Tuesday, April 15, 2014

PPWC 2014 Q&A - DeAnna Knippling

DeAnna Knippling, Author/Editor/Designer
Photo copyright 2010 Elya Martino


1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an author/editor/designer?

Author: It was while I was standing on the surface of the planet Caltrox III, living in the blissful freedom of that terraformed paradise, that I realized that not everybody had the same scope of imagination I did, and I should share it. No, wait, it was right after I cut my thigh- length hair and decided not to be the country western singer Crystal Gayle when I grew up and thus had to do something else.

Editor: You know how you read a book and realize you could write better than that? I became an editor when I realized I could edit better than that. Also, that corporate America will give you a raise if you'll fix their typos.

Designer: Someone told me she'd spent over $5000 to get her book published and was still paying royalties to them. I was like, "No matter how bad I am, that's one fewer person who's getting screwed out of five grand."

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

Generally, I would have to say I cannot work without my brains. Alas, I often can't find them. And so I have been picking off the retired people on my block and taking bits of theirs. I'm not so much a zombie as I am a vampire for brains, you know? The neighbor across the way eventually had to go to the nursing home, which made me feel bad, but that meant her incredibly annoying dog had to go away to her family, which made me feel good. Now the neighbors who live there are a) pretty young, and b) overenthusiastic about shoveling their walk, raking leaves, etc., which makes me worry that I'm going to get spotted sometime soon.

I also like tea.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Lewis Carroll--Charles Dodgson. "What were in those missing diary pages?!?" And "That Alice, was she a brat or what?"

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

One time Stephen Brust tried to pull a coin trick on me, but I caught him doing it. At PPWC, I always have a fun, relatively normal time. It's the people who are picking up the authors/editors/agents from the airport who have the truly great stories. Mine are like, "One time I peed in the next stall over from Carol Berg!" I'm a fangirl.

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

I asked them. My husband says "Daffy Duck." My daughter says, "Twilight Sparkle." I guess we know who's getting the brownie points today. I wish somebody would pick something like "third cage dancer to the right from Samurai Jack," but they probably won't.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

It's not a road in the sense of you getting onto it in one place and getting off it someplace else. It's more of a road in the sense of the @#$%^& map is outdated, the GPS tries to drive you into a lake, the names of the towns are in worn-out white lettering on half-covered signs during a blizzard, you're hungry and have been driving since 4 a.m. and it's now after midnight, and not only do you keep pulling off the road to take care of emergencies, all your friends, family, and grade school teachers that you're driving around in this Pinto all have world's weakest bladders and need to get out and pee. That is, it's always going to take you longer than you think, and you probably won't get to the town you thought you were going to get to by the end of the day. Also, there's a convention of other writers in town and the rooms are all booked. Get it? Booked...


About the Author/Editor/Designer: DeAnna Knippling has two minor superpowers: speed-reading and babble. She types at over 10,000 words per minute and can make things up even faster than that. She has been officially constrained from drinking Ovaltine per her doctor’s orders since a tragic incident involving a monopoly game, a blender, a cemetery, and a school play at age eight. Her first job was hunting snipe for her father at twenty-five cents per head, with which she paid her way through college; her latest job involves a non-disclosure agreement, a dozen hitmen, a ballerina, a snowblower, three very small robots, and a disposable dictator in South America. If she told you which movie was based on her life, she’d have to kill you. Her cover job is that of freelance writer, editor, and designer living in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with her husband, daughter, cat, more than one cupboard full of various condiments, and many shelves full of the very best books. She has her own indie small press, www.WonderlandPress.com, and her website is www.DeAnnaKnippling.com.

1 comment:

  1. DeAnna rocks! And I have it on good authority the Nick Cave song is about her. She's down here for your soul!

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