Withersin’s Damned Interview with:
Kevin Shamel
I
write because there are other things I do that make it a necessity. I like outside and inside equally—and all
those words entail. I like to look under
rocks. When I die, I want diamonds made
of my body. I’d like to die either
totally horribly, or absolutely hilariously.
I rarely wear hats, but when I do, I like them to be slightly odd. Being torn apart by a mountain lion is an
ideal death. I sell t-shirts. I’ve lived on the top of a mountain in the
wilds of
List published works:
I
have a story due out in “All Possible Worlds”.
It’s called “Beef”. And the one
you can find at “Withersin”—“Red and Black”.
List website: http://www.shamelesscreations.com
How can we contact you?
kevin@shamelesscreations.com
In your own words, define
Withersin.
I don’t know…
If you were a sideshow act,
what would you be?
The Fortune Teller.
What is your greatest
non-literary influence?
Mitochondria.
Describe your most
irrational fear.
People.
Wait—there’s nothing irrational about that… Having my legs bitten-off by sharks after
I’ve been stranded in the ocean where my cruise ship bound for
How about your
most guilty pleasure?
I love to watch movies where major cities are
destroyed by disasters. There’s nothing
better than seeing the Statue of Liberty riding a tsunami into shattering
skyscrapers and rolling balls of people-car-debris, or watching Tower Records
vanish in a gout of magma as the
Name the most disturbing
nursery rhyme/fairy tale you can recall.
Thumbelina.
Though I can’t really remember the story, so I’m not sure why it
disturbs me. It just does.
Do you eat meat?
Yes, that’s why I have meat-eating teeth.
What were the skies like
when you were young?
Free of chemtrails. Crisp, clean, endless.
Name your favorite garden
tool.
I love those little hand-rake things. But I’ve never actually used one for
gardening.
Name your least favorite
color, first job and worst job.
Eggshell White.
Grocery bagger.
Cottage cheese shoveler. (Yes, shoveler. I
haven’t eaten it since.)
Favorite: Author,
Movie, Music Group, Song, and Quote.
Author: For the past few years it’s been A.A. Attanasio, but I like a great many authors.
Movie: Star Wars, SFW, Wild at Heart, The Fountain… the list goes on
and on.
Music Group: Right now Regina Spektor
has me.
Song: Blue Moon.
Quote: “I think that gay marriage should be between
a man and a woman.” --
If you were a loaf of bread
what kind would you be?
Wry.
(Oh man, the voices in my head are calling me a dork for that one.)
Weirdest news you have read
in your local newspaper:
People still read newspapers? That’s weird.
Why horror?
I like exploring all sides of this polar
reality. I think I’m probably drawn to
write about the dark sides of things because I can also see the light in
them. There’s something ancient about horror
stories, something more telling than what we choose to see in our
day-to-days. Something
more than we can say with other written expressions.
Because it’s shocking, and wakes people up to the
undersides of things. Because
thinking people read it. And because I like to scare myself.
Here's a photo. (seen on Interview main
page)
“INEDIBLE NOT INTENDED FOR HUMAN FOOD”
You
have 112 words. Go.
Shit. Some
asshole just snapped a pic of that sign on my ass
again. Yeah, it’s really funny,
huh? Ya wanna follow me to the next rest stop and be the next
asshole to ask me about it? Ya wanna ask me what I’m “haulin’”? Wanna ambush me as
I’m zippin’ my fly with your genius guesses about
what might be in the tank I’m trailin’? Jeezus H. Christ on a Frickin’ Crutch. I’ll tell ya what,
if you ask to take my picture next to it, I’m gonna
smash that camera of yours, buddy. I
might just smash it into your nose. Or your pretty girlfriend’s nose. Yeah. Snap-happy. Keep snappin’.
HOME GUIDELINES SUBSCRIBE ABOUT NEWS INTERVIEW