1. When did you first want to become a writer? What were your writing ambitions then? Have they changed since then?

 

I would say I was almost destined to become at least some sort of writer. I began reading at an early age and was, in turn, pushed up a grade in school. I started seriously reading around six or seven years old, starting with Tolkien and Goosebumps books. I chose A Wizard of Earthsea to do a fourth-grade book report on, and, from then, I tried to emulate Le Guin with my own short stories. I’d type pages of never-to-be-finished mythos on my step-dad’s computer. As I matured, so did my taste in literature. My writing skills progressed accordingly. I started to receive recognition as I entered high school—one essay actually circulating through my state’s writing prep. I’ve dabbled in writing, as a hobby, and read books my whole life.

 

2. What made you want to write a piece on each of the writers that appear in the anthology?

 

I wanted to cover Hunter S. Thompson because there’s a writer I can personally identify with. Past the well-known archetype of Raoul Duke, Thompson seemed to me to always have focused on the epicenter of every shitstorm he witnessed. He understood how to turn those shitstorms, thus, into entertainment. I get the feeling he would’ve liked YouTube...

 

Furthermore, I chose Kurt Vonnegut because I’m simply a fan. His philosophy and story-telling technique is awesome. We share a taste for cigarettes and gallows humor.

 

3. Do you have a favorite book by each of those writers?

 

My favorite book by Thompson, is, surprise, Fear and Loathing. I’d have to say Vonnegut’s best is The Sirens of Titan.

 

4. Do you believe in the possibility of an afterlife? And if so, where would you like to go in your afterlife, and what might you do?

 

I’ve never really believed in an afterlife, though those beliefs have been tested by experience. I don’t think there’s a god or devil—no heaven or hell or anything like that. I believe we’re alive and then we turn into lifeless objects to rot. I can’t explain what a soul is, but we might have those. We’re probably living in a simulation, but reincarnation would be cool.

 

5. What's the next writing project you're working on?

 

My next writing project will either be another novel or something musical.