Danger Slater is the author of many strange works of fiction, including the Wonderland Award-winning novel I Will Rot Without You. He lives in Portland.
Impossible James
- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Fungasm Press (15 Jun. 2019)
KR: Coffee?
KR: Could you tell me a little about yourself, please?
My name is Danger Slater. I write books and do other things too. I tried ice skating once and I kept falling over. This was back in 2000/2001. I was on a date. The girl I was with was not impressed by my skills. I vowed that day to become the greatest ice skater in the entire world. And I did it. I accomplished that goal. I am now the greatest ice skater in the entire world.
KR: What do you like to do when not writing?
Read books, watch movies, pet my cat, eat all kind of interesting foods at various restaurants around town.
KR: What is your favourite childhood book?
I always liked the Guinness Book of World Records. My mom would buy me the new edition for Christmas every year. She still does. We live on opposite sides of the country and she sends it to me in the mail.
KR: What is your favourite album, and does music play any role in your writing?
I usually listen to music when I’m writing. Shit that gets me pumped up and excited, like punk music. Unless I’m writing something sad, then I’ll listen to female balladeers like Lana del Rey or something like that.
KR: Do you have a favourite horror movie/director?
Dead Alive, the Peter Jackson movie, is probably my favorite horror movie. Or at least the one I’ve seen/subjected other people to the most.
KR: What are you reading now?
Dominion by Bentley Little, The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, and Liquid Hitler by SL Koch.
KR: What was the last great book you read?
Scarstruck by Violet LeVoit. She’s a phenomenal writer. Love all her stuff.
KR: E-Book, Paperback or Hardback?
If I’m taking it out of the library, a hardback. But if I’m buying it, an ebook. Not only is it cheaper, but I don’t have to lug all these damn books around when I move (which happens fairly often.)
KR: Who were the authors that inspired you to write?
Kurt Vonnegut. That was the first one. After that, it’s too innumerable to name everyone.
KR: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?
A little bit of both. I have my beginning and ending and all the little mile markers (or kilometre markers for all you non-Americans out there) I want to hit along the way, but stories have a way of informing themselves, and the more shape they take the less my outline is valid. I’ll often hit the third act and be like, fuck this isn’t what I was planning, now how am I going to tie all this craziness up?
KR: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
Zero research. In fact, I actively avoid it.
KR: How would you describe your writing style?
Somehow laid-back and literary, sad and funny, weird, wild, and never boring.
KR: Describe your usual writing day?
Wake up. Drink coffee. Writer for three hours. Then go live the rest of my life until the next day.
KR: Do you have a favourite story/short that you’ve written (published or not)?
I once handwrote a love letter to a girl I was dating outlining all the ways I liked her and how she inspired me. It was really really sweet. We broke up like three weeks later though. Ha ha. Wish I had a copy of that. I’d put it in a book and have one of my characters write it to a person they liked/were dating. Oh well. I think that girl is married now.
KR: Do you read your book reviews?
Sure. I like to know people are reading the books, and it’s a nice way to get some feedback from some unbiased strangers.
KR: How do you think you’ve developed as an author?
I keep getting better at it. That’s for damn sure. No formal training. No college. Nothing like that. I just read a shitload of books. I’ve always written, but with each new book, I can hear my voice getting louder, ringing truer. By the time I’m an old man, you’ll all be reading pure distilled Danger.
KR: What is the best piece of advice you’ve received regarding your writing?
My editor, John Skipp, was reading one of my manuscripts and brought my attention to a particular chapter. He didn’t tell me what to do with it, he just asked me (in so many words) “Why is this here and what are you trying to say?” And I thought about it for a long time before deciding, oh, the book didn’t NEED that chapter, which is what he was driving at from the beginning. He didn’t tell me to cut it, he helped show me why I should decide to cut it myself.
KR: What scares you?
Being alone, and also, being in a crowd.
KR: Can you tell me about your latest release, please?
Sure, it’s called Impossible James and it’s about a man with a terminal illness who becomes obsessed with the idea of impregnating himself with his own clone, while his firstborn son contends with an ecological Apocalypse which they may or may not be responsible for. It all makes sense in the text, okay? It’s an exploration of self under both a macrocosmic and microcosmic lens. It’s full of body horror and dark comedy and weird philosophy. I can almost guarantee you’ve never read anything quite like it.
KR: What are you working on now?
Just finished a book tentatively-titled Moonfellows, which is the 100% TRUE STORY of the first astronauts sent to the moon in 1906 and how they got stranded up there for 900 years.
KR: You find yourself on a desert island, which three people would you wish to be deserted with you and why?
You can choose…
a) One fictional character from your writing.
b) One fictional character from any other book.
c) One real-life person that is not a family member or friend.
Look, I just need my cat there. That’s the most important thing. After that, I dunno, maybe Inspector Gadget because he could use his dumb helicopter head to fly us the fuck home.
KR: Thank you very much, Danger.
Danger Slater
Danger Slater is the author of many strange works of fiction, including the Wonderland Award-winning novel I Will Rot Without You. He lives in Portland.
You can follow Danger on Twitter @Danger_Slater
You can find out more about Danger by visiting his official website www.dangerslater.blogspot.com
Impossible James
My father was dying. There was no hope. Then he took a screwdriver to the brain. Got pregnant. And found the cure for death.
Impossible? That’s my dad.
IMPOSSIBLE JAMES
You can buy Impossible James from Amazon UK & Amazon US
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