A Moment with Annika Howells
Tuesday, July 16, 2013 11:26
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Tell us about your most recent release.
Last year I released my debut novel, How to Disappear Completely. It is a psychological urban fantasy about a trio of misfit teenagers who retreat into their imagination to escape a grim reality of bullying and isolation. Together they teeter on the brink of madness as dreams and waking life come together in a labyrinth of psychological horrors. The trio must fight their inner demons, and each other’s, in order to survive.
What else do you have coming out?
I’m taking a break from writing at the moment to finish some studies. My next project will be a novel about a circus performer travelling across the USA in the 1880s. It’s going to be a challenge writing something embedded in reality after spending so much time in a fantasy world. I’m sure plenty of surreal, fantastical elements will worm their way into the story though. I just can’t help it.
Is there anything you want to make sure potential readers know?
This isn’t your average urban fantasy! How to Disappear Completely has more in common with David Lynch than the likes of Twilight. It is a strange, surreal, sometimes challenging book. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart.
What’s the most blatant lie you’ve ever told?
Back in high school I tried to convince some of my friends that Aster – a character from my novel – was a real friend of mine. I’d pretend to chat with him online. I still use his email.
What is the most demeaning thing said about you as a writer?
Someone once suggested that I could be a better writer if I drank while writing. I don’t drink at all because alcohol makes me unwell, and I’m quite self-conscious about it, what with the importance our society places on social binge drinking. I’m used to my social life being limited by my aversion to drinking, but for someone to suggest it was limiting my ability as an artist was deeply insulting.
How do you react to a bad review of one of your books?
The majority of reviews I’ve received have been very positive, and the few criticisms have been quite reasonable. I don’t think an extremely negative review would bother me very much because I’m well aware that my novel is not going to appeal to everyone. I haven’t tried to create a crowd-pleaser. I want my story to mess with people’s heads. Some people won’t like that.
When are you going to write your autobiography?
There are far too many characters in my head with far more interesting lives than mine. I would rather express myself through them than write explicitly about myself.
Are the names of the characters in your novels important?
Most of the names in How to Disappear Completely came from musicians and bands that I was into as a teenager. Others came from baby name books, people I knew, or just names I liked. They don’t really have any deeper meaning, with the exception of Aster, which means ‘star.’ If you read the book you may notice the significance of that.
What about the titles of your novels?
The title was taken from a song by Radiohead, who had an enormous influence on me while I was writing the novel in high school.
Are there any occupational hazards to being a novelist?
I have the spine of a seventy-year-old from spending so much time stooped over my laptop. It’s also quite dangerous for my boyfriend, who has to help me act out fight scenes occasionally.
How many people have you done away with over the course of your career?
Not too many yet, actually. I prefer to make characters suffer endlessly without the sweet relief of death to comfort them.
Ever dispatched someone and then regretted it?
There are characters I will miss writing about, but sometimes you have to make tough decisions for the good of the story.
Have you ever been in trouble with the police?
No. They never caught me.
So when were you last involved in a real-life punch-up?
I did throw a few punches in the crowd at a music festival. Someone had burnt me with their cigarette. I punched the wrong guy though. They were only feeble little girl punches, so I don’t think it really counts.
If you were going to commit the perfect murder, how would you go about it?
Just the other day I learnt that if you activate a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher in someone’s face it will suck the air out of their body and cause their lungs to collapse. So maybe I could do that.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I would like to be someone who is capable of using liquid eyeliner. Every time I try I end up poking myself in the eye.
Do you ever wish that you had an entirely uncreative job?
Life would certainly be easier, but it wouldn’t be a life worth living in the long run.
Do you believe in a deity?
No. I think humans are far too small and insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe to possibly comprehend the true meaning of things that are so much bigger than us.
Do you ever write naked?
I think my laptop would burn me if I did that.
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Maybe Zooey Deschanel, if she were shorter and wider.
What are the most important attributes to remaining sane as a writer?
Sanity is kind of optional when you’re a writer, isn’t it? I do think it is important to be able to ignore all the ridiculous advice people will try to give you about writing. “Never do this. Always do that. Adverbs are the devil. Don’t feed your novel after midnight.” You have to listen to your gut and do what works for you, not what works for someone else.
Have you ever read or seen yourself as a character in a book or a movie?
The character I most identify with is Asuka from the anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. On the surface she is nothing like me. She is incredibly competitive, aggressive and self-assured. But her underlying insecurities are very similar to mine. I can relate to her thought process. I feel as though with the slightest turn of fate I could have ended up a broken egomaniac like her. Of course, I don’t have to worry about fighting aliens from inside a giant robot like she does.
