Today the Speculative Fiction Showcase takes great pleasure in interviewing M.P. Wilhelm, whose first book, Mary Van Amsterdam and the Tragically Dead in Recovery we featured on November 20th.
Can you tell us a little about “Cute & Macabre”? Is it a thing, or about to be one?
Cute & Macabre is my own little production label. I am just getting started with it. I intend to create multiple works that reflect the tastes of people who like grim but lovable things. I was initially going to call it Cute & Macabre Publishing, but that sounds like it just limits me to books. I don’t want to limit what sort of things I make, so it is just called Cute & Macabre for now. The first thing produced is the Amsterdam Afterlife Series, but there are many other projects planned.
You began your first life as a designer of gaming software. What prompted you to change to the written word - and images?
I am fortunate to have an education in traditional arts as well as computer graphics. I enjoyed a career in video games. Software, especially mainstream commercial game production, is usually a long, industrial-scale process involving surprisingly large teams and an ever-shifting dynamic of cutting edge technology. I love the excitement of working on such multi-disciplinary, collaborative teams—what comes out of the mix of influences is often surprising.
But, sometimes, you want to make something in a less volatile environment. I like to make things that express me. By writing, I get to focus on my singular vision (with input from editors and beta readers.) But at its essence, by writing, I can produce a work that is a more accurate reflection of the things I value. Doing small projects in a relatively stable medium allows me to make something all on my own. For the moment anyway, more satisfying. I love every aspect of independent publishing. I find writing and illustrating books, as well as tackling the layout, publishing, and marketing, very gratifying. My desire may change in the future, but life is too short not to do what you love!
The Mary van Amsterdam series was inspired by time spent living in the canal district of Amsterdam. Can you tell us more about that?
I worked a contract job as a consultant for a start-up game studio in Amsterdam. It was a dream-come-true to be able to live in a 17th century flat along Herengracht, one of the premier canals of the city. My time in Amsterdam was fantastic. With a “Knowledge Worker Visa,” I received my own Dutch Social Security number and opened a Dutch bank account. I even attempted to learn Dutch, though it was almost pointless (Once Amsterdammers detect any hint of the non-native tongue, they switch to English.) I walked along the canals to work during the week, and on the weekends, I frequently made excursions near and far. I took walking tours and learned as much about Amsterdam as I could. There is a ton of history to discover in the 9 Streets district, and the landmark Jordaan district, which famously features the Anne Frank House and Westerkerk.
I should also mention that, in a sense, the Netherlands was like going home in terms of my ancestry. I have a Dutch great-grandmother on my mother’s side, and my grandfather from my father’s side is Dutch. I was lucky to have access to relatives there. They invited me over frequently and made me feel very much at home. WWII and the occupation of the Netherlands directly affected my family, and details of the suffering they endured are genuinely harrowing. Dutch history and the Dutch people hold a special place in my heart. Even though I was there just shy of two years, it has taken me a year of being back home in the US to get over my homesickness for the Netherlands. Writing the book series is a way for me to stay there in some ways.
The story concerns a dead - ghost - girl who looks after newly dead animals from Amsterdam’s past. This is a really unusual idea. What inspired it, and why did you choose to make it into an illustrated series?
Events from the history of Amsterdam and specifically the Jordaan district inspired the main characters. On a walking tour of the Jordaan, I learned about the Eel Riots of 1886 for the first time. There is also the origin story of “Cafe het Bruine Paard” (The Brown Horse Cafe), where, legend has it, a team of horses pulling a fire engine plowed into a cafe racing to a tenement fire across town. I took these stories and looked at them from the perspective of the animals at their core. What would it be like to be an eel in an eel pulling? What about the point-of-view of those horses who slipped on an icy bridge? It had to be frightening to crash head-first into a cafe with a massive fire engine pushing through from behind? What would these souls have to say if they had the benefit of language and introspection that we have as humans? How would they find peace with it? Who could they tell to help heal their suffering and loss? Who would have the patience and compassion to heal their trauma? These are the questions that led me directly to Mary van Amsterdam and the Tragically Dead in Recovery.
I illustrated it because I ‘think’ in a very visual manner. I feel that my images help to lead the reader in some ways, and it helps set a specific tone. The characters in my imagination look pretty awesome to me, and I wanted to share how I envision them with my readers. Explaining that an eel is resting on the shoulder of, and consoling, a dead horse in a hallway is a rather abstract concept. With the aid of an illustration, though, it becomes more concrete. Though, I wanted to be careful not to take too much away from the imagination of the reader.
The first book, Mary van Amsterdam and the Tragically Dead in Recovery has recently been published. How did you classify it within Amazon’s mysterious system?
