February 2016: Stikmanz Q&A

You've been working on this story for quite some time. Given that it is fewer than nine thousand words, what's up?
Actually, it has edged above nine thousand, and may grow a little more.  As for how long it has taken to reach its current state, what can I say? If I have talent at all, it is as a reviser, and this fiction has demanded—still demands—revision.

At this point, it seems like you've probably exceeded your usual six drafts.
Counting one way, I'm working on draft #8. But before starting this revision, I tore down and replotted the first third of the story—to good effect, but that means the first third is only second draft. This has also provoked a bucketful of subtle reintegrations between the new opening and everything else. Rest assured, though, that it moves. It is getting there.

Where will there be? Which of your previous fictions does "The Seven Jewel Bird" resemble? Rose Moon & Death on the Toilet has drawn warm comment. Are you building on that?
No, it's not very much like any of my earlier work—and yet, even saying that,  it still embodies my concerns and worldview. I set out once again to tell a kind of story I had not ever attempted, which put me back near the base of the learning curve in many ways.  Although there are similarities between the protagonist of "The Seven Jewel Bird" and Bigger MacGregor of RM&DotT, the new work is a tragedy, the first I have undertaken. Requirements of plot and characterization are surprisingly different from what I have done in the past. Even this late in development, every revision is another lesson in writing. I'll be happy to turn back to The Hidden Lands of Nod with an expanded toolkit.

You are aware, aren't you, that if you keep shapeshifting as an author, you'll likely never build an identifiable brand or credible market presence?
Yeah, I've heard that before. My promise starting out was that I would always enjoy myself on this creative path. There's something irresistible about setting a problem I have no idea how to solve, and then working it through to a solution. As ambitions go, it seems ever worthy.
 
Any final comment before you stop talking to yourself?
Yes. To anyone who has not yet purchased a copy of Rose Moon & Death on the Toilet, please do so now. This would really, really, really help the Stikmantic bottom line, as well as put into the hands of each purchaser a smokingly good book. It's available through your favorite bookseller, or via the link on the right, directly from Stikmantica.