It’s that time of year folks! Cozy cups of tea, oversized sweaters (once the heatwave makes itself scarce)—and the Brooklyn Book Festival! The Festival will return for its fourteenth year on Sunday, September 22, with events occurring throughout the week of September 16, and we couldn’t be more excited. To hold ourselves over, we’ve collected seven must-sees for all our fellow literary enthusiasts, plus a bonus surprise at the end(!).

WORD Bookstores Presents: Fake News & Faery Tales: Re-Framing History for Truth or Comfort

Stories are told and retold throughout different generations, with the evolution of popular culture and language softening our perspectives on the status quo. There is, after all, quite a difference between Ariel dissolving into a puddle of foam and her marrying prince charming. N.K. Jemisin (Broken Earth Trilogy), L. Penelope (Earthsinger Chronicles), Catherynne Valente (Deathless; The Refrigerator Monologues), and P. Djèlí Clark (Black God’s Drums; The Haunting of Tram Car 015) come together with teri.zin as moderator to discuss the impact of our abridged version of history, beginning with our most beloved stories, and how facing truths will change the course to a more brutal, yet progressive, future.

Center Stage (Columbus Park), 11 a.m.

Decolonized Epics: History, Fantasy, and Futurism in African Writing and Its Diaspora

Join three novelists from Africa and its diaspora who weave together a complicated web of fantasy, identity, and culture into their stories. Namwali Serpell combines Zambian history with futuristic speculation in The Old Drift, following three families trapped in a cycle of revenge that lasts from the beginning of colonial settlement to the advent of superintelligent mosquito drones. In House of Stone, Novuyo Rosa Tshuma interrogates history’s silences in a panoramic narrative of Zimbabwe before and after independence. And in Marlon James’s Black Leopard, Red Wolf, folklore from across the continent shapes a fantasy quest of epic dimensions. Moderated by Hafizah Geter, Little A/Topple Books.

Borough Hall Media Room, 209 Joralemon St., 12 p.m.

Anxious in Public: Serious (and/or Hilarious) Comics About Real-Life Tough Stuff

We all need to laugh (or cry) at ourselves every once in a while. Through wonderfully relatable cartoon posts, these three cartoonists tell never-ending stories of serious life transitions—about living with mental illness, how relationships develop day-to-day, and how the body and mind transform on the road to becoming a mother. Some of it’s surprising, some of it’s funny, some of it’s poignant, and some of it will make your heart ache with how much you can see yourself on the page. Join Catana Chetwynd (Little Moments of Love), Adam Ellis (Super Chill: A Year of Living Anxiously), and Lucy Knisley (Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos). Moderated by cartoonist Connie Sun.

St. Francis College Founder’s Hall, 180 Remsen St., 1 p.m.

The Paths to Pride

LGBTQIA+ people are out or are living in repressed silence from someone or everyone—often at great personal expense to their health, their sanity, and their well-being. Samra Habib (We Have Always Been Here), William Dameron (The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out), and Ryan O’Callaghan (My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me, and Ended up Saving My Life) discuss their candid books about coming out and being out, confronting cultural biases, and learning to love themselves and be loved. Moderator Brian Vines, Chief Correspondent at BRIC.

Brooklyn Law School Moot Courtroom, 250 Joralemon St., 1 p.m.

(I know those last two are at the same time, but how am I expected to choose? How dare they do this to the anxious gays! I’m personally offended.)

The Living City: Graphic Narratives on Place, People, and Soundtracks

In these graphic works, cities are characters existing alongside the vivid lives they hold within. Join a discussion between Summer Pierre, 2019 Eisner-Award nominee for All the Sad Songs, her memoir and travelogue drawn with a unique soundtrack; Ted Fox, whose classic Showtime at the Apollo is now a graphic tribute drawn by James Otis Smith; and Frank Santoro, who in Pittsburgh charts the unraveling and attempts at reconstruction of both his family and their city. Moderated by Calvin Reid, Publishers Weekly.

Brooklyn Historical Society Library, 128 Pierrepont St., 3 p.m.

