Interviewing Erik Quisling - Author of Fable from the Mud

Fables from the Mud

Erik Quisling:  I initially came up with the idea for Fables from the Mud shortly after I graduated college.  In the course of my soul searching and trying to figure out my place in the world, I was struck with the idea of a clam who was trying to do the exact same thing. For some reason it struck me as extremely amusing.  This is how The Angry Clam, the first fable in my book, was born. 

Lauren Smith: Do you see Fables From the Mud as a satire, cultural commentary or something more? 

Erik Quisling:  Fables From The Mud is about three little creatures – a clam, an ant, and a worm – all of whom are struggling with very human problems.  The stories are satirical but in many ways are simply a cultural commentary on the human obsession with finding meaning in the world.  All in all, they are designed to be amusing and to get you to see somewhat the absurdity of taking life too seriously.

Lauren Smith: How did you develop each of the fables? 

Erik Quisling:  Each fable was born from its own separate bout of inspiration. In each case, it was a single line of text that came to me that was like lighting a fuse that set the story on its course.  Once the fuse was lit, the stories pretty much wrote themselves – I simply had to go back and edit them a little bit.

Lauren Smith: Are any of the characters based on anyone – or any type of person - you know? 

Erik Quisling:  I can say that the more I read the stories, the more I learn about myself.  But I truly think each character is a reflection of some deeply common human experience – not of any human in particular. 

Lauren Smith: Which is your favorite character in Fables? And why? 

Erik Quisling:  Well, I have to say I love each one of them – after all, these are perhaps the greatest ant, worm, and clam to have ever walked the face of the earth.  But my favorite is probably the worm in the third fable Grant’s Tomb.  Living inside of Grant’s Tomb, feasting on the bones of the former president, is General Julius Gunther Weems, a celebrated war hero who led the worm army to victory in the last of the great cemetery wars.  However, after achieving glory and fame and just about everything else he ever wanted in life, he realized he still wasn’t happy – still not satisfied.  So, figuring he could never truly be happy, he sets off on one last mission to drown himself in the nearby Hudson River. It is on this journey, though, that Julius discovers the answer to why true happiness had always eluded him.

Lauren Smith: What did you learn about writing and publishing a book during this process? 

Erik Quisling:  I wrote a short story about what I learned that I will share with you now – I call it “A Secret to Getting Published.” 

A Secret to Getting Published

by Erik Quisling 

When Warner Books, one of the world's largest publishing companies, published my first book, The Angry Clam, back in 1998, the most common question I was asked was, "What were you smoking when you wrote this book?"  This was quickly followed by the second most common question, "How in the world did a 40-page, hand-written book with bad drawings of a clam get published?" 

The answer to the first question was easy - pure Turkish Hashish - just kidding.  (Actually, I awoke in the middle of the night with the idea of a ticked off clam running through my head, then feverishly spent the wee hours putting a frantic pencil to paper.)  The answer to the second question takes a little bit more explaining but I believe it contains one of the essential keys (and secrets) to getting published. 

The story of how I got The Angry Clam published is a brief one so I will share it with you now: 

(To read the rest of this story, visit my Squidoo lens.)

Lauren Smith: You also co-authored Straight Whisky: A Living History of Sex, Drugs, and Rock'n'Roll; which type of writing do you prefer? 

Erik Quisling:  Both fiction and non-fiction are a great deal of fun to write.  With non-fiction you get to interview a lot of interesting people and explore a particular subject very deeply.  But with fiction, you have a great deal more freedom to take license with the material and it can be an extremely pure form of self-expression.  I would have to say I prefer fiction. 

Lauren Smith: What tips would you offer to anyone writing fiction for the first time? 

Erik Quisling:  Write as much and as often as you can because you will just keep getting better.  Writers don’t talk about writing, they write.  Also, you have to play the game of marketing yourself full out like your hair is on fire.  Do not rely on anyone else to get the word out about your work.  If someone else (a publisher or publicist) helps you that’s great, but do not rely on anyone else.  It is your vision and passion for what you write that is going to make it reach the most people.

Lauren Smith: What can we look forward to in your next book? 

Erik Quisling:  My next book will be unchartered territory for me – a fiction/non-fiction hybrid that is semi-autobiographical – probably ready for print by 2030.  Currently, Fables from the Mud was just optioned by an animation company in Los Angeles to bring the stories to life. 

Lauren Smith: Is there anything we haven’t covered that you would like to include? 

Erik Quisling:  No, Lauren, thank you for the questions and I greatly appreciate your interest in  Fables From The Mud.

Lauren Smith: Thank you for taking the time to be part of this interview!