MINOR CHEMICAL SPILL —
LOW RISK TO HEALTH
BAM: What were your pseudonyms in the anthology?
Mimmax: Mimmax, Ben Mimmack, B.J. Mimmack
BAM: Where are you located?
Mimmax: Dallas, Texas, USA
BAM: Really? I'm from Houston originally. So, where is your writing space?
Mimmax: Spare bedroom
BAM: It's good to have somewhere like that to write in peace. It's my understanding that you're an avid reader, too. Who are some of your favorite authors?
Mimmax: In no particular order: David Mitchell, J. K.
Rowling, Iain Banks, David Foster Wallace, Alexandre Dumas
BAM: Did you know that whenever Rowling became a billionaire, she'd donate enough money not to be one? She didn't want to be greedy. A writer and an interesting person. I also learned about writing to an audience from her. Who do you write to when you picture your reader?
Mimmax: I write stories that would please me as a reader.
I think my writing comes across as more honest that way.
BAM: That's a great way to flesh out characters. What's near you at the writing table, coffee or tea or something else?
Mimmax: Tea. Milk, no sugar. Thanks
BAM: Funny. By the way, you've got a few awards including the Runner Up Award for the Zombie chapter. What's your greatest achievement in writing?
Mimmax: Completing
two feature screenplays. It had been my ambition for years to finish one, and
then I knocked out the second in two months.
BAM: Completing projects is never an easy feat. Congrats. Tell me about your story outline process.
Mimmax:
All my best ideas come to me in the shower and I usually tell myself the story
in my mind to see if it works. After I get out, I have to write down the key
elements otherwise I forget them. After that I usually just write and re-write
it until I’m happy. Most of the time I need at least one ruthless edit to get
rid of a lot of redundant words and phrases. That’s probably why I like writing
to word count restrictions – it helps me keep a story tight.
BAM: Sounds like a long shower. Anyway, what was the first story you ever wrote about?
Mimmax:
When I was about eight years old, I wrote a story about a baby in a pram
(pushchair). I can’t remember much about it, other than that the baby really
loved his rattle. My teacher was very nice about the story and put it on the
classroom wall which was a bit of a shock because I’d never been a very good
student until that point. And frankly wasn’t much of one afterwards, but
teachers often liked my stories.
Biography:
Mimmax is writing a crime novel, an exercise in hubris which is sure to backfire on him.He has one wife, two children and three copies of Catch 22. He likes writing but lovesreading. One day he will read Catch 22.
Social media:
https://www.blurb.ca/b/11856281-done-in-a-hundred
https://theyardcrimeblog.com/2024/03/28/an-inconvenient-death-short-story/
https://theyardcrimeblog.com/2023/05/12/an-incident-on-friedrichstrasse-spy-fiction/
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