Small Spiral Notebook
FC: Congratulations on the wonderful and well-received anthology (rave reviews from Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly & Elle Magazine)! How did you come to select the writers that appear in On The Rocks: The KGB Fiction Anthology? From such diverse talent such as Victoria Redel, Philip Gourevitch, Aimee Bender, Mary Gaitskill and Ben Marcus, did you conceive of a particular theme to assemble the collection?
RD: Well, as I say in my introduction to the book, I selected the stories based on one criterion: they moved me. I wouldn't say that there's one overarching theme that unites the stories, other than the fact that all of the writers had read their work at KGB at least once during my four years as literary director. Read full interview...
Beatrice
RH: Most of the novel takes place in a single building, and I'm assuming you lived in a similar building when you were a kid?
RD: That's right. I lived in an apartment building like Sunset Terrace from the age of eight through high school, and it made a deep and lasting impression on me. Read full interview...
The Pulse
THE PULSE: What were some of the challenges of getting this story completed?
RD: Inaki lives in Spain, so we had to communicate entirely by email. I’d send him the script and he’d send me breakdowns and I would send back my suggested revisions and so forth. Surprisingly, though, the arrangement ended up working out really well, once we got the hang of it. We inspired each other with our work, which galvanized both of us to continue moving forward. It was a wonderful, symbiotic collaboration. Read full interview...
Comic Book Resources
CBR: How did story develop? What inspired you?
RD: I had an image in my head of a mountain burning, gorgeous flames leaping into the night sky, the beauty and the terror of it. The story basically took off from there. The image became the culminating moment in "Burnout," and from the very first page the narrative works toward this image. Read full interview...
Comics Worth Reading
CWR: What made you want to write a comic? And how did you come to Minx?
RD: I was working on my second novel and kept reaching this kind of cul-de-sac. So I decided to put it away for a while and write something radically different. Read full interview...