Do you have a nickname?
Nope, it's just Christian. I also respond to James, my first middle name (and it's what I intend to publish under), but that's a bit confusing. Just please don't try and shorten my name to Chris.
What do you like to read?
Oh man...mainly speculative fiction, although I do dip into the literary fiction world often enough that I don't feel too unbalanced.
For short stories, I've recently been really enjoying Alyssa Wong, Brooke Bolander, Ken Liu, Carmen Maria Machado, and Charlie Jane Anders, among others. For novels, the most recent ones I've read that blew me away were by Kij Johnson, James S.A. Corey, Octavia Butler, Haruki Murakami, Kim Stanley Robinson, and N.K. Jemisin...again, among others. This is a hard question.
I've been on a bit of a reading trip over the past month, trying to prepare for Clarion, so I'm sure if you asked me what I like to read in two weeks my answers would be completely different. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up while I'm there.
What kind of stories do you write?
Horror? Dark fiction? Magical realism? Science fiction? Science fantasy? It's kind of a mixed bag, to be honest. I have a certain fascination with identity, autonomy (body and mind), possession, and monsters.
For the moment, I like happy(ish) endings that are complicated by something(s) to make them more bittersweet than happy. I'm also interested in stories that interrogate the systems we live in -- especially those that look at capitalism and the structures of violence human society weaves around itself.
How would you describe your personality?
I'm an outgoing introvert and probably a bit too sarcastic for my own good. Eager, perhaps overly so.
What would you do this summer if you hadn't been accepted to Clarion?
Desperately search for and then work at an internship, try and finish the book I'm working on and start another, and be very, very sad.
Who will miss you most while you're in San Diego (cats, kids, partner, boss, coworkers)?
My friends, though I'm sure they'll be sending me messages to remind me that they still exist and that I shouldn't forget them in a sleep-deprived haze.
Have you participated in an intensive writing workshop before?
Depends on your definition of intense, I guess. I just finished up my first year at my MFA, which can get rough at times, but by all accounts the workload is...not truly comparable. So I guess I'll go with no.
What scares you most about Clarion?
That the quality of my writing won't live up to (my own/others') expectations. Imposter Syndrome is real and alive.
Also (does listing more than one thing go against the spirit off "most"? Probably. I don't care), the speed at which I'll have to produce work; I write slowly. This seems to be a common theme, we should start a support group or something.
What do you do to relax or for recreation?
I rock climb (bouldering - see my photo above), cook, and enjoy craft beer and cocktails. Beyond that, the obvious pastimes of reading and television.
I also like fitness, working out in general, and when I had more money, clothes/fashion.
What 1-2 essential things will you bring to Clarion besides your laptop, watergun, and espresso maker?
Tea and honey (though I'll likely buy more there). My climbing shoes.
What is your ideal career?
I would really love to support myself on my writing alone. Not just books, though! I also want to write for television and graphic novels, and...and...a million and one other things.
That said, I also love teaching, so being able to regularly teach at the university-level or at workshops would be nice. Oh, and at some point, I'd like to run a craft cocktail bar too.
What else do you want us to know about you?
I absolutely love languages. I speak Japanese, (unfortunately very rusty) Spanish, and I'm teaching myself Norwegian and Dutch. At one point I self-studied Mandarin, but didn't get very far.
I'm originally South African, and I lived and worked in Japan for 5 years - I only got back to the US around this time last year. I'm still adjusting.
I don't drink coffee (though I'm considering developing the habit, to be real), but I'm fiendish about tea, and would love any recommendations you might have! Also food. Food is life.
If you want to practice Norwegian a wee bit, we can chat. I myself am just starting to speak even though I read and understand and swear in it rather well.
ReplyDeleteHi Dani! My Norwegian is god awful, but I’d love to practice! Thanks for the offer :D
DeleteYour descriptions of the stories you like to write have made me super pumped to read your work. Do you dabble in iced tea? I hear there's more art to brewing it than people might think, and one day, I plan to stock my fridge with pitchers and pitchers of the stuff.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I adored "Gallows Girl," and I'm really excited to read more of your work as well!
DeleteI'm a fan of tea in pretty much any form, and one of my favorite beverages ever is chilled mugi-cha. I'm thinking about trying to get a pitcher of the stuff in whatever fridge I have access to Clarion - it's the perfect summer drink.
Definitely joining the Glacial Pace support group for slow writers.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're talking teas + craft cocktails, what are your feelings on tea punch? There's this place in Toronto that brews the most miraculous tea punch and it's one of my summer goals to try to recreate it in some mediocre form.
I once tried to make a hot toddy-inspired craft cocktail, but it was really gross, so I gave up on that idea. But I'd be really interested in a tea punch; I've never had it (or even heard of it), but it sounds magical. Count me in for experimentations in attempting to recreate it, if you decide to do that at Clarion!
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