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Thursday Thirteen: 13 Questions for Christopher Allen!

13/9/2012

22 Comments

 
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Four years ago, while I workshopped the original short-story form of Ask Me if I'm Happy on a writing site called URBIS, I read some excerpts from Christopher Allen. We got to be online friends after I rated the excerpts and shared my thoughts on them, and soon we were chatting about things other than books or writing. I thought he was funny and definitely talented - ask other folks, they'll tell you the same! - and I expected to see more of his URBIS project soon.

Well, it took a little longer than expected - these things often do - but now the big day has come! So please, allow me to share with you:

Thursday Thirteen: 
13 Questions for Christopher Allen!

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1) What one thing would you want readers to know about you?

That I mean them no harm. I want them to laugh until their bellies jiggle. I want their tear ducts to be cleansed through uproarious giggling fits.

2) Is there a genre you'd like to write in, but haven't tried? If so, why not?

I’ve written in just about every genre out there except western. Is that still what they call it? I remember reading several western mysteries as a teenager, and I liked them very much. I wouldn’t want to write a western, though. Although I have dabbled in science fiction, I’ve never finished a story. Definitely science fiction. Something like Stargate. Big fan.

3) Your previous stories have often had a contemplative or bittersweet quality to them. The new book seems to be a departure from that. Was there a reason for this?

I think contemplative and crazy are just two parts of me that come out at different times. Conversations with S. Teri O’Type has been a wild book to write, and I hope it will be just as wild to read. It’s humor and parody and most of all satire. Nothing here is serious except everything.

4) How much of your real life informs your writing?

My inner life—my worries and my dreams—informs my writing a great deal, but if you mean my day-to-day life of teaching and mowing the lawn and making dinner, etc. I try to keep that separate. There are times that certain situations will spark an idea for a story. The oak in the backyard keeps giving me stories. Then the hedge gave me one. I should spend more time out there.

5) Where have you been published previously?

Most of my work has been published at literary ezines, most recently at SmokeLong Quarterly. Others include A-Minor Magazine, Blue Five Notebook Series, Gone Lawn, Referential Magazine, Every Day Fiction, The Legendary, Pure Slush and Metazen (where I’m an editor). I’ve had non-fiction published at Connotation Press and BootsnAll Travel, and several of my creative non-fiction pieces have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul (print, mass market). I’ve also been very fortunate to have landed in cool short story/flash collections like Flash Fiction Fridays and STRIPPED, a collection of anonymous flash fiction.

6) You live in Europe but you're from the US. Does being an expat affect your writing style?

It certainly does, I’m just not sure how. I wish I could go back and forth between parallel universes and see Christopher Allen in Nashville vs. Christopher Allen in Munich. I’m sure I’ve become a different person, so of course my writing style has developed differently. Maybe this is the science fiction novel I’ll end up writing. Or not. I am certainly more secluded her than I would have been if I’d stayed in Nashville. Seclusion is good for writing.

7) What is your typical writing workday like?

I wake up at around 6a.m. I used to get up at 5a.m. but I’ve trained my body to lie there and suck it up for another hour. I turn on my computer and let the old bag boot while I make coffee. I check my e-mails, I check facebook, I check my blog, I sip my coffee, I check Twitter. I chat with people in the US who’ve not gone to bed yet. I sip my coffee. I notice the piles of reminders on my desk. Here are the ones I’m looking at today. March AWP! Indie Author News! Check SmokeLong! Message classes about tomorrow!! Gay Book Club NYC!!! Edit “Furniture”! My notes tend to scream at me. I start checking off the things on the list, which is much longer than this. I haven’t listed the names of people I’m working with on interviews and such. I take a nap because my shoulder is hurting. You get the picture. I should be writing, but I’ve just come back from vacuuming the kitchen.

8) Which writers have influenced/inspired you?

I love writers like Chuck Palahnuik and Daniel Handler and Lucy Ellmann and Julie Innis. One of my favorite writers is Jincy Willett. I love all these people for their sharp wit and exciting prose. I want to be all of them when I get taller. I’ve never lost hope.