It was suggested early on by one of the developmental editors I worked with that the story would be a good fit for the young adult fantasy category—that made sense. My biggest influences are YA Fantasy, so I pursued information on how to obtain such a category. If you want to target YA in Amazon, you choose Juvenile Fiction -> Fantasy. Then set your age range 13-18+ to target the young adult category. In choosing my secondary category, I wasn’t sure my story quite fit into urban fantasy. It is primarily set in the paranormal realm and doesn’t have the gritty detective aspects, so I chose Paranormal Fantasy as my secondary category. I didn’t explicitly write the book to genre or market. Perhaps some would say that for my debut, this is a mistake, but I’d rather it be a pure form of expression than compromised by targeting a particular market.
The second book in the series is awaiting publication. How many books are you planning?
Yes, I just put the second book up on Amazon for pre-order. I am certainly doing three initially, but I hope to go much further.
How has your considerable experience designing video games (and teaching game design) affected the writing - and marketing - process?
Much of what a game designer is concerned with is the player experience. In general, how does the player know what they are supposed to do, what should we allow them to do, and what should we not let them do? It is similar to writing. A writer has to decide what aspects of the story to tell the reader, what do they need to know, what should we tell them, and what should we omit, to leave to their imagination?
There seems to be a renewed interest in the macabre, from organisations such as Morbid Anatomy (based in New York) to the Last Tuesday Society in London, England. Why do you think this is?
The dark and macabre have always existed in ancient cultures. I think it’s odd that this aspect of existence isn’t more prominent in modern culture. Modern western civilization still seems to be reluctant to accept the fact that without darkness, light cannot exist—with destruction comes rebirth and liberation. These are obvious and accepted concepts in Eastern philosophy.
I think another part of the renewed popularity is undoubtedly an appealing aesthetic. It may be an acquired taste. Still, the goth and morbid aesthetic promoted by pop-culture influencers such as Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro, innumerable rock icons, comic books, and other mediums, appeals to a broad swath of people.
But back to the broader aspect of it, the appeal of the macabre is a vital aspect of human nature. Our fascination with dark or scary things is a way of coping with the existential crisis we all face. We can choose to fear and avoid thinking about the inevitable destination of mortality, and the prevalence of suffering and loss, or accept it by embracing and celebrating the unavoidable “slings and arrows” of existence, death included.
With Mary van Amsterdam how do you see your readers? Or will they come from many quarters?
I think reflective individuals can relate to the vulnerability of characters and the story. Even though there are dark aspects of the book, it is a story with a heart. The main characters in Mary van Amsterdam suffer a great deal of trauma due to their untimely deaths. Still, they find refuge by sticking together and celebrating their differences and unique abilities. Even though the book is about death and the hereafter, it is truly a reflection of being alive. The book is a fusing of things I am fascinated by, metaphysics, philosophy, flawed, but relatable characters, a dash of allusions to European history both overt and obfuscated. People who like grim and creepy things gravitate to it; the Instagram.com/MaryVanAmstergram feed has drawn a lot of subculture types (goths, punks, emos, etc.) But from what I can tell, fans of the series are demographically very diverse.
Paris and Prague have featured in many fantastic and magical realist (and other) stories. Why has Amsterdam featured less (or am I unaware of a tradition?)
It is my understanding that Ketterdam, the setting for Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, is based on Amsterdam, but I am not aware of many other fantasy stories set in such a place.
In general, I do think Amsterdam is a little underrepresented, but I like that the city I love is a bit niche. Visiting is more relaxed than the hustle and bustle of the metropolises like Paris or London. Amsterdam is quaint and full of rich history. The spirit of the city runs much deeper than its canals, and just under the surface lie more profound meaning than most have the knowledge to appreciate.
Amsterdam is too frequently associated with its tourism, canals, coffee shops, and the red-light district. Unfortunately, too many people are not well-versed in what else the city has to offer. There is so much more to discover. Everyone knows weed is legal to buy, but few understand who Baruch Spinoza is or why he is vital to the European Enlightenment. His arguments for secular governance are essential to the progress of humanity.
There seems to be an interesting and productive blurring of the edges between different genres and media - games, television, films, books and more (not forgetting music). What are your views on this?
For me, this is great. I love ingesting all forms of media, and I love creating work in all sorts of media. As I have pursued creating visual art, poetry, novels, music, and games, I have found that a project truly shines when it best utilizes the complementary strengths of the medium. For example, some narratives in games work great, others not so much. If there were a narrative tacked on in between rounds of Tetris, the experience would be annoying and clumsy. There are limits to the way you tell stories in games, just as there are in books.
First-person narratives in games like Portal work most brilliantly, in my opinion. Portal could be a good book, but likely explaining the feeling of working through the three-dimensional puzzles would not be near as fun as experiencing it first-hand. Fortnite would be a dull book if it stuck to the way the game is actually played. Round after round of retelling of battles would not sustain most readers.