What is the single most powerful challenge when it comes to writing novel?
Truly completing a project. Putting enough words on the page to make a first draft isn’t too hard. But going over those words a thousand times, editing and rewriting them until you can’t bear to look at it anymore takes real perseverance.
What do you consider your biggest failure?
My inability to know left from right.
Do you research your novels?
I didn’t have to do much research for How to Disappear Completely as it is a pretty self-contained novel. Being an unhappy teenager was the only research I needed to do! I will need to do a lot more research for my next book though, what with it being set in reality, in a different time and a different country.
How much impact does your childhood have on your writing?
My childhood was nowhere near as bad as you might think from reading my novel. I didn’t experience any of the horrific bullying that the characters in my novel have to go through. But I was certainly unhappy at high school. It felt like a very artificial world that I didn’t fit into, which is what inspired me to create an exaggerated version of that feeling in my novel.
What was the greatest thing you learned at school?
The most important lesson I learned from school was from my history teaches, who taught me to analyze information before accepting anything as fact. It amazes me how gullible some people can be.
Do you laugh at your own jokes?
Only if no one is looking, otherwise I try to be as deadpan as possible.
Do you admire your own work?
I’m definitely proud of everything I’ve managed to achieve so far. I hope I can continue to learn and improve.
What are books for?
Books are really weird when you think about it. They are just pages of tiny symbols, collected and arranged in such a way that a person can look at those symbols and an image generates itself inside their mind. So I guess books are for crazy mind sorcery.
Are you fun to go on vacation with?
For a day or two. But I’m severely introverted and after a few days surrounded by people I begin to hate everyone and I have to hide from them for a while.
How do you feel about being interviewed?
It’s kind of like therapy, but cheaper, and with less crying.
Why do you think what you do matters?
It matters because no one else is writing these sorts of stories. There are so many books out there that are just cheap clones of books that succeeded before them. There aren’t enough risks being taken. How to Disappear Completely was too weird and too risky for publishers, but through self-publishing I can get it out to readers who are yeaning for something different.
Have you ever found true love?
I have, and I’m incredibly grateful for it. My boyfriend is also a writer, so we both understand the importance of incomprehensible rants and long periods of silence.
How many times a day do you think about death?
More often than I should. I’m a rather morbid person.
Are you jealous of other writers?
I’m jealous of Mervyn Peake. He is my favorite author, and I would give my right leg for even a fraction of the talent he had. Hell, I’d give both legs and both arms and type with my nose if it meant I could write like him! His writing is so lyrical, his description so vivid. Reading his novels is akin to stepping into a painting. If you have never read his Gormenghast trilogy, I suggest you get yourself a copy immediately.
What makes you cry?
Many things. I get depressed a lot. My whole novel could be interpreted as a metaphor for spiraling into depression.
What makes you laugh?
I’m a real sucker for a good typo. I work as an editor and I love it when one little stray letter turns a simple sentence into something absurd. My favorite was a report about a person with a history of drug use, who apparently abused “cannibals”.
What are you ashamed of?
Sometimes I remember that all my family, friends and coworkers have read a sex scene written by me, and then I can’t look anyone in the eye for a while.
What’s the loveliest thing you have ever seen?
I’ve seen phosphorescent algae that lights up around your fingers when you run your hand through the water. I’ve seen jellyfish form a carpet on the surface of the ocean, so thick you feel like you could walk across them. I’ve stood atop mountainous sand dunes with not a single other soul in sight, and I’ve rolled down those sand dunes into crystal clear lagoons. I’ve seen baby birds cheep from inside their eggs before they hatch. I’ve seen wild animals wander into my house and sit down to watch TV with me. I’ve seen imagery from my stories come to life in unexpected places. I’ve seen a lot of strange a lovely things, now that I think about it.
Annika Howells began writing at the age of four, when she would scribble across the pages of blank notebooks. Her work improved immeasurably once she actually mastered the alphabet. She began writing her first novel, How to Disappear Completely, when she was 16. She subsequently graduated from school, dropped out of university, fell in love and lost her mind. She lives in Brisbane, Australia.
Website: www.htdcnovel.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/htdcnovel
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AnnikaHowells
Dan O’Brien
Editor, Empirical
Author: of The End of the World Playlist, Bitten, Cerulean Dreams, and The Journey
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Source: http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-moment-with-annika-howells.html
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