Women’s Words: Language, Listening, and Feminism Presented by Greenlight Bookstore

What are the means for women to express themselves?  What are the chances of being heard, believed, and understood? At the intersection of language and politics, gender and storytelling, this panel of writers examines the way that women’s words evolve, emerge, and affect the world, with Amanda Montell, author of Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language; Mychal Denzel Smith, author of Invisible Man, Got The Whole World Watching; and Jessica Valenti, co-editor of Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World (forthcoming in 2020).

Borough Hall Courtroom, 209 Joralemon St., 5 p.m.

Real and Imagined Worlds

Rigoberto González (The Book of Ruin), Ilya Kaminsky (Deaf Republic), Sally Wen Mao (Oculus), and Ladan Osman (Exiles of Eden) read poems from their new collections, employing allegory, invention, myth, and parable to illuminate the realities of today’s world. Introduced by Craig Morgan Teicher, The Paris Review.

Brooklyn Historical Society Library, 128 Pierrepont St., 5 p.m.

And for our special surprise…

F(r)iction’s Booth!

You read that right! For the first time ever, F(r)iction will be at the Brooklyn Book Festival on Festival Day. Come say hi at Booth #440 and talk literature to us—all of our editors are giddy to chat about anything and everything. And while you’re at it, pick up the latest issue of F(r)iction! We can’t wait to see you!

Don’t forget to check out the official Brooklyn Book Festival website for the full list of all panels, events, and vendors.

If you’ve ever met one of our wonderful F(r)iction staffers, you’ll quickly learn that almost every one of them was once an intern in our Publishing Internship Program.

This program is run by our parent nonprofit organization, Brink Literacy Project. While our publishing internships are a great way to get a crash course in the literary industry, they can often provide a path to what can become a long and rewarding professional relationship. For more information, please visit the internship page on the Brink website.

Ally Geist

What is your favorite place to read?  
Curled up by the fire in the dead of winter, with a mug of hot chocolate in my hands. But definitely when we’ve been snowed in for a couple of days and the outside world has slowed down for a while. 

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it?
It’s an old Victorian key. It’s ornate and looks like it belongs in a museum. I would knock on the closest door to see if someone lost it. If I couldn’t find its owner, I would put it on a chain and wear it as a necklace or hang it on the wall above my writing desk. 

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.
It really depends on the day! Usually I’ll have a cappuccino with cocoa powder, or a dark roast coffee with milk and cinnamon. My favorite beverage ritual, though, is my nightly cup of tea with my family. 

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?
My favorite English word is “apricity.” It means “the warmth of the sun in the winter.” I think it’s so poetic and beautiful. Ever the studious little Canadian, I also speak French; my favorite French word is mot-valise, which literally translates to “word suitcase.” A mot-valise is when you combine two existing words to make a new word (e.g., “brunch” is “breakfast” and “lunch” put together). 

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?
I’m going to cheat a bit on this answer because I just can’t decide! The one book I would keep with me is Little Women, with some pages of Rudy Francisco’s Helium bound into the book as well. They both tug on my heartstrings in such perfect ways. The album would definitely be something by Sara Bareilles or Michael Bublé.

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?
I envision a literary industry where all books are intersectional. I also want every young child to see themselves in mainstream/popular books. I want the heroines and heroes children read about in schools to reflect the diversity and interconnectedness of the world today. 

Abi Mechley

What is your favorite place to read?  
My favorite place to read is in bed right before I fall asleep.

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it?
The key I see is a small, tarnished key (once shiny and brown, now darkened by oxidation). It’s one of those old keys that only has two large ridges to unlock a door, and the handle is twisted in a vine-like design. I put it on the shelf next to other things I’ve picked up (pebbles, buttons, a few nuts and bolts). I forget about it in approximately two weeks and one day.

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.
I generally don’t take coffee, but the occasions I go out with friends I order it black with room for cream. I also order a small cup of ice separately. I put two or three packets of sugar into the coffee along with a few ice cubes to cool it down faster. I never add cream.

