Hi Lori, thanks for
being so kind as to be interviewed for OMINOUS 13 DARK FICTION SPOTLIGHT
SERIES. Let’s get right to it. In a recent interview you did with Uvi
Poznansky, you stated that to you, writing is similar to painting with words.
One of my favorite writers is JRR Tolkien. His writing is so colorful, reading
it becomes like watching a film. What writer(s) do you think best incorporates
this type of artistic prose?
Thank you for inviting me, Paul. Words are very important to me. I do enjoy reading prose that evokes images
as strongly as a painting or a film.
Poetry is that way, and I write that too. I enjoy reading literature that makes you
stop in awe of a line, and I hope that my writing does that for readers. Some of the authors I enjoy for their style
are Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis Carroll, William Shakespeare, Ray
Bradbury, Victor Hugo, Andre Norton.
Also Stephen King and Dean Koontz.
Doctor Seuss had a fun way with words.
There are more, but these stand out in my mind.
Your writings don’t
seem to fit into one particular genre. As a reader, are you much the same, or
do you prefer one particular genre best?
I’ve read quite a variety.
I used to read Science Fiction growing up, along with Horror and Fantasy. I would read animal stories and poetry,
classic adventures, plays, screenplays.
Sometimes Nonfiction. As an
author I do the same, a variety of genres, sometimes separately but often
combined. I also like to write for
different ages, but mostly I write for twelve through adult since I don’t use
explicit language or content. A few are
more intense, more violent. There are
children’s books. I kind of do it all.
Do you prefer writing
poetry, novels or short stories?
Oh gosh, that’s a tough question! I don’t think I prefer any one over the
others. I love to write them all. They each have their qualities. And some say my prose is rather poetic, or my
poetry rather like my prose. I do at
times tell stories in my verse. I like
the depth of a novel, the chance to really get into the plot and characters,
but I also enjoy being able to tell a tale faster, more concisely in a short
story. And my stories usually have a
good bit of depth. My characters are
well defined, whether in a story or novel.
You feel you know them; some of them may stay with you for a while.
Your charitable work
with Tumaini Girls Rescue Center (Safe House) in Siaya, Kenya is extremely
admirable. What can you tell us about that organization and what prompted you
to become involved?
My sons and I have been active in doing what we can for years
with causes, from animal rights and conservation to children and abuse
survivors. So far we cannot do anything
major, but small gestures do make a difference.
On Facebook I met a couple of the people who are helping the Tumaini
shelter and a community library in Saiya, Moses Akwiri Okoth and Brenda Bee
(Kemunto). They are the admirable ones,
two amazing individuals who devote their time and efforts to helping
others. I’ve tried to spread the word
for them, both on Facebook and Twitter.
When I learned they needed books for the library, my sons and I sent ten
of our books, the nine I had in print and my son Rafael’s volume of verse. My son Noél helped them set up a Paypal
account to receive contributions. Their
community has a lot of issues to deal with, including attacks against
females. They are in great need of
donations and whatever support people can give, even just sharing about their
cause. And a wonderful thing they do
each year is to participate in an event called WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES, where
local men wear red high-heels to march for one mile. It’s to raise awareness of the assaults on
women and children. I think it’s
terrific. They’ve had to postpone it
this year, however, due to lack of funds.
They are involved with another organization to make colorful dresses,
The Pixel Project, which is aimed at ending violence against women.
Contact Brenda Kemunto at vgirlskenya@gmail.com for
information.
Books can be mailed to:
Saiya Community
Library
c/o Pauline
Caroline Oduk.
P.O BOX 1702(00100)
Nairobi Kenya
You seem to be a hat
aficionado, something I can relate to, for sure. Tell us about your love for
stylish headwear?
Ha ha, yes, I love hats.
I have my entire life. My mother
wouldn’t let me wear cool ones like cowboy hats because they were “for
boys”. So of course I wear fedoras, top
hats, any manner of short and wide brims, berets, and all sorts of caps. My collection is growing. It’s part of who I am. One of my favorite groups on Facebook is for
hat-lovers.
Your author bio lists
you as, “an author, poet, artist, actress, songwriter, musician and
activist for conservation, children and animal rights.” Obviously, you possess a very creative mind. Who do you credit for
inspiring you as a youngster to expand your talents in the direction you have
taken them?
My mind is “brimming” (hat pun) with imagination. I have so many ideas and projects, I go nuts
trying to catch up with them all. Since
I was a small child I was determined that I would become a writer and artist
and actress and poet and musician . . .
Nobody told me to think that way.
I was simply always very ambitious.
Just like when I became a vegetarian at age fifteen. Nobody in my family was one. Nobody I knew was, either. I was considered strange, but it didn’t
bother me. I’ve never been normal.
I did have an uncle who was an artist, although not
professionally; another uncle who was an architect and musician. My mother had wanted to be an artist herself
yet didn’t pursue it. I’m sure they
influenced me somewhat. But they didn’t
really encourage me that I can remember.
