I’m wracking my brain to remember that right now and coming up blank. Terisa says I told her I had a dream. I think she’s thinking about some other story that doesn’t ring any bells for me. All I remember is that I started writing, and it turned out longer than I expected, like everything always does.

Actually, I was thinking more about a short film. Terisa (once again, can’t seem to keep her out of my answers) is a filmmaker, among other things, and I know when I was writing this I had the notion it might be something she could shoot.

 

It was one of my deliberate intentions when writing it never to use the words “****” or “****** *****.” I think I wound up using them both eventually, but setting that rule for myself generated the whole exposition-free style, where the readers get to figure out what’s going on at their own rates.

I’m currently reading Neal Stephenson’s newest, REAMDE, enjoying it like I always enjoy his stuff. Another author I recently discovered is Jonathan Lethem. I read Chronic City about a year ago and liked it so much I chased all his other books, and I think most of them are terrific. He has the same history I do, his literary interests starting with Marvel comic books, but I’m about a decade ahead of him (so I was actually reading the good stuff).

I think of Philip Roth and E.L. Doctorow as my prime literary idols, but as I noted above, Marvel Comics came first, and then fantasy and science fiction. In the past couple of years I have returned to both of those early influences, and have discovered they’ve grown up some since I’ve been away.

 

The true, specific source of all my creative endeavors was my second grade teacher, once one finally settled in. The first one got pregnant, and in those days it meant she had to leave, so for half the year we had a string of substitute teachers who constantly sent me to the Principal’s office because I had too much energy and was apparently quite noisy and obnoxious when I didn’t have work to do. I always finished before most of the other kids. When the woman arrived who finally stayed (sadly, I have long lost hold of this goddess’ name), and I noisily and obnoxiously complained “I’m bored!”, she told me “Draw a picture.” And that was all it took. In my spare time at school I drew, I wrote, I created comic books and sold them for a nickel to my fellow students, and I decided I was going to be the world’s greatest novelist. I at least achieved the noun.

 

 

Currently writing Being Patty’s Dad, a sequel to my 2007 novel Miss Shellagh’s Miniskirt, which was made into a feature film in that year by guess who (www.terisagreenan.com). I started this book in 2008, abandoned it in 2009, wrote Father of Carlton instead (another sequel, of sorts), and am now back on it trying to discover a viable story with characters I’m clearly not finished with yet.