Friday Mar 29

CampbellScottA Scott Campbell lives in Seattle with his common-law wife, her real-law husband, and three dogs. He has a B.A. in Film Production from New York University and an M.A. in Creative Writing from University of California, Davis. He has written 14 novels (one more added to the list since his first appearance with Connotation Press), three screenplays, a stage play, two sitcom pilots, and a short story collection The Psycho of Happiness. Notoriously long-winded, the short-story format is not a natural for him, but he hits it from time to time. Like Rabbits is his most recent effort.
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Scott A. Campbell interview with Meg Tuite
 
“Like Rabbits,” is a provocative and humorous short story. Two people in rabbit costumes having a very intimate conversation. What was your inspiration for this tale?

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.


The dialogue is excellent and the story has very little exposition. Since you’ve worked in so many different mediums, did you work this story as if it could be a scene in a play?

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.


Any great books you’re reading right now that you’d like to share with us?

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).


Who would you say are some inspirations for your writing career?

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.
 

What project are you working on right now?
 
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.
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