9) Do you have a "target audience"?

All people on planet Earth would be nice. Doing the math, I think that would make me the richest man on planet Earth. But let’s say that doesn’t happen. I would hope that people—not just gay men—who love humor and stories that break away from the mold just a bit would love, or at least read, or at least buy, Conversations with S. Teri O’Type. The cover is very pretty, so it would look great on coffeetables and bathroom shelves. It is a story about a man in his mid-forties who has never learned how to be gay, so . . . um . . . I see this is the next question. Moving right along . . .

10) What is this book about?

So Curt, a dysfagtional man in his mid-forties, enlists the help of a self-proclaimed “gayru” to help him get gay. It’s a farcical jaunt down the Road to Greater Gayness, an absurd tale, a train wreck of sorts between a guy who thinks he knows nothing and a monster who thinks he knows everything.  

11) When did you first get the idea for this particular book?

I wrote the first Conversation on an online workshop in 2008 I believe. Fifteen of the 30 Conversations were born in the online workshop, but the story actually took shape much later. It has been a long process. Deciding what Curt, the narrator, really wants came much later than 2008.

12) Was this book inspired by anyone in your life?

It’s funny you ask that. My partner, who read half of the book on a plane last week, thinks he’s Curt. And maybe there are aspects of Curt in him. I remember once when we were living in London in 1998, he hung all the pictures in the living room very very close to the ceiling. I was shocked, and we had a “little” argument about it. Everyone knows pictures are supposed to be hung at eye-level, don’t they? This may have been the first time I thought, Hmmm not all gay men can hang a picture. And this might have been the germ for the book. Other than that one moment, Teri and Curt represent an elephant-in-the-room dialogic among gay men: To Be or Not to Beyoncè—which became one of the later Conversations.

13) You really are adorable, aren't you?  (readers of Christopher's I Must Be Off blog will get that one...)

Yes! I really really am adorable. It’s true. Some people don’t believe it, but when they meet me in person, they often pinch my fat little cheeks. Just don’t shove past me in a bar. 

If you'd like to purchase Christopher's book, click on the cover above or go to any Amazon site, worldwide!
Christopher Allen is the author of the adult cartoon satire Conversations with S. Teri O'Type. In 2011, Allen was a finalist at Glimmer Train and a Pushcart Prize nominee. He blogs at www.imustbeoff.com.
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Ask Me if I'm Happy - Now on Smashwords!

5/5/2011

0 Comments

 
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That's right! Ask Me if I'm Happy is now back in e-book format, and is currently available on Smashwords. If you've wanted a copy for your e-reader, now's the time to act! But don't worry - it won't be going away anytime soon. ;-)

Also, if you've already read Ask Me... and would like a short, sexy read to pass the time, the prequel novella "Alternate Rialto" is also available on Smashwords, as well as on BN.com for the NOOK e-reader.

Here's the blurb:

All Emily Miller wants from her trip to Italy is the chance to get over her recent breakup. Watching her beautiful best friend Jenn revel in the attention of countless available men isn't helping matters. After arriving in Venice for the final week of their trip, hurt and disappointed, Emily strikes out on her own.

After a chance encounter in a paper shop, she finds herself the object of the affections of a handsome Venetian named Jacopo. At his invitation, she decides to throw caution to the wind and take a chance on a once-in-a-lifetime fling. Before she can do so, however, Emily must let go of the pain of her past and learn how to trust her own judgment in matters of the heart. Nevertheless, as Jacopo reveals more about himself and his surprisingly long-term intentions toward her, Emily comes to realize that in Venice, not all the masks are put away after Carnevale.

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13 Bits of Trivia from Ask Me if I'm Happy!

9/12/2010

15 Comments

 
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I've decided to do something a little different this week. If you are a member of Goodreads, it might be worth keeping a copy of this Thursday Thirteen around, as I'm prepping a quiz for that site, based on Ask Me if I'm Happy! (Which, by the way, would make an excellent gift for Christmas, either as a paperback or Kindle e-book...)

