42 Stories Anthology Presents: Christopher David Airiau Interview

 

Christopher David Airiau won the Story of Excellence Award in the Steampunk chapter for 

A BROKEN DOWN AUTOMATON SENSES ITS SAVIORS

BAM: What were pen names you used in the Anthology?

Christopher: T. Christopher David and

David Christopher Urania.

BAM: Which chapters can readers find those stories?

Christopher: Alternate Reality and Apocalyptic.

 

BAM: Where are you located?

Christopher: Alsace, France

 

BAM: Where is your writing space?

Christopher: Standing desk in home office.

 

BAM: Who are some authors you keep returning to? 

Christopher: Iain M. Banks, Octavia Butler, Samuel Delany, Ursula K. Le Guin, N.K. Jemisin, Kim Stanley Robinson, George Saunders.

 

BAM: George Saunders? One of my creative writing teachers in the 2010s was obsessed with his work. Actually, I asked Saunders to be one of the judges for this anthology. Unfortunately, he never replied. Some other well-known authors luckily did. Okay, back to you. Who are some artists you like?

Christopher: Carly A-F, Paul Enami, Holly Jencka, Daniel Locke, Patrick Loveland, Strega Wolf van den Berg, Brandon Yu.

 

BAM: I'll have to look some of them up.  Thanks. What are some foods you like?

Christopher: Une baguette fraîche et chaude, lentilles vertes au saucisses de Morteau, un vieux comté, the Gonzalez family taco recipe, Deep dish pizza 

BAM: For those who do not know, the first one is a type of sausage dish. The second is cheese. Tacos are tacos. The last one is the best kind of pizza on Earth. What about most writers' favorite momentary distraction, drinks?

Christopher: Des vins rouges de Bourgogne and IPA. 

 

BAM: I trust someone in France when it comes to wine, so I'll have to try the first drink you mentioned. What about musical interests? Who do you like?

Christopher: Talking Heads, Janelle Monáe, Parliament, Hot Snakes, Sweeps, Kamasi Washington, Waveshaper

 

BAM: What are some movies you like?

Christopher: Parasite, Au Poste !, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Memento, Star Trek.

 

BAM: A fellow Trekkie. Nice. Are there any places that inspire creativity from you?

Christopher: La taverne française, the “frisbee lawn” at l’UdS, Secret Flatrock, SOMA, #mothership-game-night, the Lost Bay, on my bike with my favorite co-pilot.

 

BAM: Cool. Speaking of co-pilots, do you have a writer circle?

Christopher: I am currently participating in a ttrpg writing circle, which includes six people over six timezones. Each three weeks, one person submits a work, during which the other writers give feedback and discuss the writing and game mechanics.

 

BAM: TTRPG, for readers unaware, means table-top role-playing game. In this context, you rotate stories. Fascinating. With so many people seeing your work, who do you write to when you picture your reader. Your target audience.

Christopher: Depends on the piece. Often, I am writing for a submission or on commission, so the audience is rather clearly defined in advance.

 

BAM: What's your sidekick-writer drink, coffee or tea or something else?

Christopher: Huge morning filter coffee, and sometimes some Earl Grey in the afternoons.

 

BAM: Some writers have a message for the world. In some cases, they don't even realize this fact. For you, is there something you passionately want the human race to stop doing, which, maybe even in a subtle way, you present to the reader in your stories?

Christopher: All forms of violence against one another and the planet.

 

BAM: Totally agree. Except that I think smokers should be punched in the face for poisoning babies, animals, and the planet. Kind of joking about the violence, kind of not. At any rate, in regard to your style, could you recommend to novice writers the best way to write?

Christopher: Whatever works best for the writer. This is a process of learning the craft that is individual to everyone. Always be wary of folks who tell you they “know the way” to best do anything.

 

BAM: Makes sense. Hey, how do you relax after a long week of writing?

Christopher: HAHAAHAHAHA

 

BAM: Funny. Okay. What's your greatest achievement in writing?

Christopher: My greatest achievement has yet to come! But to date, probably my first full-length Mothership RPG adventure module, Bio-Drones & Cryo-Clones.

 

BAM: Oh. Then, what got you into writing?

Christopher: I’ve always loved making up stories. As the eldest child of four, and frequently the oldest kid in the apartment complex, it sort of became my “job” to make up the games and the stories that went with them. In 4th grade, we had a creative writing assignment, and I don’t think I ever really quit writing weird sci-fi stuff since then.

 

BAM: In that case. Tell me some books you read recently.

Christopher: The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones, The Chronicles of Morgaine by C.J. Cherryh, Babel by R.F. Kuang, Classic Traveller by Marc Miller, The Tide World of Mani by Joel Hines.

 

BAM: Well read. Do you play music, or watch anything, too?

Christopher: Instrumental-only music, picked based on vibes. Lots of dark ambience and synthwave, recently.

