Welcome to the third installment of my series of interviews with the contributors of the horror anthology PURGATORIUM from ID Press! Now that we have the 4 members of ID Press completed, we can go on to the other contributors of the anthology.
I have found each of these interviews to be highly entertaining and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did. Today we have Kate Arms, Mel Cober and Samantha Banik in the spotlight.
Kate is always eloquent and she stopped me in my tracks with one of her answers. On the subject of her favourite genre, she replied:
“Wherever I can find poetic language about philosophical ideas and questions about what it means to be a human being, with a preference for writers who are willing to look at the dark sides of humanity and find beauty there.” ~ Kate Arms
Now that’s something I can fully get behind! These interviews are peppered with beautiful and thoughtful insights. I’m glad I poked the contributors…they continue to delight me with their responses.
I must remember to bring Mel a nice pile of fluffy kittens the next time we get together. From the woman who thinks being nice is overrated. 🙂
And I think I may have fallen a little in love with Samantha after reading her response to question #16. So very true!
Enjoy Kate, Mel, and Samantha’s interviews! All are wise, witty and wonderful…
Purgatorio Dialogues – V – Kate Arms
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Feeling passionately alive in the present moment.
2. What is your most preferred genre as a writer?
The easy one to write – now, if I could just figure out which one that is…
3. What is your greatest fear?
Horrible things happening to my kids.
4. What is your most preferred genre as a reader?
Wherever I can find poetic language about philosophical ideas and questions about what it means to be a human being, with a preference for writers who are willing to look at the dark sides of humanity and find beauty there.
5. Which horror writer do you most admire and why?
The one that most recently gave me shivers. I’m fickle that way.
6. What was your idea of horror prior to setting off on this adventure into Purgatorium?
That too much is badly written and involves jump scares and gratuitous gore, but that the best stuff is marvelously disturbing.
7. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Prudence
8. What is your idea of horror now that you’ve been to Purgatorium?
A way to explore the dark side of humanity without actually hurting anybody.
9. What else have you written?
Personal essays, poetry, contemporary adult fiction, a manifesto on how to have healthy relationships, a book of writing prompts, and too much unpublished YA fantasy.
10. When and where were you most afraid?
I was held up at knife point outside my apartment one night in my 20s.
11. Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to write a first draft that doesn’t need revision.
12. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
“A bag of groceries accidentally taken off the shelf before the date stamped on myself” (h/t They Might be Giants)
13. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
I need to ask my son. He’s writing the graphic novel “Death vs. Darkness”, and Misery is a central character. He probably knows.
14. What are your three deserted island books?
Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Huis Clos by Jean-Paul Sarte, and “Map: Collected and Last Poems by Wislawa Szymborska“.
15. Who are your favorite writers?
The ones I am reading at the moment who are captivating my imagination, the ones I get to hang out with, and Shakespeare.
16. Who is your hero of fiction?
The writer.
17. What sound grates on you more than any other?
The video game soundtracks from all the games my children play.
18. How would you like to die?
In a book written by a friend. Or my sleep.
19. What sound brings you deep joy?
Waves crashing on a rocky shore.
20. What is your motto?
Carpe the F*ck Out of This Diem. (Stolen from a mentor, Kristen Bentley, who took it from her mentor, L.A. Reding.
On the Web, KATE can be found:
Purgatorio Dialogues – VI – Mel Cober
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Living at Disney full time.
2. What is your most preferred genre as a writer?
I prefer to write in darker genres, but I’ve written in many.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Spiders. Oh wait- this could be used against me. Piles of fluffy kittens is my worst fear.
4. What is your most preferred genre as a reader?
5. Which horror writer do you most admire and why?
Is it cliche to say Stephen King? Because he gets it done, and he’s by far the best known. (please don’t use this one Kevin)
6. What was your idea of horror prior to setting off on this adventure into Purgatorium?
Everything from things that go bump in the night, to an alien abduction to a demon peeling the skin off it’s victim. Anything can become a horror story, if told right.
7. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Being polite. Sometimes, you need to stand up for yourself (or others) and be that bitch.
8. What is your idea of horror now that you’ve been to Purgatorium?
Same as 6
9. What else have you written?
I’ve written blogs for Boom 97.3, articles for small publications and many short stories.
10. When and where were you most afraid?
When my grandma had a stroke and I got the call from my dad. Sadly, she didn’t make it.
11. Which talent would you most like to have?
To be able to finish a task w/o distraction. Oh look…is that a squirrel?
12. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
A cat. I’d love to sit in the sun all day and nap, and have someone feed me.
13. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Misery without company?
14. What are your three deserted island books?
All the Bright Places, Eleanor and Park and a book that changes each time you read it. 😉
15. Who are your favorite writers?
Everyone in Purgatorium.
16. Who is your hero of fiction?
(Not answered)
17. What sound grates on you more than any other?
The beeping of our water softener that beeps constantly a full two weeks before it will run out of salt.
That or Dale Long. 😉
18. How would you like to die?
No one likes to die. So I suppose in my sleep is best.
19. What sound brings you deep joy?
The sound of the water lapping on a dock during a summer night, while I type away.
20. What is your motto?
If you ever leave me I’m coming with you.
Purgatorio Dialogues – VII – Samantha Banik
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
That moment when I walk in the room to pick my daughter up from daycare and she first sees me. That look in her eye of unconditional love and happiness, followed by pure excitement as she runs into my arms squealing. That right there. That is my happy place.
2. What is your most preferred genre as a writer?
Apparently I have a few.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Losing my Mom or my daughter. And being abducted by aliens…clowns too. Hate clowns.
4. What is your most preferred genre as a reader?
Anything. I will read anything.
5. Which horror writer do you most admire and why?
Bram Stoker. Dracula was the first horror piece I ever read. I love his style. It’s the first book I think of when I think about horror books.
6. What was your idea of horror prior to setting off on this adventure into Purgatorium?
A world in which chocolate does not exist. Oh, and smelling poop. You can’t trust the smell of poop. Ask any mom.
7. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Patience. Whoever made that list, did not have children.
8. What is your idea of horror now that you’ve been to Purgatorium?
A world in which writers do not exist.
9. What else have you written?
The Pirate – WIP, Fallen From Grace – WIP, plus many, many unfinished pieces. Several articles for the Orono Weekly Times.
10. When and where were you most afraid?
Standing outside of my father’s house the night he died knowing what I was going to find when I entered.
11. Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to sing well. Though, I do anyway even though I sound like a wounded guinea pig.
12. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
Losing This was a hard one too. I think a cat. They have pretty good lives. Nine of them to boot.
13. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Losing a loved one. It’s a pain that runs deep and never truly goes away.
14. What are your three deserted island books?
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, How to Build a Raft out of Sticks and Leaves by Samantha Banik (WIP), War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
15. Who are your favorite writers?
I have many, but a few are Jane Austen, Diana Gabaldon, D.H. Lawrence, J.R.R. Tolkien, and all of my writer friends 🙂
16. Who is your hero of fiction?
All the heroes and heroines of every story I’ve ever read. I had to think about this one and I couldn’t come up with any one character.
17. What sound grates on you more than any other?
The sound of negativity.
18. How would you like to die?
Preferably in my sleep, but trying to save the world from an alien invasion would be cool too.
19. What sound brings you deep joy?
My daughter’s laughter.
20. What is your motto?
One is never served so well as by oneself, or – If you want something done right, do it yourself.
On the Web, SAMANTHA can be found:
One more installment of Purgatorio Dialogues to come! Look for it next week!
In the meantime, LIKE ID PRESS ON FACEBOOK and don’t forget to ADD PURGATORIUM TO YOUR SHELF ON GOODREADS!
PURGATORIUM…It’s coming!
KEVIN CRAIG 
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