Interview with Author Dominick Cancilla

May 2021

Can you tell us a little what your story, “Joey and Rue,” is about?

Joey and Rue are a pair of young, extremely non-identical twins. Joey tends toward misanthropy; Rue is more of a Lovecraftian force of discord indetectable by most living beings. Together they have adventures in which Joey leverages Rue's impossibly precise view of reality to get free sodas or rain misery upon their enemies.

How did you come up with the idea?

I tend to have a very mechanical method of writing. In this case, I wanted to create a chain reaction of events that led to a specific goal, and creating Joey and Rue allowed me to do this.

What is your inspiration for writing as a whole?

I enjoy challenging myself to deliver a concept, create an unusual response in a reader, or just do something weird for the enjoyment of solving a writing problem. My most recent novel, Tomorrow's Journal, was the result of wanting to write a novel where blank space and page breaks are a significant part of storytelling.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I grew up in suburban Southern California, read voraciously, and watched far too many movies. I've been writing fiction since the 1980s. My early work was almost entirely broad humor that entertained friends and family but earned canned rejections from publishers. After about a dozen years of embarrassing myself that way, I realized humor and horror used the exact same writing muscles, and all of a sudden I had a chance to be marketable.

Where can listeners find more of your work?

Right now, I'm concentrating heavily on short fiction, so my work is appearing in various magazines and anthologies. The limited-edition hardcover of Tomorrow's Journal is being published later this year. Readers interested in non-fiction can check out my philosophy book Ask Yourself to be Moral. And if you want a real left turn from horror, you can pick up my travel guide for non-humans, Disneyland for Vampires, Zombies, and Others with VERY Special Needs.

(And just for Juli's curiosity): What are you reading now?

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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Editor's Note: If you enjoyed this story, you might be interested in reading the whole anthology, Brain Games: Stories to Astonish, with many more great stories. It's available on Amazon (ebook/print) and is free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

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