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?
I really like modern internet slang (e.g. the verb “to rick-roll,” the study of “memeology”), but I’m not sure what my favorite word is. Let me get back to you on that.

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?
Really the deserted island depends on whether I want to leave. If so, I’d have a burned CD of Weird Al songs (including “Word Crimes,” “Albuquerque,” “Bohemian Polka,” “Amish Paradise,” and “I Bought It On Ebay”) that would be fun to listen to at first but gradually grate on my nerves until I had no choice but to escape my depressed state and try to make my way back to civilization, along with a book on survival techniques and using primitive technology (or even How to Build Your Own Boat from Scratch by John E. Traister). If I wanted to stick around for a while, it’d probably be My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade/Living With Ghosts (The 10th Anniversary Edition)—though I’d miss the song “Planetary (GO!)”—and maybe the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand so I could mentally write literary criticism completely tearing down the utopian depiction of selfishness in the novel (and when I’m done with that, I’d use the many, many pages as a template for drawing animations or making black-out poetry when I’m bored).

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?
If I could change anything about the industry, it would be enforcing anti-trust laws against the big five publishing houses. I love their books, but both monopolies and greed without regulation have a way of hurting artists and editors alike.

Jaclyn Morken

What is your favorite place to read?  
Really anywhere quiet, warm, and cozy, but my absolute favorite would probably be in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. I’ve gone there with my family almost every summer since I was a kid, so it’s really become one of my favorite retreats. Sitting in a lawn chair with my feet up, or at a picnic table beside the loch, with the early morning sun filtering through the tall trees to remind me I have nothing to do but enjoy the book in my hands—that is the greatest place to read.

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it?
It’s one of those long-handled, old-fashioned ones, half-buried in a patch of dirt alongside the sidewalk. I pick it up—it’s a bit rusted, with an engraving on the head that I can’t quite make out. It’s quite heavy, though it’s no bigger than my palm, so I brush off the rest of the dirt and tuck it in my pocket until its lock appears. If I’m lucky, it’ll be a small chest that no one can open, filled with unfamiliar family heirlooms. Or the stubborn wooden door in the basement of a museum, opening into a room packed with books and documents no one has bothered to look through in decades. The key will lead me somewhere secluded and strange, with just the right combination of history and mystery to make it feel magical.

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.
I’m not a coffee drinker, but I am a hot chocolate lover. I use a milk chocolate mix, then fill the mug ¾ water and ¼ milk. It’s best enjoyed before bed—in my favorite Mary Poppins mug—while I am curled up under a blanket on the couch by the fireplace, with a favorite movie ready to go on the TV. I generally avoid marshmallows or other toppings, but a café near where I live likes to top off their hot chocolate with chocolate whipped cream, which I can never refuse.

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?
I don’t have a favorite word in another language, but for English, without a doubt, it is “susurrus.” It came to mind immediately. It refers to a whispering, murmuring, or rustling sound. I love how it sounds like what it means. Plus, it feels a little bit eerie, a little bit mystical—I find myself using it everywhere I can.

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?
The book would have to be The Lord of the Rings. It is complex enough—and certainly long enough—that it would keep me occupied for quite a while. Plus, it’s been a while since I last read it, so I think I’m due for a reread! As for the album, I think I’d like to have Garth Brooks’ The Hits (1994), an album I grew up listening to. It has songs to fit my every mood, and I’ve listened to it so many times already that I don’t think I would get tired of it.

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?
That’s a tough one, and I’m not sure I have a realistic answer. One certainly stressful aspect of the industry is its fast-paced, competitive nature, in that writers might think they already need to be great to “make it.” Emerging authors in particular don’t always get the attention they need to hone their craft and break into the industry, as editors don’t necessarily have time to focus on submissions that need a lot of work, because not every press has the time or the resources to offer detailed feedback to writers.

Viengsamai Fetters

What is your favorite place to read?  
I spent much of my childhood curled up with a book in my parents’ big green armchair—my limbs fit differently in it than they did when I was six, but different is not bad. It’s where I gravitate to while in my parents’ house, and it’s one of those rare places where feeling like a child again is comforting. 