 

BAM: Is anyone in your family a writer?

Christopher: My ma wrote a book when she was in her early 20s.

 

BAM: Interesting. How about this question: What deceased or living writer do you want to meet?

Christopher: Never meet your heroes, right? 

BAM: Right. Although, I have a feeling Edgar Allan Poe and I would've been friends, as we share a lot of commonalities. We'd've probably complained to each other about our eyebag problem and made an eyebag club.

Christopher: I dunno. It probably would have been grand to have a pint with Iain M. Banks.

 

BAM: Quite an award-winner you named. Banks won, for example, in 1991 Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for The Bridge. Christopher, what's the greatest writing award you hope to win?

Christopher: I try to focus on the work at hand rather than target lofty goals.

BAM: I see. Who is the author you vehemently hate, and why?

Christopher: Hate is bad for your heart.

BAM: Makes sense. Are any of your friends writers?

Christopher: My great friendships with Justin Tyler Chandler and Jeremy Allan Hawkins have been vital for me to maintain focus on the craft. Chandler has published short fiction, and written two unpublished novels, and Hawkins has published several poetry chapbooks and many poems across the literary sphere. They are both also musicians.

 

BAM: Great to have friends who understand your life. Are you in a writer's group or workshops?

Christopher: In addition to the current game writers workshop, I have been part of the Indiana University Fiction Writer’s Workshop, a co-founder of the Contemporary Anglophone Literature Collective, and founder of the Strasbourg Science Fiction & Fantasty Writer’s Workshop.

 

BAM: Okay. Random question time. What were the most drafts you've written for a story?

Christopher: CALCULATION ERROR: APPROACHING INFINITY.

 

BAM: Relatible. What are your main distractors while writing?

Christopher: Everything. ADHD be hard, yo.

 

BAM: Yeah. Well, on editing, do you edit alone, have a friend read your work, or do you hire a professional editor?

Christopher: Edit alone, have friends or a workshop read over stuff when I can, and I’ve hired pro editors for my game releases.

 

BAM: What about writer's block? How do you overcome it?

Christopher: In most cases, my writer’s block is due to my ADHD inhibiting me from starting. Details and sequencing become overwhelming, and I lose sight of that line between what the character wants and what the story needs.

BAM: Tell me more.

Christopher: The best way for me to overcome this sort of writer’s block is to change the medium. I leave the computer, or even the home office, and move my thoughts into notebook scribbles or at a café on my markdown machine. These notes tend to be a conversation with myself, an internal debate. I’m not just sitting still and trying to think, my ideas fight each other until there’s a KO or common ground is found. It’s weird, I guess, but it’s much easier to straighten out this mess in a combative manner.

BAM: Care to elaborate?

Christopher: Other times, I get tripped up with large scale settings or fictional sequencing. This is the “worldbuilding” part of speculative fiction. When the groups, planets, whatever get too big for my brain, I spend some time sketching these places—by drawing them, building thought clouds, or a timeline. Even though 99% of this writing never makes it into a story, having a solid foundation makes sf stories sing.

 

BAM: Could you tell me about how you organize writing in your life?

 

Christopher: I have a writing ritual. To start writing, I put on my writing hoody. It’s well over a decade old, ragged, and I am forbidden from wearing it outside the house. I pop on my cans, put my solar lamp, and perform guided mindfulness meditation. Next, I write a page of positive affirmations and focus goals, a step borrowed from Octavia Butler. Last, I pop on some non-vocal mood music and open the file.

BAM: What do you mean?

Christopher: The extent of the ritual depends on how difficult to the effort to start typing away has been. This process was quite long in the beginning, but through practice I can achieve an adequate level of mindfulness in about 5-10 minutes. Skipping this and the affirmations is also quite common when I’m in a good writing mood.

BAM: Got it. Sticking to your guns.

Christopher: I’m lucky enough to have at least three hours a day to work on my writing, which has mostly been for table-top roleplaying games in the past year.

 

Biography:

Christopher David Airiau holds a Master’s in English Literature from l’Université deStrasbourg, teaches English in France, and designs tabletop role-playing games as 5Million Worlds Press. Their fiction appears in Filmmakers Without Cameras, Unstamatic,and Dead Horse. Find them at chrisairiau.com.

 

Published Works:

Unstamatic, “One Man and No City” and “Torn from the Pages of a Used Android Catalogue: Phoenix”

Filmmakers without Cameras 3, “A Terminal Orbit Homeward”

Dead Horse, “Practice Makes Perfect”

Weirdo Faves of 2023, assorted prose.

