It’s SPRING!
I don’t care what you say, I don’t care how much snow you have on the ground. It’s SPRING!
Today we have a fascinating author, DK Perlmutter. He’s created a world where animated characters are real beings – but let’s have HIM tell us about it!
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
-As a child. The discovery that books were created by people made me want to be one, since I enjoyed writing so much.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
-That I write about things other people do not, such as cartoon characters presented as human beings. I thought I was also the only one who wrote about anthropomorphized animals, but, with the rise of the Furry genre, I’ve found that’s not the case at all.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
-Reading or watching other books, movies or television or listening to music.
What does your family think of your writing?
-Supports me 100%. They have actively participated in much of the editing work for my books, particularly at the non-fiction end.
How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?
-Two non-fiction and six fiction. The favorite would be America ‘Toons In: A History Of Television Animation, non-fiction published by McFarland and Co. in 2014, just because it was a long time in the making and allowed me to prove to myself that I had what it takes for writing. It’s currently being revised for a new edition in the future.
Do you hear from your readers much?
-No. I know some people have read them because they’ve left reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, but aside from a couple of social media contacts, friends and family members, I don’t really know who they are.
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What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?
-Having to pay money upfront to publish. That is where the dishonest people reveal themselves. All the ethical publishers never do that.
Did you ever consider writing a pseudonym?
-Occasionally. I have known some writers who do it because it allows them to write material that the audiences they have under their real names would not expect or want them to do. However, it’s hard enough for me to work as an author under my own name, let alone another.
Do you try to be original or deliver readers what they want?
-A bit of both. If I get published or bought or reviewed, it means I got the latter part right. The former comes more from my own judgement, and I am trying to work in that vein.
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How do you balance making demands on the reader with taking care of the reader?
-I try to write intelligently and respectfully. I don’t insult a reader’s intelligence, I don’t assume they come from the same sort of background or are of the same generation as me. I try to present what I feel is a fair and balanced narrative, properly weighed between the forces of good and evil, so to speak, and let the reader decide what is fair. It’s important to weigh these factors carefully before you embark on a project, because otherwise no one will be interested in reading it.
What does literary success mean to you?
-Knowledge of and recognition of my work from the wider world. Plus a regular income and secure bank account, which is my current concern.
Thanks so much for your time! Got anything else for us?
Yes! I like to hear from my fans; I’m on Facebook and Twitter. I also brought along a sample of Orthicon.
How exciting!
Excerpt #1
FROM I.M. STONED’S MONTHLY
February 2—-.
I have managed to make my way into the ensemble of exiled ‘toons, much to my own surprise. My outfit, as such, consisted of a rather second rate clown suit, with a prominent bulbous red nose, along with a considerable dabbling of whiteface and pancake makeup on my face for coloring. Discovering the lineup, I was simply able to take my place with everyone else, and, in short order, I have managed to make myself part of the gang. Cartoon charactersan be are extremely clannish but can also be quick to make friends. However, should you become their enemy…but, of course, I have no intention of becoming that.
When my turn in the lineup came, I feared exposure, but this did not happen. I was simply asked to state whence I came, since the officer on duty could find no record of me in the files. I simply stated that I had been what had been a vague background character- that is, an extra in ‘toon terms, of which the vast majority of them are- on a (non-existent) Saturday morning program from the 1960s. Rather than check my erroneous assertion, however, the officer simply took me at my word, and assigned me a badge with that and additional information I supplied, before hurrying me along.
This troubles me. If the people conducting the operation are so dispassionate about their job that they are willing to accept falsehoods so easily at face value, what does that say about the stability and logistics of the enterprise as a whole?
Excerpt #2:
FROM I.M. STONED’S MONTHLY
April 2—-.
What time has done here on Orthicon! What was a bustling community a few months ago has now become a decrepit, near ghost town.
What is the reason for this? Why, with all the comforts and amenities available to us, should we decide to decamp and leave for parts unknown beyond the central compound?
The reasons for this are many and varied. First of all, the discipline/regulation system has gotten completely out of hand. The EDC, wearing their garish badges of office, roam the streets early and often, catching and attacking in all conceivable ways anyone who remotely violates their sense of decency and decorum.
Then, there is the general lack of satisfaction with the living conditions here, and Snead’s hostile and fatuous response to them. He does not recognize them as his fellow humans and other beings, preferring to see them simply as obstacles and detritus on the path towards achieving the kind of ridiculous goals he and the EDC repeatedly cook up for themselves. Krinkelbein, thanks to his fellow Orthiconians’ copious thirst for liquor, is about the only one really profiting in any form or fashion from what is left of the American government’s investment.
Most of the beings with intelligence, gumption and resourcefulness have now left us to wander around the desert areas that surround the terraformed main compound, so that, perhaps, they may soon return refreshed in mind and body to confront Snead again, if he is willing to budge at all. The manner in which they have departed indicates to what degree the camps have divided. The human boys and girls have decided, rather arbitrarily, to separate on gender lines. Evidently, they have tired of sharing one dormitory with each other, but I do not yet know this for sure. The dogs, meanwhile, have organized their own plans apart from the remainder of the funny animals, due to, again, some imagined but likely possible schism. As I myself am disguised as a funny animal, I will be, forthwith, joining this camp on its exodus into the desert. Hopefully, I will stand the strain of the unknown climate out there[t1] .
The camps did not depart without fanfare, though. Each of their dorm rooms had all of its furnishings fully destroyed, its wallpaper torn off, and its bare walls decorated with a wide variety of substances, from water to urine. It was an epic act of vandalism that would have impressed The Who were they still alive to see it. Let’s see if Snead and the EDC can clean that up!
