I had decided to retire the literary Would You Rather series, but didn't want to stop interviews on the site all together. Instead, I've pulled together 40ish questions - some bookish, some silly - and have asked authors to limit themselves to answering only 10 of them. That way, it keeps the interviews fresh and connectable for all of us!
Today we are joined by Lori D'Angelo. Lori is a grant recipient from the Elizabeth George Foundation, a fellow at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts, and an alumna of the Community of Writers. She holds an MA from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and an MFA from West Virginia University. Her work has appeared in various literary journals including BULL, Drunken Boat, Gargoyle, Moon City Review, Reed Magazine, and Rejection Letters.
Why do you write?
I
write because I can’t not write. I have things I want to say, and writing is
the way I make sense of the world. I think that writing helps me process
reality and try to deal with the way the world is versus the way I think it
should be.
If you could have a superpower, what would
it be?
Maybe
the ability to time travel or fly. Flying would actually be really cool because
you could avoid the hassle of commuter traffic, which is the bane of my
existence some days. Time travel is just something I’ve really interested in,
that and the multiverse. I’ve read and thought a lot about those topics. I
think it’s interesting to think about not only what is but what could have
been.
Describe your book in three words.
Monsters.
Love. Hope.
What
are you currently reading?
Shelved
Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert, Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu
Kawaguchi, and Chaos by Patricia Cornwell.
What genres won’t you read?
I’ll read
pretty much anything, but I have struggled to get into graphic novels. I think
I just prefer to create the pictures in my head versus having someone else
create them for me. Plus, these can be difficult to read electronically, and I
do tend to read a lot of books online in the Libby app.
If you were stuck on a deserted island,
what’s the one book you wish you had with you?
Pride
and Prejudice. No matter how many times I read that book, I continue to be
delighted and surprised by it. Even though I know what’s going to happen, each
time I read it, I still feel the tension, the conflict, and the joy as if I
don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s just such a masterful novel.
You have to choose an animal or cartoon character that best represents you. Which is it and why?
I love cats. When I
was a kid, I used to love the cartoon character Garfield. I think I probably
like Garfield because he likes sitting around, eating lasagna, and making
wisecracks. As a writer, I definitely enjoy using humor to make sense of the
world.
What would you do if you could live forever?
It would be cool to travel and see the whole planet. I don’t know if
that’s more something you could do if you could live forever or something you
could do if you had unlimited time and resources. If you could live forever, it
would definitely give you the resource of time, and having all the time would
hopefully give you the ability to access other resources as well such as the
money you would need to see the world.
What songs would be on the soundtrack of your life?
“If We Were Vampires” by Jason Isbell, “March, March” by the Chicks,
“Said I Loved You . . .But I Lied” by Michael Bolton, “I’m in a Hurry (And
Don’t Know Why” by Alabama, “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and “I
Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty. These are some of the songs.
Are you a book hoarder or a book unhauler?
I am definitely a hoarder. I like keeping books that I love for a very long time. I feel like books that I love become part of me, and I don’t want to let them go. Occasionally, when I move or I just have an overwhelming amount of them, I do let them go, but I prefer to keep them. I feel like the books you treasure become a part of you.
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The Monsters Are Here – ELJ Editions (elj-editions.com)
Releases on Halloween!
You’d better strap in because Lori D’Angelo is taking you
places. A little bit of Kelly Link, a little Kathy Fish, D’Angelo is most of
all herself, bringing us the most imaginative collection of fiction I have had
the pleasure of reading in a long time. The Monsters Are Here heralds
a new voice in contemporary fiction—I can’t wait to see what Lori D’Angelo does
next.
--Stephanie Vanderslice, author of The Lost Son and The
Geek’s Guide to the Writing Life
Monsters are here. So are vampires, mermaids, murderers,
werewolves, fortunetellers, and dozens of less outlandish but no less
remarkable characters. Lori D’Angelo’s debut collection is as entertaining as
it is unpredictable. Each story is a ride into the strange and stunning. Read
this book, and you’ll be dazed, dazzled, and delighted.
—Mark Brazaitis, author of American Seasons and The
Incurables
The monsters are here, and what a glorious invasion it
is! Whether it’s an uptight vampire accountant stretching her fangs or a
werewolf realizing she loves her dad-boded buddy, the characters in Lori
D’Angelo’s debut story collection are wonderfully human. These, smart, often
hilarious tales haunted me in the best possible way.
—Shari
Goldhagen, author of In Some Other World, Maybe
What an exciting debut for Lori D’Angelo with her collection, The
Monsters Are Here. Each of these stories introduces a new spectacle of
innovation and heart, of humor and horror. D’Angelo’s characters occupy worlds
where the impossible overlaps the real and sincerity is bordered by absurdity.
I loved reading these stories, eating them up one after another, so engrossed
by these narratives, this writer’s vision.
—Michael Czyzniejewski, author of The
Amnesiac in the Maze: Stories
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