Reversing things, Sun Also Rises, the complete story experienced as written, would not entertain in an interactive format, unless you could taste the food. I always get hungry for brasserie cuisine reading Hemingway. As technology gets better, interacting with book-like narratives could become more and more appropriate.
What have you got planned next?
In the Amsterdam Afterlife series, books two and three, Mary van Amsterdam is bombarded with echoes of her past on all fronts. Her newly arrived ex (who she broke up with before she died) has followed her to the afterlife and is desperately trying to find a way his way back with her. At the same time, a new scourge of xenophobia is taking hold in the afterlife, in reaction to an influx of new souls arriving in disturbed states. The situation leads to the emergence of a totalitarian regime that threatens peace across the continent. It is just like what occurred during Mary’s lifetime leading directly to her death. As the guardian of the Amsterdam Afterlife, she is older, wiser and has more power than she did as a girl during the occupation. Now she is determined to stop the regime before the horrors of such hatred destroy everything she values. With that as the background, the secondary characters, Darkhorse, Aal, Tycho, and Fawn each play their part in dealing with the challenges. Book two also introduces new characters among Mary’s circle—allies, foes, and characters that fall somewhere in between.
I have several ideas that will extend the series far into the future, and other project ideas as well, but for now, I am determined to get the first three in the series going as fast as I possibly can, to build up a writer platform. I want to have the third book on sale by March at the latest.
What do you read or watch for entertainment?
Creators who express from their heart are my greatest inspiration. They are genuine heroes. I can’t name all the writers, animators, directors, and musicians whose work has made a significant improvement in my life. You could almost say they contributed to saving my life and, I believe, the lives of countless others. I think the world doesn’t give creators enough credit for the contributions to our culture and progress.
The works of J.K. Rowling are hugely influential and inspiring. I love how many great women there are in fantasy: Naomi Novik, V.E. Schwab, and Diana Wynne Jones, to name a few. I discovered Howl’s Moving Castle through the Hayao Miyazaki film, years later, I read the book and loved it just as much, if not more.
Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials is one of my favorite series ever. Incidentally, the new HBO show is good. Roald Dahl, Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), Edward Gorey, and again, countless others, are huge influences.
I am also genuinely grateful for the cheeky prose of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. The wisdom and gentle nature of Neil Gaiman’s stories are held close to my heart as well.
Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant is the last thing I read in physical book form. Lately, I utilize podcasts and audiobooks to learn and read while I work out, walk the dog, or draw. I am a fan of multi-tasking. I love In Our Time, Star Talk, and Radio Lab—to name a few. Writing, though, takes my undivided attention.
I can only listen to music without words while I write. I am so busy writing and illustrating the Amsterdam Afterlife that I have very little time for proper reading. After I publish Book Three, I plan to take a creative break and have a few weeks designated strictly for reading physical books and catch up on a long backlog.
As for cinema, as I alluded to, I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki. I also love Wes Anderson, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, and Brad Bird. I am sure I will regret omitting some influence that doesn’t immediately come to mind, but there is a limit to how long I can waste time finding what I think is the perfect answer to this challenging question.
Have there been any special influences on your writing or artwork?
I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but I think my whole life experience has influenced my writing and artwork. Everything I create comes from something I learned or discovered that inspires me. When I am not creating, I am busy finding new fuel for the fire. The arts, science, philosophy, and history are significant influences, but just sitting still and meditating is equally informative. The universe has a great deal to teach us, and we can access it externally and from within ourselves. Sorry if I just got too “woo-woo.”
I take influence from everywhere. As for the Amsterdam Afterlife Series, I think the key influences are The Diary of Anne Frank, Lincoln in the Bardo, and (believe it or not) Winnie the Pooh and The Wind in the Willows were significant inspirations. In a way, I combined their core elements, to get Mary van Amsterdam and the Tragically Dead in Recovery.
Some of our readers - and featured writers! - have been gamers. What’s the next big thing?
Games will inevitably become more and more accepted, to the point where they will be considered just another form of expression and creativity. It’s long overdue. Every medium has it’s elegantly crafted masterpieces, faddy, disposable thrills, and everything in between. But just as people dismiss Amsterdam due to their short-sightedness, games are equally dismissed by the uninformed.
About M.P. Wilhelm:
Marc P. Wilhelm was born and raised in Northglenn, Colorado. When he graduated from art school, he moved to the San Francisco Bay area and began a career in video game design. For two decades, his career as a professional game designer led to the development of iconic game franchises and an appointment as a professor in a top-ranked game design program.
Creating experiences with or without a controller has always been his passion. After two years living in the canal district of Amsterdam, Holland, he was inspired to create the Amsterdam Afterlife and its Tragically Dead in Recovery. The forthcoming multi-book fantasy series is planned for release in the Fall of 2019.
When not writing, he's making art, traveling, creating music, reading, playing games, or on a hike with his silly dog, Bravo.
No comments:
Post a Comment