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One thing about me that many people don’t know is that one of the things I’ve been doing since the beginning of 2020 is working with the If This Goes On (Don’t Panic) podcast, which I helped co-found. I love doing this because I get to talk with such interesting people! Here’s the episodes from 2024 where I co-interviewed with the excellent Alan Bailey, who is the reason the podcast keeps going.
We interview Tananarive Due about THE REFORMATORY.
We interview Alex Jennings about THE BALLAD OF PERILOUS GRAVES.
We interview Jamie Lackey about her Kickstarted novel, TOIL AND TROUBLE.
We interview Peng Shepherd about ALL THIS AND MORE.
If This Goes On (Don’t Panic) is a hopepunk podcast for sci-fi, fantasy, and life. Check it out here!
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I did a number of interviews on my YouTube channel to promote a Kickstarter I’m part of, a trio of theme anthologies from Zombies Need Brains. Here they are, collected.
Cat interviews Andrija Popovic about his contribution to upcoming book, Noir, edited by David B. Coe and John Zakour, produced by Zombies Need Brains.
Cat interviews Juliet Kemp about their contribution to upcoming science fiction theme anthology, Brave New Worlds, edited by S.C. Butler and Joshua Palmatier and produced by Zombies Need Brains.
Cat interviews David B. Coe about his upcoming anthology, NOIR, co-edited with John Zakour, produced by Zombies Need Brains.
Cat interviews writer Jacey Bedford about her contribution to upcoming science fiction theme anthology, Brave New Worlds, edited by S.C. Butler and Joshua Palmatier and produced by Zombies Need Brains.
Cat interviews writer José Pablo Iriarte about their contribution to upcoming science fiction theme anthology, Shattering the Glass Slipper, edited by Crystal Sarakas and Rhondi Salsitz, and produced by Zombies Need Brains.
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If you’re not familiar with the Submission Grinder, it’s a web utility that many genre writers spend a lot of time staring at. I thought it would be interesting to talk to David about how the Grinder came about and what it does.
Other links referenced in the video:
“Hakim Vs. the Sweater Curse” by Rachael K. Jones
“The Dictionary For Dreamers” by Cislyn Smith
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A reason the interview wa so enjoyable was that they asked really interesting, incisive questions about the stories in Near + Far, in that way a writer desires and dreads at the same time, where they’re seeing some of your psyche’s underpinnings shaping the stories that you create. I’ve been mulling over some of those questions since then, and was thinking about one on the bus home the other day.
They pointed to many of the stories being about the need for connection, with characters like the protagonist of “Angry Rose’s Lament” being addicted to a drug that makes him feel connected, the hero of “Therapy Buddha” projecting all his needs onto a toy, or Sean Marksman’s ultimate fate in “Seeking Nothing.” Going through other stories in my head, I see the theme of connection coming up in various forms throughout. I think that’s a basic human need, one born of monkey roots, an instinct to be with the other monkeys.
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Genevieve Valentine: Though your stories take place in different worlds and range from the comic to the tragic, a common theme is the intrusion of the fantastic into the everyday (for certain values of “everyday”); do you find it more satisfying, as a reader, when there is conflict between worlds, or cooperation?
Cat Rambo: Well – story inevitably comes about as a result of conflict. Where there is only cooperation, as nice as it sounds, stories become a lot subtler and dreamier and sometimes easy to miss.
To me one of the inevitable things about the intrusion of the fantastic is that it makes us rethink the everyday in a way that may provoke a similar conflict in our souls. The very best stories sock us in the gut and leave us gasping with realization that we almost missed a cathartic moment.
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Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.
"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
(science fiction, flash story) Discretion was the company’s watchword, or so Tiffany had been assured by Maria, who lived two floors down and had done it three months ago. No one needed to know. The technician was a thin blond youth, the left half of their face a conservative faux-tribal tattoo medley, almost retro, dressed in a bland-patterned coverall. They carried a slim silver box, briefcase shaped and sized, the handle set on one of the smaller sides.
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