Interview with Author Kevin Maurice Miller

 

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? My love of incunabulua and esoteric subject matter.  As a child I was entranced with books like The Book of Lists, Ridley's Believe it or Not, and Very Special People. From these early primers, and other later works, I found subjects like the Dancing Dollman of Lucca (a street busker who operated puppets attached to his leg stumps), the Chevalier d'Eon (a transvestite champion of the short sword), the Hell-Fire Club (politically-connected sexual deviates), Resurrectionists (body-snatchers who exhumed the dead for profit), and Bateson's Belfry (a life-revival device claiming to combat premature burial). All of these longtime interests of mine are explored and fictionalized in 'Wigs'.   

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? Wigs on the Green is about the aforementioned little-known subjects. It was written for those of us who want to see more obscure matters explored.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book?  I hope that the reading of 'Wigs' will encourage others to look in dusty corners. If I am in the library and I see a book that has not been checked out or has rarely been checked out since the library opened I am automatically curious about it. I see great theatrical or film potential in stories like Julia Pastrana's, and yet few people have heard the name.  

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? The book's title is the gentleman's call to a duel. Upon first reading of this, I thought, How bizarre it would be to hear a man shout this in an affronted and threatening state, when it sounds to my modern subculture background like a trans call for a romp in the grass. It sounded to my ears like the basis for a Monty Python skit, though in its time it was a very mortal challenge. Throw in a real-life French transvestite swordsman, blend, and serve. The cover is a temporary creation. I tried to find a graphics company to produce a haunting pulp version that conveyed the menace of the title story, but I was unsuccessful.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? Advice: Stick to your guns. Do not edit your author's voice out of your work. Do not completely trust software when editing, and I'm saying at least apply the human factor after the other has had its say. Let your skin grow thicker, and thicker, and thicker, ... It is good to have detractors. Think of politics, it's the same thing.  

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? In the industry I see writers getting in line with each other and caving to a political correctness that is choking creativity out of literature, film, comedy, and our social consciousness as a whole. My next novel may be titled 'Retarded and Queer: What Pronoun Do I Take? And How and Where Do I Take It?', or 'Cooking Your Puppy', or 'Gun Control Starts With Shooting An NRA Member'. Children's literature? We're creating generations of future psychopaths with stories of rainbow-crapping unicorns. Where are the Garbage Patch Kids? Edward Gorey? Could P.K. Dick (if he were a first-timer) publish "Roog" today? or T. Sturgeon publish "Godbody"? or Abby Hoffman 'Steal This Book'? And tell me, truthfully, would any publisher ever consider 'The Catcher in the Rye', or 'Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'? Extremists are what is needed. Good, old-fashioned extremists.   

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book?  I could never minimize the great conduit that a long prison sentence is for producing literary works that reach deep inside the self. Join the ranks of M.L.K. Jr., Dafoe, Dumas, de Cervantes, Pound, Mandela, Genet, and Oscar Wilde. It is not recommended that the budding scribe should break the law, but if you find yourself in this predicament then I heartily suggest that you pick up the pen and get started. Once you've counted the bricks a thousand times, then assigned them all names and genders (I had a binary wall), and had your ins and outs with these bricks for a number of years, even watched them molt into monsters and then back into cinder blocks, then, my friend, you may discover the great escape of writing. In all seriousness, this was my catalyst. I had always lamented not having the time to write a proper novel. All I can say to that is, careful what you wish for. I also had a brief homeless interlude which gave me the impetus for a puppet play I wrote and performed in the 80s. Whenever life throws you lemons you make lemonade.  

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to?  As far as a writing style, I would have to say that I sometimes apply a method-acting style to writing. I have been in brawls--let's say--and to make a literary brawl seem immersive I try to include little odd things that I might remember about actual skirmishes. I should also say that I believe I approach the style of each story differently. If it's first person a verbal tic or the slight use of imperfect grammar may help set it apart. If it's third-person and fast-paced I might use a choppy type of delivery, even sentence fragments, anything to convey urgency. If it is a cold futuristic piece, I will try to strip humanity from the narrative, nothing that seems empathic. When writing a first draft I try not to stop, and never jump to another project. I also try to maintain the mood of everything around me and myself while on a first draft. For instance, if I'm in generally good spirits when I start a short or novel I try to avoid all conflict or negativity until it is complete. And the opposite is true. The end of a story, in my case, is a commonplace break in my aforementioned formula. There are times when I just hit a brick wall and it's usually the denouement. The epilogue can be written separately, it seems, with no problem. 

 

I am unsure of how to answer the comparison question. Concepts? I would say Chuck Palahniuk, or that is my direction, which doesn't really show in this first novel. I have seen parallels and even changed a few things around to avoid plagiaristic howls concerning P.K. Dick and Franz Kafka in my unpublished works. The first short I published received "subtle" Kafka comparisons. I wish that I could pull off something like Heinlein, but I just can't channel that man at all, comedic writing with serious social messages within? Tough. I do have a novel of humorous shorts ready to publish but they contain no serious social messages. First story is about a terrorist with an unexploded bomb up his butt. What do we do?!?! You see, no message there...or could there be? Makes you say hmm...

 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Challenges met while writing this? I would say getting maps of London from the years when each story took place, and growing comfortable with them. Knowing what structures were there at the time of each story. Geographic issues. The flash language, or criminal jargon, and when each word or phrase came in or went out of usage. And also, researching figures that little is known about.   

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?  To learn about historical factoids that are unlikely to pop up anywhere else. And to experience a "rip-snort" --whatever that is. "Wigs.." will cause the reader to "rip-snort", and one may find himself "rip-snorting" all over the place while attempting to read "Wigs", so, warning! "rip-snorting" ahead! Please, keep a box of tissues handy, and somewhere to dispose of "rip-snort" waste. 

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.