31 Days of Monsters - INTERVIEW
GRRRRRRRRRR! ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH! MONSTER DAY TWENTY-ONE
Today we’re happy to welcome another author into our interview chair. When she is not writing, Michaela Vallageas works as a professional chef. Her delectable contribution to the Thoroughly Modern Monsters anthology is entitled Cold Cuts, and was admittedly one of the creepiest ones for this interviewer to read. Let’s get right down to that aspect.
STORY SPRING: Huggie. Okay, I’ll admit I was really freaked out by him. Can you speak to the paradox he represents, as far as innocence and violence? And what about Dr. Jollyhead?
MICHAELA: I’m glad you were freaked out! *evil laughter* Innocence is monstrous by nature - it doesn’t fit in, it doesn’t even know it should fit in. It knows no bounds. Dr. Jollyhead, on the other hand, knows everything about limits, limitations, bonds, straps and how to use them.
STORY SPRING: Jasmine as narrator was an interesting choice. Why did you tell the story through her POV?
MICHAELA: The poor kid is halfway between her “little” brother and the adults - she tries to fit in and please everyone, so she switches between the adults’ delusive chatter and her own, unvalidated but much more truthful, perception.
STORY SPRING: I believe Cold Cuts won for highest body count, even if most of that happened off screen. Is Huggie even aware of this unfortunate power he has? What is going on in that tendril-sprouting brain of his?
MICHAELA: No, he doesn’t know. He just wants things very hard, pretty things, good things: food, freedom, company. He’s a loving boy.
STORY SPRING: *laughs* Okay, now you're starting to freak me out a little! Is there any of YOU in your monster? How about your other characters?
MICHAELA: Yes, yes, of course! There’s a bit of myself in all the characters, except - I hope - in Dr. Jollyhead.
STORY SPRING: What monsters scared you when you were young? What monsters scare you now that you’re older?
MICHAELA: When I was young, I had a recurring nightmare of an animal whose shape was lost in the shadow, but whose eyes were fiery gold, and I knew that if I looked into them I’d be lost. Now that I’m older, I’m more scared of Dr. Jollyhead.
STORY SPRING: Why did you choose the genre you did?
MICHAELA: I didn’t choose deliberately; it just came like that.
STORY SPRING: What advice would you give to new writers?
MICHAELA: Write to please yourself, not others.
STORY SPRING: That sounds like great advice, even if it can be somewhat hard to follow for some of us. Thank you, Michaela, for that piece of advice as well as taking the time to let me and your readers learn a bit about you. Remember, tomorrow on StorySpringPublishing.com, the expanded version of Michaela’s interview will be posted.
Michaela Vallageas lives in Paris. She's a professional chef, a writer, and a wine buff. From spicy to sour, from bitter to sweet, from pungent to finger-licking delectable, she has set out to savour all of the world, all of the words. To see more of her online, you can follow @MVallageas on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.
Today we’re happy to welcome another author into our interview chair. When she is not writing, Michaela Vallageas works as a professional chef. Her delectable contribution to the Thoroughly Modern Monsters anthology is entitled Cold Cuts, and was admittedly one of the creepiest ones for this interviewer to read. Let’s get right down to that aspect.
STORY SPRING: Huggie. Okay, I’ll admit I was really freaked out by him. Can you speak to the paradox he represents, as far as innocence and violence? And what about Dr. Jollyhead?
MICHAELA: I’m glad you were freaked out! *evil laughter* Innocence is monstrous by nature - it doesn’t fit in, it doesn’t even know it should fit in. It knows no bounds. Dr. Jollyhead, on the other hand, knows everything about limits, limitations, bonds, straps and how to use them.
STORY SPRING: Jasmine as narrator was an interesting choice. Why did you tell the story through her POV?
MICHAELA: The poor kid is halfway between her “little” brother and the adults - she tries to fit in and please everyone, so she switches between the adults’ delusive chatter and her own, unvalidated but much more truthful, perception.
STORY SPRING: I believe Cold Cuts won for highest body count, even if most of that happened off screen. Is Huggie even aware of this unfortunate power he has? What is going on in that tendril-sprouting brain of his?
MICHAELA: No, he doesn’t know. He just wants things very hard, pretty things, good things: food, freedom, company. He’s a loving boy.
STORY SPRING: *laughs* Okay, now you're starting to freak me out a little! Is there any of YOU in your monster? How about your other characters?
MICHAELA: Yes, yes, of course! There’s a bit of myself in all the characters, except - I hope - in Dr. Jollyhead.
STORY SPRING: What monsters scared you when you were young? What monsters scare you now that you’re older?
MICHAELA: When I was young, I had a recurring nightmare of an animal whose shape was lost in the shadow, but whose eyes were fiery gold, and I knew that if I looked into them I’d be lost. Now that I’m older, I’m more scared of Dr. Jollyhead.
STORY SPRING: Why did you choose the genre you did?
MICHAELA: I didn’t choose deliberately; it just came like that.
STORY SPRING: What advice would you give to new writers?
MICHAELA: Write to please yourself, not others.
STORY SPRING: That sounds like great advice, even if it can be somewhat hard to follow for some of us. Thank you, Michaela, for that piece of advice as well as taking the time to let me and your readers learn a bit about you. Remember, tomorrow on StorySpringPublishing.com, the expanded version of Michaela’s interview will be posted.
Michaela Vallageas lives in Paris. She's a professional chef, a writer, and a wine buff. From spicy to sour, from bitter to sweet, from pungent to finger-licking delectable, she has set out to savour all of the world, all of the words. To see more of her online, you can follow @MVallageas on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.