No doubt I was inspired by hearing fairytales and Nursery Rhymes, then
reading beloved stories. Watching movies
and television, listening to music, seeing artwork. I started drawing and writing poems quite
young. I was often on the stage in
Grades Four and Five, performing skits I had written. And I was a natural drummer, then played
Percussion in Band. I later taught myself
guitar to write songs.
Being from Wisconsin, I can imagine a lot of long, cold,
winter nights spent developing your imagination. What inspired the ‘macabre’
side of your creative development?
It just happened. My
first favorite book was WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, and it had monsters. I loved it!
I also loved FRANKENSTEIN, first the movies and then the book. I recall seeing Hitchcock’s THE BIRDS with my
brother at night as a kid. Wow! A little older I would stay up late and watch
Elvira host horror films. I loved the
creepy humor of THE ADDAMS FAMILY and THE MUNSTERS. Those were new shows when I was growing
up. I would beg my mom to buy me
magazines like FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND.
She wasn’t very enthusiastic about my interests. She wanted me to be a nice little girl, wear
dresses and play with dolls. That
totally wasn’t me!
You describe yourself
as having an overactive imagination. I can relate to that. I kind of go crazy
when circumstances prevent me from releasing my imagination through creativity.
Do you ever feel that kind of restlessness and absolute need to create?
Oh yes, all the time!
My head is swimming with ideas.
Sometimes I’ll get ideas for different things at once in a flood. I can’t write that fast. I lose a lot of ideas if I can’t write them
down because my memory is bad. I have to
be creative. I need to write. I can easily get caught up in my work and forget
about eating or drinking anything. Even
when I’m doing something else creative like art, I miss writing. It’s hard for me to not be writing something.
You have some creative
projects going on with your kids. I think that is priceless! Can you share a
little about that?
Thank you! We formed a
creative company called Fairy Fly
Entertainment, named after one of my books.
We make a great team because we all have the same talents, but each of
us is most passionate about one particular field. With me it’s literature. For my oldest son Noél, it’s music. And for Rafael, it’s acting and film. We have a blast working together on
projects. So far we’ve released a few
author readings on YouTube under Fairy Fly Entertainment and a book trailer for
DANCE OF THE CHUPACABRAS under Trilllogic.
Noél composed the musical scores and Rafael did graphics as well as the
filming for my readings. We did vocals
for the Chupacabras song, and the lyrics were from my novel. They’ve helped me with tech stuff for
publishing my books, and they’ve been incredibly supportive, as I have tried to
be for them since they were little.
Is your visual art
available to the public?
I did some painting in the past. I am primarily doing artwork at this point on
the computer for my book covers and illustrations. I probably won’t have time or the interest to
do paintings to sell. But I have been giving
away free signed prints of illustrations at book fairs and conventions.
How extensive is your
acting experience and how far would you like to see that side of your creative
personality grow?
As I mentioned, I did a lot of performing on stages at school
as a kid, and I competed in Forensics Playacting as a high-school Freshman for
a two-person drama. The judges raved and
we would have gone to State instead of the Varsity Team, but my partner broke
his ankle and couldn’t do the scenes.
That was my last real chance to act.
Life got in the way of my dreams for quite awhile. I supported my sons with their dreams and
interests. I helped my ex-husband with
his goals and waited for my turn. I even
helped my sons prepare for auditions when they started to get involved with
acting. They began performing as dancers
when they were young. I based the main
characters in my novel DANCE OF THE CHUPACABRAS on them, in fact. And I first wrote the story as a screenplay
for my sons. We made many trips to
Hollywood. I wanted to give them the
opportunities, encouragement and support I didn’t have as a kid. Then we had to stop due to lack of funds and
time. Noél became involved with science
fair projects, competing at the international level in Ninth Grade, going to
State a few times, winning a national award.
We are finally ready to get back into acting again, along with music,
after a series of setbacks and delays. I
started self-publishing in 2008 and have been releasing books each year. Rafael released one book so far and has a
number of literary and film projects he’s working on. Noél has been starting to compose music.
Your novel, An Ill Wind
Blows, has been quite celebrated, winning awards and pushing up the charts.
What about that story has enabled it to connect with readers in such a
rewarding fashion?
It isn’t actually up the charts, ha ha. I’m still not known that well. But it has won a couple of awards so
far. I think it’s a special story, and a
very fun adventure. It’s about facing
your fears and believing in yourself. An
evil storm swallows some quirky characters who find themselves in a
stormworld. Dark Fantasy and plenty of
humor, as well as horror-style creatures.
Readers have enjoyed the novel. I
hope more will find it.
What can we expect from
Lori R. Lopez in the future?
I have so many projects to finish! I’m hoping to publish my next horror
collection soon, a Halloween-themed novel, my next two poetry collections, more
poetry columns, a collection of my artwork, more children’s books, more
stories, a graphic novel, and some sequels.
I would like to do all of that this year. But I must find time for music and acting, so
that will slow me down. Not that I write
or draw fast. I don’t.
Here are some of my links . . .
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
http://www.amazon.com/author/lorirlopez
FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE
http://www.facebook.com/lorirlopez.author
WEBSITE
http://fairyflyentertainment.com
POETRY COLUMN
Books by
Lori R. Lopez:
