Just Beston. It says "Zzymzzy Quartet" on here because that's the name of the old-timey jazz combo I play with. I live here in San Diego, so, though I've cut back on gigs during the workshop, I will be playing a few weekend shows if you want to come!
What do you like to read?
My favorite living author is A. S. Byatt, followed closely by Haruki Murakami. Beyond that, arrgh, there are so many good books! Italo Calvino, Catherynne Valente, Neal Stephenson. Both Kelly Link and Kij Johnson are definitely favorite authors of mine.
What kind of stories do you write?
I'm not sure. Dreamy fantasy, maybe. I badly want happy endings.
How would you describe your personality?
Humph.
What would you do this summer if you hadn't been accepted to Clarion?
Mope. Revise the unpublished novel for the billionth time. Not take six weeks off from work.
Who will miss you most while you're in San Diego?
I live here, so I don't have to entirely abandon my people. But my wife and my 13-yr-old son will be traveling for half the workshop, so I'll still get a helping of long-distance ennui. Though, yeah, the cat will probably miss me the most.
Have you participated in an intensive writing workshop before?
No. Nor have I been through any writing programs. I did go to a pitch conference in NYC once and left feeling like a well-kicked puppy. I hope it's not like that.
What scares you most about Clarion?
What scares me most is the other guy's face. Do people still have to read Catcher in the Rye in school? I don't know, I guess I'm worried I'll get caught up in the war of personalities that these things can become. I want to steer clear of that and just work on the craft of writing. Be humble before the craft - my motto for the summer.
What do you do to relax or for recreation?
Read books. Play music. Eat with chopsticks. (And yes because I am from here I can point you to all the best chopstick-relevant establishments. I even wrote a blog about it, though it's a few years out of date: https://convoyrecon.wordpress.com/ )
What 1-2 essential things will you bring to Clarion besides your laptop, watergun, and espresso maker?
Probably not even #2 or #3.
What is your ideal career?
I think I might already be in it. I make music at night, I make furniture during the day (in the pic above, I'm posing in front of a cabinet of mine), and now I'm writing during all the in-between times. I'd certainly like to be more successful at all of the above.
What else do you want us to know about you?
That I'm SO VERY EXCITED about this workshop! Seriously, I'm out of my gourd. Over the years, I've heard many of the Clarion workshop leaders give talks at the local bookstore (last year, the incredible Ted Chiang!), and I'm astounded to be personally involved this year. SO EXCITED!
Hey Beston, if there is a war of personalities, I'll hang out with you and we can all-friendly-like ignore each other, just like cats. I'm real good at it.
ReplyDeleteLike cats! Agreed.
DeleteBeston! I love Italo Calvino, I'm glad we can gush about his work together. Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteCalvino yes! He was my first literary crush. I actually got started trying to write what I now see amounted to fanfic of Invisible Cities.
DeleteOoh, Haruki Murakami--definitely one of my favorites, too.
ReplyDeleteI have this thing where I always end up liking the first book I ever read of an author's the best. I think I've read everything of Murakami's (minus the weird essays about jogging), but "Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" was my first and is still my favorite.
DeleteI have this thing where I always end up liking the first book I ever read of an author's the best. I think I've read everything of Murakami's (minus the weird essays about jogging), but "Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" was my first and is still my favorite.
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