Hello, Dear Readers! I hope all is well.
In October 2022 I asked my friends in The Book Hangout Spot for some ideas on authors to interview. I did an author spotlight on a few of the recommended authors with Fall/Zombie-themed children’s books (read that post here). Each of them kindly agreed to do follow-up interviews and this is the first of those.
As you will recall, Lee Call is the author of Good Thing He’s Dead, a parody of the classic rhyme There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Here’s the blurb from Amazon:
“When a new zombie accidentally swallows the head of a statue, he tries to solve the problem by eating an increasingly hilarious array of objects. This rhyming tale of ravenous reanimation will delight readers big and small — kids who love spooky books, and grown-ups who appreciate a bit of twisted satire. With silly and stylized illustrations falling more on the side of goofy than gory, Good Thing He’s Dead will have horror fans young and old giggling at the zombie’s efforts to improve his situation, with disastrous results.”
I caught up with Lee last month and below is the resulting interview.
Trista: How many published books do you have? Unpublished?
I have two published books — my debut novel and my first picture book — and several stories published in anthologies and lit journals/mags. I have four unpublished books: a short story collection (forthcoming in 2023), a queer cyberpunk sci-fi, an illustrated book of apocalyptic nursery rhymes (think Mother Goose and Ray Bradbury have a love child that looks like Edward Gorey), and another queer project I don’t really know how to describe.
Trista: Which one is your favorite?
Lee: I think my favorite would have to be my YA novel, The Angel Room. It’s one of the most difficult projects I’ve ever embarked on, and one of the most rewarding. Getting to meet readers and hear their stories has meant a lot to me. Learning that my work has an emotional impact in people’s lives motivates me to keep going.
Trista: How did publishing your first book change your writing process?
Lee: Unfortunately, writing my first book hasn’t really changed my writing process, even though I really want to change. I’m working on changing! I’m what’s called an intuitive pantser, and I want to become a plotter. But it’s really hard! I believe in change though, so I’m working on my outlining skills.
Trista: What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Lee: The best money I ever spent as a writer was joining intensive novel workshops at the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference. Sitting in a room with other serious writers for a week is a harrowing, but wonderful experience. I highly recommend WIFYR to anyone wanting to expand their skills and hone their craft.
Trista: What’s the most challenging part of your writing process?
Lee: The most challenging part of my writing process is contending with the neurodivergent aspects of my brain. Hyperfocus, depression, manic episodes, imposter syndrome, and burnout interfere a lot with developing a regular writing schedule for me, so having to maneuver around those things in order to stay productive is the hardest part of the whole process.
Trista: What would you say is your strength as a writer?
Lee: My greatest strength as a writer is dialogue. I love writing dialogue. I’ve also been told that I write very vivid prose, which I think is a lovely compliment.
Trista: Do you believe in writer’s block?
Lee: I actually *don’t* believe in writer’s block. I think there are a myriad of reasons why I (or anyone) can’t write at any given time, and don’t believe that any of them are the fabled “writer’s block.” I’m an artist by profession, and I’ve learned that the quickest way to get past creative scarcity thinking is to sit down at the blank canvas and just start painting, whether or not it’s good or worthy. I really do think the same thing applies to writing. Sitting down with the blank page and writing anything, even the words, “I don’t know what to write,” can start the gears rolling. Sometimes I’ll just sit my characters down in a coffee shop and let them start talking, and that will inspire new ideas.
Trista: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Lee: When I was eight, I read a series of books when I was home sick with chicken pox. I’d read everything “age appropriate” in the house up ‘til then, many times over, and I stared into the abyss of a week off of school with horror. I asked my dad for books, and he gave me — I think as a personal joke — several books that I would personally never think to hand to an 8-year-old: Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, 1984, and Ray Bradbury’s R is for Rocket and S is for Space. This was the moment I fell in love with sci-fi, and in the case of Ray Bradbury’s story A Sound of Thunder, with the idea of writing itself. It was then I realized I wanted to be a writer too.
Trista: Are you a full-time author?
Lee: I am a full-time artist/illustrator/author. That means I spend almost all my time making stuff. So… yes?
Trista: Who is your favorite author?
Lee: Oh…. My favorite author. That’s really hard. I’d have to say my all-time favorite is still Bradbury. I still find his work so enduring.. so inspiring. Runner-ups would have to be Karen Russell, Joshua Whitehead, Paul Tremblay, Alexis Hall, Adam Silvera, TJ Klune, Dean Atta, Joe Hill, David Levithan… sorry, this list could extend into infinity.
Trista: If you could go back to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would that be?
Lee: I would tell my writer child or teen self to write every day, without fail. I would tell myself to keep working on those projects that I started and gave up on (that novel about time-traveling dragons I started in fifth grade, written all in cursive). I would tell myself to seek out queer literature, even though it was much harder to find back then. I would tell myself that someday I will have books on the shelf in Barnes & Noble, and that people will cry when they talk to me about how much my stories mean to them. I would tell myself not to give up.
Trista: Is there anything else you’d like to say to your readers?
Lee: Read queer books! Read books by BIPOC authors, by disabled and neurodivergent and trans authors. Lift up voices that have historically been marginalized or silenced. Tell people about the books you like, and leave reviews on the ones you love, everywhere you can! And if you want to be an author, read a lot of books, and write every day.
Trista: Thanks so much for joining me, Lee. I appreciate you taking the time for our interview!
Lee’s website and social media links:
Website: http://www.callthewriter.com
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lee-Call/author/B09KZN5Q87?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
Socials: @callthewriter (everywhere except Instagram)
Instagram: @callthewriterlee
God bless,
~T
Books by Trista 