 

Social Media:

https://5mwpress.substack.com

https://chrisair.itch.io

https://www.chrisairiau.com

Twitter: @ChrisAiriau

Bluesky: @chrisair.bsky.social

IG: @5mwpress

fb: https://www.facebook.com/5MWPress/

 

42 Stories Anthology Presents: J. J. Hyphen-Hyphen Interview

 

J. J. Hyphen-Hyphen won an Honorable Mention Award in the Werewolf chapter for 

THE WILY WEREWOLVES OF THE RURAL RAILROADS

 

BAM: Where are you located? 

Hyphen: Dothan, Alabama.

BAM: What were your pen names in the anthology? 

Hyphen: J. J. Hyphen-Hyphen, Christopher von Scribble.

 

BAM: Where is your writing space? 

Hyphen: Home office at desk with computer.

 

BAM: Who are some of the best authors in your opinion?

Hyphen: Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Portis, David McCollough.

BAM: How about artists?

Hyphen: Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent.

 

BAM: Do you have a writer circle?

Hyphen: Wiregrass Writers Group. Sometimes a Circle, sometimes a semicircle, sometimes a triangle. But always supportive and helpful.

BAM: Yeah, writer triangles are way underrated. Now let's talk about readers. Who do you write to when you picture your reader? In other words, who is your target audience?  

Hyphen: My target audience are complete strangers. I like to imagine they have a sense of humor.

BAM: Living in Japan, I'm always weary of jokes because someone will belly laugh at a joke and then turn around and say they didn't get it, and they hate you. Getting someone to laugh, really laugh, is tough. That's why a good drink is important to have handy, right? Are you a coffee or tea or something else sort? 

Hyphen: Orange spice green tea.

BAM: Good one. I didn't fully appreciate good tea until moving to Japan. Highly recommend their teas. Let's get back to your writing. What inspires you to write?

Hyphen: I listen to or watch geniuses perform (or someone performing their work) or look at images of their work and try to channel that creativity into writing.

BAM: Hope some novices see your answer. It's useful for those who might struggle to find inspiration. That said, how do you handle story rejection?

Hyphen: With rejections, I generally sulk for three days, kick objects in my way, and mutter disagreeable things to anyone around me. 

BAM: What about when a story gets accepted?

Hyphen: With acceptances, I copy all evidence, including a check if I’m that lucky, and put it all into my “feelgood file”. Then I jump around the house excitedly until I break something or sprain an ankle.

BAM: "Feelgood file"? Great idea. If you had a choice between writing one really memorable, widely acclaimed story of 2000 words or having sixteen so-so books published, which would you choose?

Hyphen: I would like to say the single great story, but it would sure be nice to have a book with my name on the front and my picture on the back. So I’ll get back to you on that one.

 

Biography: 

The author was the adored son of Alexander Hyphen and Alexandra Hyphen. Yes, they were cousins. Is that so terrible? His odd musings and the excrements of his pen have been rejected by some of the most prominent journals in the land.

 

Social media links or links to your published works: richardkeyauthor.com

42 Stories Anthology Presents: Katya Brown Interview

Photo by Katya Brown

Katya Brown is not just the artist behind the Escape, Impairment, Parent, Travel, and Western chapters, she did the front/back cover for the anthology, which was voted on by the authors of the book. This was fitting, as from early on in the project, Katya has helped.

Without further ado, here's our Q&A:

Bam: Hi Katya. Saying you're a talented artist is an understatement. I really appreciate your hard work on the anthology, so I was elated to interview you. That said, the most challenging issue artists have is getting work done. Leonardo da Vinci infamously took 16 years to paint the Mona Lisa. So, what's your most frequent reason for procrastination on projects?

Katya: Blame my cats.

Bam: Funny. What inspired you to become an artist? 

Katya: I can't really stop myself. Always see things to create, light angles, color, beauty in a moment or object others are walking by obliviously.

Bam: Who are some authors and artists you like? 

Katya: Toulouse Lautrec, Wu Guanzhong, Victor Hugo, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman.

Bam: Why do you like them? 

Katya: I think all of them reflect on society in different ways - showing us things we might miss otherwise, whether through silhouette, color, character, humor, mythology  . . . often things that point out societal flaws, but at the same time celebrating the amazing ridiculousness of our world.

Bam: Tell other artists something that'll inspire them in 42 words or fewer.

Katya: Sometimes it takes the timing being right to push you to the next step. I took 42 photos as was drawn to the ultimate answer. After getting many people to associate me with 42, the timing worked to become involved in this.

Bam: Yeah. The fact that you could do something with the pictures in art demonstrates great creativity. How did you have enough photos?

Katya: How did I have enough photos of 42s to get 42 on each cover? Been taking the photos for years. The ones on the cover include photos taken from 2005 - 2021 across 4 continents, over 15 countries, and many different places within them. They are heavy on shots from Xiamen, China, as I did live there quite awhile.

Biography

Katya recently returned to her home state of Iowa after 12 years in China. She is usually covered in cat hair. When not teaching, can’t stop photographing interesting things (or 42s), does Chinese brush painting and calligraphy, as well as cross stitches.