So when you've read the book, you can have fun answering these questions - and more! - or you can have a go without having read it yet. I promise, there are no spoilers.

So, I now present to you:
13 Ask Me if I'm Happy
Trivia Questions

1)     The novel is divided into how many sections?

a)     One

b)     Three

c)     Five

d)     Six
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2)     Davide shares his last name with a famous Italian. Who is it?

a)     Bruno Magli

b)     Sophia Loren

c)     Enzo Ferrari

d)     Anna Magnani

3)     Emily had a job in Italy. What was it?

a)     Singer

b)     Bank clerk

c)     Teacher

d)     Tour guide in Venice
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4)     There are two statues on the cover, one of which plays a role in the story. Where are the statues found?

a)     University of Bologna

b)     Piazza Maggiore and Piazza Galvani

c)     Piazza San Domenico and Piazza San Francesco

d)     Piazza del Nettuno and Parco della Montagnola

5)     The title is the translation of which Italian phrase?

a)     Chiedimi se sono felice

b)     Dimmi un piccolo bugia

c)     Dammi un piccolo sorriso

d)     Provare il tuo amore

6)     Where did Emily and Davide first meet?

a)     At the airport

b)     On the London Underground

c)     In a parking lot

d)     On a train

7)     Something about Davide's appearance makes Emily smile. What is it?

a)     His glasses

b)     His scarf

c)     His shoes

d)     His shirt
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8)     Why does this make her smile?

a)     They're scratched

b)     It's unraveling

c)     They're scuffed

d)     It's dirty

9)     Why does Emily go to Rovigo?

a)     To meet her ex-husband Jacopo and reconcile

b)     For a teaching conference

c)     Sightseeing

d)     For the sale of her house there
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10) Why is Emily in Bologna at the beginning of the book?

a)     Italian lessons

b)     For the annual book fair

c)     She's stranded by a transportation strike

d)     She's there to hire a detective to follow her ex-husband

11) What happens when Davide goes to Milano?

a)     Trick question – he never goes to Milano

b)     He has dinner with Emily and falls asleep on the sofa in her room

c)     He stays up all night plotting to seduce Emily

d)     He spends a restless night alone thinking about his ex-fiancée
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12) Where does Davide live in Bologna?

a)     A flat in the city centre

b)     In the suburbs

c)     A tiny, cramped loft near the university

d)     Next to McDonald's

13) What does Emily keep in her planner at the beginning of the novel?

a)     A receipt from her first dinner with Jacopo

b)     A movie ticket

c)     A photo of Jacopo in Rome

d)     A phone number on the back of a theatre ticket

How do you think you did? You can check your answers below.



















1) The novel is divided into how many sections?

b)     Three

2)  Davide shares his last name with a famous Italian. Who is it?

d)     Anna Magnani  

3)   Emily had a job in Italy. What was it?

c)     Teacher

4) There are two statues on the cover, one of which plays a role in the story. Where are the statues found?

d)     Piazza del Nettuno and Parco della Montagnola

 
5)     The title is the translation of which Italian phrase?

a)     Chiedimi se sono felice


6)     Where did Emily and Davide first meet?

d)     On a train


7)     Something about Davide's appearance makes Emily smile. What is it?

c)     His shoes


8)     Why does this make her smile?


c)     They're scuffed


9)     Why does Emily go to Rovigo?

d)     For the sale of her house there


10)Why is Emily in Bologna at the beginning of the book?

c)     She's stranded by a transportation strike


11)What happens when Davide goes to Milano?

b)     He has dinner with Emily and falls asleep on the sofa in her room


12)Where does Davide live in Bologna?

a)     A flat in the city centre


13)What does Emily keep in her planner at the beginning of the novel?

c)     A photo of Jacopo in Rome







And there you go - but wait!










There's one more thing!










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You didn't think I'd leave you without a pretty, did you?
Ciao for now!
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    Kimberly Menozzi

    Author. Happily Married. Survivor of life with two deranged kitties.

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