I love Vanity Fair, and one of my favorite features is the George Wayne interview.
George Wayne is described as “a chronicler of global café society,” a “distinguished cultural arbiter,” (both from Vanity Fair) and an “invasive celebrity interrogator” (New York Magazine). He can be counted on to pose off-color and sexually-provocative questions to anyone, from A-list Hollywood actors to right-wing politicians. He’s kind of a forerunner to Sasha Cohen Baron’s Borat with a less intentionally clueless deviousness and more self-winking camp.
So I thought it would be fun to imagine Wayne interviewing the hero Jacks Dowd from my upcoming Werecat: The Rearing.
Retrieved from VanityFair.com
Here’s the skinny, my “next big thing,” as prompted by author John Copenhaver last week:
What is the title of the book?
Werecat: The Rearing
Where did the idea come from for the book?
It started as an experimental piece. I got turned on to shapeshifter and vampire stories only recently, and, as with most everything I read, those stories made me think: how could I write a great story in that vein from a totally queer point-of-view? Not just with gay or lesbian sidekick characters – I wanted to create a gritty, sexy love story between two men that was central to the plot, and really central to a fantasy world. I’m also fascinated by cats, so writing the fantasy aspect came pretty naturally to me.
What genre does your book fall under?
Urban fantasy
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
I actually blogged about that subject before my book got picked up by a publisher. What writer doesn’t daydream about casting her/his work? For Werecat, it’s extra fun because I think feline shapeshifters would have to be sexy and dark. I imagine an underground world populated by hot, scruffy men, high-shouldered and lean, sort of a throw-back to the grunge or heroin-chic model trend of the 90’s. They would have to have great eyes too.
My main character Jacks is a lost, rebellious college drop-out, and I’d be delighted to cast François Arnaud from the Showtime series The Borgias in that role. Jacks’ love interest Benoit would have to be smoking hot with a dangerous vibe. My first pick is Michael Fassbender. Then there’s a supporting character Farzan who may or may not get in between Jacks and Benoit. Farzan is tightly-wound and kind of goofy. He makes me think of Kal Penn from Howard and Kumar.
What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
Werecat: The Rearing is about a young man who goes to Montréal for Spring Break, gets picked up by a handsome drifter, and ends up on a terrifying and erotic journey into the world of feline shapeshifters.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Werecat: The Rearing is the first book in a series of novellas, which are 20-40K words apiece. I wrote the first draft in about three weeks.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Allison Moon’s lesbian werewolf novel Lunatic Fringe was a major departure point. Beyond her excellent re-imagining of werewolf mythology, her book made me think about the similarities between the shapeshifter trope and the experience of being queer, both in obvious ways like having to hide and being misunderstood, and in ways that are important to me politically and spiritually.
I think there’s something liberating about being able to inhabit two worlds. Queer people learn how to fit in, and sometimes pass within a heterosexual world, and we also cross “genders” at least in our private lives if not publicly. The Native American idea of two-spirit intrigues me – possessing both a female and a male aspect – and I could go on about that subject extensively. Suffice it to say, when I started writing about gay, feline shapeshifters, I found opportunities to explore the different facets of having a dual nature — socially, sexually, and politically.
I also worked a good bit of cat mythology – ancient world and native – into the story. Retold myth and legend is a fairly steady thread in everything I write.
Is your book out in print, upcoming from a publisher and/or represented by an agency?
Werecat: The Rearing will be published by Vagabondage Press and is upcoming in May.
Authors I am tagging next for The Next Big Thing Project:
Lydia Sharp – YA contemporary, fantasy, and romance author and blogger extraordinaire
Charlie Vazquez – Avant-garde author, poet, and master-of-ceremonies for New York City’s underground literati
Christopher Keelty – Fantasy/sci-fi author and civil rights activist
C.A. Clemmings – Author of literary novels and short fiction
While doing research for my feline shapeshifter series WERECAT (forthcoming in March 2013 by Vagabondage Press), I came across some interesting stuff.
Cat mysticism is about as old as recorded history, or older if you consider pre-historic cave drawings.
Paleolithic cave drawing depicting a lion attacking what appears to be a wildebeast
We tend to associate cats with ancient Egypt. Bastet was a feline goddess, depicted with the head of a cat, and regarded as the protector of the pharaoh. In later dynasties, Sekhmet gained prominence as a lioness war goddess. Pet domesticated cats have been found mummified along with their wealthy owners in Egyptian tombs.
Bastet, ancient Egyptian goddess
But cats were also important in many other ancient world religions. The Hindus worshipped a fertility goddess Shashti who was pictured riding a cat. In Central America, the jaguar was deified by the Olmecs and the Mayans, and associated with war and power. The tradition of their shamans dressing in cat pelts and skulls is perhaps the origin of the werecat legend.
Artist’s rather hunky depiction of an Aztec jaguar warrior
Many centuries later, the Aztecs were known for their “jaguar warriors” who were an elite military unit that wore the costume of the cat to inspire fear in their enemies.
I’ve always been fascinated by cats, and I think there is something godlike and mysterious about them. They’re uniquely capable of dominating their environment. They overpower smaller creatures, sometimes just because they can it seems.
Alternately, they are remarkably tender and protective of their young; well, female cats are at least. House cats also make a compelling case for having preternatural abilities if you’ve ever been alone with a cat in a room when it’s staring in a corner, or at the ceiling, apparently at nothing, with its tail swinging back and forth. Do they see dead people?
Then, there’s the fact that they spend about two-third of their lives asleep, leaving one to wonder: what’s going on in their heads when they’re sleeping. Or maybe they’re off in another world, astral-projecting somewhere.
Note: Factoids mentioned above were drawn mainly from an article by Sarah Hartwell, “The Role of Cats in Myth and Religion” , and a little from Wikipedia.
My insanely happy news–that I’ve been holding in until it became official–is that my paranormal fantasy novella WERECAT has sold to Vagabondage Press. The anticipated release date is March 2013!!
Earlier in the year, I dropped some hints about the story as it was in progress. There are rounds of editing and proofreading to undergo, in addition to developing promotional materials. The few words I can say for now is that WERECAT is about a young man’s wild Spring Break in Montréal that launches a terrifying and erotic journey into the world of feline shapeshifters.
More to come as marketing rolls out. I am highly honored to have this project picked up by Vagabondage Press, which publishes high quality, unusual stories from underrepresented points of view. You can check out their offerings here.