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it?
A key! It’s nondescript, pretty much identical to my house key. I pick it up and check my key ring to make sure that I still have my own keys, then consider taking it with me—perhaps I could find the owner or give it to someone whom the owner might think to ask. Then I put the key back on the ground in a slightly more visible location than the one I found it in. 

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.
I like coffee! My family would disagree, though—they’d say I just like cream and sugar. Technically they’d be right, but I also put coffee in the cup, so I say it counts. 

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?
I like the word sheep. It’s a good word with a good mouthfeel, and the word makes me smile to say, which I think is a good enough reason to be my favorite. 

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?
This is a really hard question. I’d probably have a copy of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos, just because I like them and every time I listen to them I hear something new. As for books, I would probably bring Infinite Jest, which I haven’t read, but could probably take me the rest of my life (especially given my survival skills on a deserted island) to read. 

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?
I feel like I don’t know enough to answer this question well—perhaps I’ll change how much knowledge I have! That’s why I’m in this internship, after all.

Venus Davis

What is your favorite place to read?  
Under a nice big shady tree! I love being outside where the space feels open and free. So, reading outside is very peaceful. Also, not to sound like a vampire, but I prefer to admire the sunlight from afar! So finding a shady spot to read is very important to me!

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it?
The key is bronze and a bit rusty. It’s one of those old keys you might see in an antique shop or on the cover of some old book of fairy tales. The key has these extravagant loops on its head that look like the headboard for a comfortable queen-size bed. In the middle, there sits a garnet gemstone. I pick the key up and examine it. There’s no way this thing can still fit into a door. The bottom half is chipped. I pull a string of yarn out of my pocket and string the key around my neck.

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.
Black and iced! I am a big fan of iced coffee and I am way too lazy to figure out how much sugar I take with my coffee. So, I’ve just started drinking it black and it turns out that I actually love black coffee!

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?
Junoesque! I think the word is very flattering and powerful and underutilized. I don’t have a specific word in another language that I like. However, I love the idea of words that can’t be expressed in English but describe very specific emotions. I think that’s why people should be more willing to learn other languages. You can only learn so much within your own language. With words that just can’t be translated to English but describe a very specific emotion, you can broaden your perspective of the world!

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?
Be the Cowboy by Mitski and On Writing by Stephen King! Be the Cowboy is such an important album for me. I saw Mitski live on her Be the Cowboy tour and I haven’t stopped thinking about that show since. She is amazing and her lyrics mean so much to me. I find bits and pieces of myself in every emotion that she describes in that album. I am very emotional person. So the music I listen to has to have a wide variety of emotional elements. Mitski’s music does just that! So, I’d bring Be the Cowboy because it is my favorite album of hers and the album deals with emotions in a way that I can directly relate to.  As for On Writing, it’s my favorite book! I could read it over and over and always have some new information to take away from it. Reading the book over and over again on a deserted island would allow me to continue to hone my craft!

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?
I would try to find a way for more people without degrees to be involved in the industry. I think times are changing but I know that for people like me, it is still difficult to find a way in without college as a prerequisite. I think there are plenty of unique voices that should be heard regardless of their education.

Why is this staff picks a special edition? Well, because…

These very special picks are exclusively from our fantabulous Fall 2019 Interns! Learn even more about these new Brinkeroos in their very own Q&A on Monday.

Ally Geist

Lately, Ralph’s 2018 album, A Good Girl, has been my go-to pump-up music to start off my day. I heard Ralph perform live in Toronto a few months ago, and ever since I’ve been hooked. One of her songs (“Living For Yourself”) was inspired by the lovely RuPaul drag queens, and is the perfect song to have a solo dance party to. The album has a song for pretty much any mood, including some heartfelt songs that may induce a spontaneous sob-fest. But who doesn’t love a good catharsis after a hard day, am I right? I love supporting Indie artists, and Ralph is definitely a badass babe boss who fits the bill! Ralph perfectly demonstrates how you can grow through hardship and find self-love and passion on the other side of it. 