42 Stories Anthology Presents: Book of 42² is set for release this November.

Project 42 Anthology Update

 

Some awaiting the 42 Stories Anthology publication are unaware of a certain fact. In 2018, when I launched the project, I made a vow to not write any new stories until the anthology was published. This was to motivate me to get the book finished. 

My goal for the anthology has been to help other writers, so I wasn't going to focus anytime on my own work. Aside from academic writing obligations, I have kept my promise. All of my publications since 2018 have been work that I wrote prior to the project. There was one story that I had to edit due to it needing to be updated at the publisher's request. Nothing else.

This means that I am as eager for the anthology to get published as anyone else. We're still looking toward a 2024 release, luckily. 

Keep your eyes open for more announcements. 

Have a great spring. 

   Remember to remember . . .

   ~Bam

   Project: 42-Word Stories Anthology

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Happy 2024

Happy New Year!

 The year ended with an engagement to my fiancée. We're planning on getting married March 2025. By then, I'll be 42. To celebrate our future plans, we had some fun adventures, which I'll share with you. 

For starters, we went to Meoto Iwa (picture shown above), which means "Wedded Rock." It's near Ise Grand Shrine in Mie Prefecture of Japan. Ise Shrine is technically three shrines spread across Ise City, and the largest shrine in Japan. 

For years, locals have gone to Meoto Iwa to confess their love for each other. People weren't very vocal when my fiancée, Eva, was taking pictures with her ring, but she said that a lot of eyes brightened, and women smiled her way. 

Our next adventure was a Bruno Mars concert in Tokyo Dome. 

First, I wanted to take Eva to a place called Ice Cream Paradise, where they let people order six scoops of different flavors as a meal. The menu online was quite interesting. 

(credit)

They were said to have been one of the best ice creameries in the world. It's my fiancée's favorite food, so of course, we were going to go. Eva was skeptical they were still around, as there was no recent news about them. 

Although Eva was right, and the ice creamery was gone, a dumpling food court was there along with a normal ice cream stand. 

However, Ice Cream Paradise is no more.

On the bright side, Bruno Mars puts on a great performance. 

The next day, Eva reminded me that months ago I had mentioned wanting to hit up a famous Starbucks in Tokyo called Reserve Roastery. Amazing how she remembered me saying that once. 

It was really packed in there, but worth the visit. 

We continued our celebrations into my birthday on the 19th.

 

 

The restaurant that took the reservation was in Osaka, called Craft Beer Café Imazato. 

The owner made five Chicago pizzas for my friends and me.

The restaurant had a good stout, too. 

 

Eva topped off the night by making my favorite pie, pecan. A perfect dessert to end the evening.

(The Wish)

So far, 2024 has been great. 

Regarding the Book of 42 Presents: 42 Stories Anthology. As stated, the book will come out this year, likely toward the end of it. We're in the publication stage. 

Please don't request any sudden changes unless they are unavoidable. 

Note: TinyLetter is shutting down. 

TinyLetter asked if I wanted to convert subscribers to MailChimp, where they charge money. 

Rather, I will send mass emails to people who subscribed in the past once the book is released. 

If you have a story in the anthology, you should have received emails from me already. 

The most recent email was about bios needing to be updated. 

All the best to you and yours this year.

   

Remember to remember . . .

   ~42 Stories Anthology Team

   Project: 42-Word Stories Anthology

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42 Anthology Author Contact Emails

 

Greetings,

The anthology team is trying to reach authors of the anthology about some edits and other matters before the book's release in 2024. 

If you have not received an email from 42anthologysubs@gmail.com and have a story in the anthology, please send an email there with the subject: Missing email. 

In the message, please write something like

My name is Author Person, my stories are in the Parent, Thriller, and Sword chapters, and my current email is authorperson@gmailss.com. 

All the best.

   Remember to remember . . .

   ~42 Stories Anthology Team

   Project: 42-Word Stories Anthology

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Anthology complete

 

Dear writers and readers,

 

A few notes regarding the anthology.
 
42 Stories Anthology Presents: Book of 42² has reached its goal.
 

The chapters have Story of Excellence Award winners.
 
All authors of the anthology have been notified of its completion.
 
What’s next?
 
If all goes according to plan, the book will be published by 2024.
 
We are trying to obtain chapter introductions from chapter award winners.
 
The authors are voting for a book cover from now until January 22, 2023, 11:59pm GMT either via email (42anthologysubs@gmail.com) or through the Facebook group. If you have a story in the anthology and are interested in voting for the book cover through the group, you can join by requesting a link via email. If you want to vote on the book cover without joining the group, you can ask me for a link to the covers and email your vote in directly.

 
That’s all for now. Happy New Year
 

~Bam

   Remember to remember . . .

   Project: 42-Word Stories Anthology

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