42 Stories Anthology Presents: Nick DiChario Interview

 

Nick DiChario won the Science Fiction Story of Excellence Award for

LOST SODA BOTTLE FINDS LOVE WAY OUT IN SPACE

 

 

(from freepik.com)

Biography

Nick DiChario’s lucky number is 42 + 2. He’s written many stories of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and oddball stuff. He’s written short stories, long stories, and flash fiction. But this is his first story (and bio) of exactly 42 words.

BAM: So, Nick, where are you now?

Nick: I live in Rochester, New York, the city where I was born and raised, although I moved away for a while. I spent about ten years in St. Pete, Florida, a spectacularly gorgeous city. I loved it there, but I returned to Rochester in 2020. There’s no place like home.

 

BAM: Good. In a few years, I plan on moving to New York from Japan. I'll ask you more about New York later. So, where is your writing space, home, café, your desk?

Nick: Home. I need my creature comforts. My old desk, my favorite coffee, my best snacks, and so on. I’m a homebody at heart. 

 

BAM: Mostly the same for me, too. How about an icebreaker question? Do you drink coffee, tea, or something else?

Nick: I’m definitely a coffee person. I never tire of trying different beans. I love it when I discover new ones. I always drink my coffee straight-up black. I don’t like flavored brews, which are sins against nature in my opinion. Shoutout to my hometown roasters, who have produced some of my all-time favorite coffees.

 

(from Adobe Fire)

BAM: It sounds like you’re big into community. On that note, do you have a writer circle?

Nick: I love being in the company of other creative people. I’m in a writers’ support group and a manuscript critique group. Both have helped me focus and write through all the ups and downs of my career. Plus, I’ve met warm, kind, and loving people in these groups who have become life-long friends.

 

BAM: That’s great how you maintained such friendships through your writing. So, tell me, then, what got you into the craft initially?

Nick: As a boy, I used to go to the public library and read all the science fiction and fantasy anthologies I could get my hands on. I loved the shocking new worlds and ideas they introduced me to. It’s hard to explain the rush I felt when a story captured my imagination and kidnapped me from the real world. It was magic to me back then, and it made me want to be a magician.

 

BAM: Never thought about writers as magicians of words. Great way to think about the craft. You must come from a creative family. Any of them writers, too?

Nick: Funny thing. I’m the only one in my family who became a writer. I don’t think anyone else ever wanted to be one or even thought about it. When I say family, I mean everyone, not just my immediate family, but aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc., in the three generations known to me. I like to think that an ancestor in my distant past was a storyteller and passed it on to me. I also like to think that I’ll do the same for some unsuspecting soul in the future. I’ve carried the torch for my family for a long time. I hope to pass it on someday.

 

BAM: Hope you get to fulfill such a goal soon and indeed pass it on. Too many people rely on machines to do everything, even writing. So, we need more dedicated writers such as yourself in the world. With this in mind, could you tell me about how you organize writing in your life?

 Nick: This question always interests me. So few writers I know make a living writing full-time, so organizing can be a real necessity and a problem. Most of us must balance work, family, the day-to-day demands of living our lives, and the complications of being human, all while trying to find time to write. Sometimes, even when we manage to carve out a few precious moments, we don’t have the energy, the muse fails us, or what we write isn’t any good. There are no easy answers. Everyone is different. But those who have a passion for creative writing will find a way. My way won’t work for anyone else. It doesn’t even make sense to me. I don’t organize. Not really. I can’t. I’m constantly searching for stories. I search for ideas every day, and in everything I do. If a story idea reveals itself to me, I let it heat up inside my brain and bake there until it’s well-cooked. Sometimes, when it’s good and ready, a fully formed story will come out of the oven, and sometimes it won’t. I think this works for me because I’ve never quit on it. Even if it doesn’t always work, I trust that it will eventually. If not the next time, then the next, or the next. And if there comes a day when the oven is empty, I guess that’s the day I’m no longer a writer.

 

BAM: Well said. I’m sure you could inspire others, why don’t you tell me 42 words to motivate other writers?

Nick: Unplug your television set. Stop streaming. Give up social media. Spend that time reading, writing, and talking to people. See if that improves your health and your life. You’ll be amazed at how clean and bright you’ll feel. How open. How free.

You can watch Nick read his award-winning story here and on my YouTube channel here.

 

Social Media

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