Jaclyn Morken

You know when you read one of those books, the kind that plow right into your heart and nest there forever? Lately, for me, that book has been Leah Bobet’s YA fantasy An Inheritance of Ashes. I read it earlier this summer, and I still think about it all the time. I’m a bit late to the scene—the novel came out in 2015—but it stayed with me for so many reasons.

In a fantasy/post-apocalyptic world vividly realized through lush prose, I found sixteen-year-old Hallie Hoffman, months after a devastating war in the south, trying to convince her sister to take on a hired hand to keep their struggling family farm afloat. It’s a story about family and friends old and new, learning how to face the remnants of the war everyone thought was over—and, most importantly, how to move forward from the darkness of trauma. The characters and relationships are brilliant and beautiful—from the sisters’ mutual need for reconciliation to Hallie’s slowly budding romance based on consent and honesty.

If, like me, you’re looking for a fantasy that focuses on aftermath, that shows the ways love and community can heal, then this book is definitely for you.

Venus Davis

Melodrama is the sophomore album of singer-songwriter, Lorde. To me, this album is mine. Music should feel so personal that it’s like someone is stealing a page from your diary. Melodrama crept slowly into my ears and I haven’t stopped thinking about that haunting feeling of being twenty and not twenty-one or nineteen. I make it sound like this album has made me think negatively of myself, but I want to stress that this album empowered me. When Lorde talks about feeling like a disaster, but still being there for herself to pick up the pieces, as if she’s her own romantic partner in “Liability;” when she calls out romantic interests and lets them know how she would write about them in “Writer in the Dark;” how she creates a chillingly accurate caricature of herself and young adulthood . . . I felt that so much it was like a second skin. I highly recommend listening to this album with a juice box and a journal in hand to reminisce and write about how you feel about growing up and your relationship with the word love.

Abi Mechley

I’m sure many more avid gamers and game reviewers have already said their piece about Horizon Zero Dawn, the PS4 exclusive open-world game that debuted in 2016. Far be it from me to claim that my take is wholly original or groundbreaking; nonetheless I hope that—if you have not had a chance to play it—you might give it a try.

Essentially, Horizon Zero Dawn is a world inhabited by monstrous machines and vast tribes. You play Aloy, a young woman fighting for recognition in a tribe that has left her an outcast since birth for being motherless. The game is deeply and clearly influenced by the power of relationships, and the core of Aloy’s story is one of family, particularly shown in her attempts to unravel her past by searching for the mother she never knew. The worldbuilding, the random notes and letters and interactions with NPCs . . . all of it is intertwined with this idea of the bonds and relationships we have with others. It was an incredibly meditative experience to sit down with Aloy and explore this world, get to know these characters, and confront the mysteries hidden just beneath the surface.

Horizon Zero Dawn—E3 2016 Trailer | Only On PS4

Viengsamai Fetters

I’ll say this up front: podcasts are hard for me. I struggle to focus on auditory input for long periods of time, especially if I’m not doing something that requires the rest of my attention, like driving; often I find myself having to rewind in order to catch key details that I missed the first time around. This podcast isn’t like that, though—I’m enthralled the whole time. The Strange Case of Starship Iris is an audio drama, a tangle of mysteries that keeps getting bigger. It’s sci-fi for those of us who don’t see ourselves in sci-fi. It’s chock-full of queer and trans and Asian representation—voice acted by people who share similar identities—and while that’s what initially drew me in, I binged the show because I love the characters and boy howdy, do I want to know what’s next!

Starship Iris is set soon after Earth narrowly defeats aliens in an intergalactic war; the podcast follows Violet Liu, a sarcastic and dauntless (but also terrified) biologist as she adjusts to life after the title ship is mysteriously destroyed . . . leaving Violet the only survivor. I can’t tell you more for fear of spoilers, but Violet and her newfound allies soon have some major conspiracies to unravel. The episodes are still coming out, albeit with a little distance between them, and I, ever impatient, somehow don’t mind the wait.