Vivian Caethe

Goldfish Grimm: If we could peek into your office (coffee shop, kitchen table, wherever you write), what would your writing process look like?

Vivian Caethe: Imagine a place where typewriters roam free and the clacking of keys is a constant sound orchestrated by a careful hand to spill forth glorious prose.
That place is not my office. I do collect typewriters, but they mostly stare at me with judgment in their keys as I pace my office or spin in my chair, trying to conjure forth the right words. And then that moment, that blessed moment where the stars align and the words come forth, then you will hear me type at over a hundred words a minute, trying to capture the effervescent brain sparks that threaten to run away from me. There’s a lot of sighing.

GFG: Was there anything in particular that inspired “A Curious Affliction”?

VC: It arose from a conversation I was having with one of my coworkers about how much I read and they said “well you must absolutely devour books,” which led me to wonder how books would taste and what could cause someone to require sustenance from them.

GFG: The title “A Curious Affliction” brings to mind the book about bibliophiles titled “A Gentle Madness.” Was this intentional or a bit of fortuitous happenstance? Are you, yourself, much of a book collector?

VC: A bit of fortuitous happenstance indeed! I have to read that book now, since it sounds delightfully up my alley. I am quite a book collector, but unfortunately cannot afford the most delectable books. However, I do find that trade paperbacks are quite tasty. The fantasy ones in particular have a light bergamot flavor, reminiscent of Earl Grey.
I kid, I kid.

GFG: What was the best thing you read in 2013?

VC: The best thing I read in 2013 was Catherynne Valente’s The Melancholy of Mechagirl. I absolutely love her lyrical prose style and her poetry is spectacular.

GFG: Do you have anything you’d like to plug or promote?

VC: Indeed I do! “The Desert Temple,” the second book in my novella series The Adventures of Vernon Auldswell, Gentleman Explorer is coming out in March from Bold Strokes Books.