Four Segundo interviews are in the can. And I’m now coordinating with LBC authors for the next round. I’m going to start work on finalizing the first of these and get the Kirstin Allio (LBC winner for Garner) podcast remixed into Segundo format tonight. If you can’t wait, however, and you missed out on the interview at the LBC site, you can download the LBC-themed podcast here.
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Authors: Megan Sullivan, Rupert Thomson, Scott Esposito and Edward Falco.
Condition of Mr. Segundo: Looking for answers in British science fiction.
Subjects Discussed: How the idea came about, relentlessly cheery Swedish girlfriends, how Rupert Thomson processes his prodigious research, Ian McEwan, inspiration vs. craft, the trappings of being a “speculative fiction writer,” entertaining novels vs. literary novels, the difficulties of first-person narration, George Orwell, Anthony Burgess’ The Wanting Seed, Mikhail Bulgakov and literary influences, definitive grit in rural settings, disturbing characters, sex and death, decorum in fiction, what’s not talked about in fiction, manhood vs. multicultralism, Catholicism, the influence of personal background, Philip Roth’s American Pastoral, World War II, realism vs. postmodernism, hypertext fiction, compulsions, experimental fiction, literary vs. commercial fiction, and writing in longhand vs. writing on computer.
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Authors: Sam Jones, Ander Monson, C. Max Magee and Elizabeth Crane.
Condition of Mr. Segundo: Snubbed and self-righteous.
Subjects Discussed: Visceral voice vs. conceptual voice, the book’s origins, the Monson universe of stories, snow, self-help books, postmodernism, the war on ambitious fiction, John Barth, the original expansive form of Other Electricities, Twin Peaks, book design, Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves, experimental fiction, how Other Electricities was almost published by McSweeney’s Books, Rick Moody, Monson’s obsession with snow, mashed potatoes, Jonas Hanway, umbrellas, comparisons with Elizabeth McKenzie’s Stop that Girl, writers named Elizabeth, blatant autobiographical fiction vs. entirely invented fiction, Owen Wilson, the influence of pop culture upon Crane’s writing, numerology, three-minute films, Maury Povich’s sadism, writing for Nerve, the horrors of blueberry bagels, the influence of David Foster Wallce, Michiko Kakutani, the credibility of “by the way” in dialogue, being categorized as chicklit, dicklit, Nick Laird, on being reviewed, the pros and cons of being a woman writer, and New York vs. Chicago.
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Author: Dave Barry
Condition of Mr. Segundo: Reduced to second-string narrator.
Subjects Discussed: Suze Orman, footnotes, Donald Trump, lawsuits, phone calls from Paul Anka, daily affirmations, indices, sex with ducks, buzz cuts (1960 vs. 2005), the boomerang generation, getting reviewed in the NYTBR, Dave Barry deconstructs our Young, Roving Correspondent’s baroque speaking style, snobbery, humor, Lee Eisenberg, commuting, podcasting, reading books and farting, quitting his column, reader expectations, and working with Jeff McNelly.
[LISTENER’S NOTE: This podcast is probably the strangest one we’ve put out.]
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Author: Jay Ryan
Condition of Mr. Segundo: Not savvy with current music but remarkably focused.
Subjects Discussed: How Jay Ryan transforms a concept to music poster, whether or not squirrels attack astronauts, Shellac, Werner Herzog, hand-drawn typography, grumpiness, what happens when bands get an unexpected poster, printing on a mechanical press, smudge marks, bleeding, Rockwell Kent, apocalypses, getting involved with Michael Chabon, book covers, unintentional obliqueness, Fugazi, subtext and association, observing people through the window, planting a seed, the disadvantages of Photoshop and Illustrator, and working within limitations.
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