The mysterious Daisy Danger reveals a bit of herself to Liquid Whispers readers.
As promised in yesterday’s teasing tweet ((Follow this link to see the tweet.)), I was able to sit down at the virtual kitchen table and chat with one of my favorite bloggers… Daisy Danger!
If you aren’t familiar with her work, then you are in for a soul-squeezing, literary treat. As soon as you finish reading this interview, you must click over to her site and spend a full month a long time reading all of her posts. They’re amazing.
Helpful hint: Keep a box of tissues handy. I needed them because the stories wrung tears from my calloused-crusted heart. Other people report having been inspired to leak in other ways. Either way, keep a box of tissues handy and you’ll be covered.
LW: So, Daisy, your Twitter bio is interesting:
Literary, geeky, un-girly girl, hyper-sexual, brutally honest. I hate fake boobs and I love the Batman. Website NSFW
Now tell us who you really are.
DD: I think my Twitter bio is fairly accurate. I’m all of those things, literary, geeky, etc. In person, I’m really quiet until I warm up to someone, which can take minutes or months. I observe everything, I pay attention to the details. I’m intensely loyal to the people I care about.
LW: You’re an awesome writer but you’re not the only writer. What sets you apart? Why should readers give their time, attention, and money to you rather than to someone or something else?
DD: The truth is what sets me apart. I tell it all, the good, the bad, the ugly. I write about what’s real. If I have mind blowing sex, I write about it. If I’ve had horrible sex that leaves me traumatized, cold and empty, I write about that too. Readers who want fantasy erotica have a million other places to read that type of story. I think I share a lot of common experiences that people are afraid to talk about.
LW: It’s been said that writers do a lot of reading. Do you read and, if so, what are you reading now?
DD: I just started “Transmetropolitan” by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. The last few books I read were “Dies the Fire” and “The Protector’s War” by S.M. Stirling and “My Life in France” by Julia Child. My tastes run all over the place, but I’ve been trending more towards non-fiction in the last few years.
LW: “Success! You made it! You arrived!” What does that mean to you?
DD: Success is a series of baby steps. At first I thought “If anyone reads my blog, I’ll be happy!” Then after I got some readers, I thought “If only I can get 500 Twitter followers!” It doesn’t end. I’m sure even Neil Gaiman thinks “If only…” Success isn’t an end goal, it’s just little steps to make you push yourself further and harder.
LW: Ben & Jerry’s (TM) is coming out with a new flavor of ice cream based on your sex life. What’s it called? Please describe it.
DD: I’m not sure, but I think it would have some kind of dildo-shaped chocolate pieces in it and maybe a ripple of red wine. Then you would either orgasm or cry after you ate it.
LW: You’re stressed out. What do you do?
DD: Depends on the stress. After the life I’ve lead and the years I spend working with the mentally ill and terminally ill, I keep things in perspective. Usually a walk will do. If it’s really bad, I might go buy a pack of cigarettes, which might happen once a year or so. I also give myself license to just be a grumpy asshole every now and again to get it out of my system.
LW: Some people say that they have to write or else they will die. What’s your position on the “writing as air” claim? Follow-up: you find out that you can never write again. What do you do?
DD: Ever since I can remember, I didn’t want to be a writer. I had to be a writer. I didn’t choose this, it chose me. When I was about a year out of high school, I went to work as a news reporter at the local paper. The editor who interviewed me thought I was a smart ass kid until I passed every last one of his interview tests. Later he would remark that I was the only real writer they had on staff. At the time, I also had two kids and a creepy abusive boyfriend. The boyfriend would show up at work, call me at work, etc. One Friday, I went into work, put my section to bed for the weekend, and was ready to go home. The editor called me into his office, told me they had considered promoting me to assistant editor (at the age of twenty, mind you), but fired me instead because of the creepy boyfriend issues. I didn’t write another word for ten entire years. I didn’t die from it. If I stopped again tomorrow, I wouldn’t die from it either. I write because I’ve finally decided it would be irresponsible of me not to.
LW: You rub a magic lamp. A genie appears who will grant you three wishes. No strings attached, best possible outcome, guaranteed. What do you wish for?
DD: I have everything I want now, what could I possibly wish for? I’m loved, truly, passionately loved, I love that hard in return. I don’t want for food, money, health. I can do what I like and pursue anything I want whenever I please. Maybe the genie should wish they were me.
LW: You did not find magic lamp. You found a monkey’s paw. You still get three wishes, strings very much attached. What do you do?
DD: “I wish for a turkey sandwich on rye bread with lettuce and mustard. And… and I don’t want any zombie turkeys, I don’t want to turn into a turkey myself, and I don’t want any other weird surprises, you got it?”
LW: Exit strategy. Do you have one? How will you know when (or if) it’s time to stop writing?
DD: I do have one, but I’m not disclosing it now! It’ll be time to stop writing when I run out of things to say. There are plenty of equally interesting stories I have that aren’t sex related. New and interesting things are happening all the time.
“New and interesting things,” indeed. I’d like to extend a gigantic THANK YOU to Daisy Danger for taking the time to participate in this interview. I also want to remind you, Dear Reader, to head over to her blog ((www.DaisyDanger.com)) right now. Read it. Subscribe to it. Leave comments of adoration after every post.
Or, if you’d rather download her work to your Kindle, you can spend a token $0.99 over at Amazon.com and get every post she wrote in 2010, presented in chronological order. (Her blog presents the posts in helter-skelter order.) You can also read my review of the book, which should help reassure you that your $0.99 won’t be wasted.
Happy reading!
Jim Black
Jim Black is the driving force behind this blog. He's also a personal safety advocate who's been teaching martial arts and/or self-defense since 1997. (No, they're not the same, and you shouldn't ask Jim about the difference unless you're prepared for a long-winded lecture.)
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