5 Questions for Interesting People

Today's episode is a deep dive into the psychology of writing fiction. All the ambition. All the insecurity.

Ravel Averof is the son of a famous author and has fixed his identity on being a successful writer himself. But he's stuck in an unsatisfying job and never finds the time to, you know, actually write.

One day, he's approached about participating in a new, top-secret time-travel program. Ravel is desperate enough to try it, and uses the opportunity to go back in time and steal the novel "That," and become the acclaimed author he always dreamed of being. But of course, things don't turn out quite that simple.

Today, I'm really excited to have David Ewald with me. David reached out to me after hearing my interview with Stuart Ross about Hotel Egypt. And he was generous enough to send me a copy of HIS new book, The Thief of That.

It's a novel that mixes genres, including sci-fi, romance, and what we might call "literary fiction." And if you're a horror fan, there are some true delights packed in for you as well.

If you're a writer (or you know one!) and you'd like to come on the show to discuss your book, reach out to me at the Substack called UnTaking, or email me at danny (dot) p (dot) anderson (at) gmail (dot) com.

Links:

David Ewald Website:

https://davidewald.net/

UnTaking Substack:

https://untaking.substack.com/

In this episode, I talk with the delightful (and candid!) Avner Landes about his brilliant new historical fiction novel, The Delegation.

The book follows the true story of two Soviet artists, Itzik Feffer and Solomon Mikhoels on a worldwide publicity tour during WWII. Feffer and Mikhoels, two prominent Jewish artists, are sent by Stalin to drum up support for the Soviet cause against Hitler. Along the way, the doomed spokesmen have unexpected adventures with such luminaries as Albert Einstein and Paul Robeson.

The novel masterfully advances the possibilities of the historical fiction form, telling the tale in three parts: Feffer and Mikhoels’ story; a running commentary by the story’s fictional author, Izzy Shenkenberg; and a stream of publisher footnotes to the fictional Shenkenberg’s notes. All together, the book tells an amazing story (you may not have heard before) even as it interrogates the possibility of fully telling the stories of history.

In spite of the postmodern playfulness of the book’s form, however, Landes never fails to make the book emotional, funny, and ultimately human.

In their conversation, Danny Anderson and Avner Landes discuss:

* The powers and limits of historical fiction

* Making meaning with art

* The tensions of Jewish identity

* The inherent conflict between art and politics

I think you’ll find Avner Landes to be charming and frank (and charmingly frank: his responses to the 5 Questions at the end were delightfully honest).

The Delegation is one of the best, most inventive books you’ll read this year and I, Danny Anderson, personally recommend it highly.

Links:

Publisher Website (with purchasing options): https://operationdodecahedron.com/home

Meiselman: The Lean Years. Landes’ previous comic novel.

For more book reviews, interviews, and other musings, subscribe for free here

For the full review and more, visit the UnTaking Substack

There's nothing quite like finding a book that takes a formless anxiety in your gut and give gives it a shape. Something to point at as you exclaim to anyone who'll listen, "this is exactly what I've been feeling." These experiences, rare as rubies, sometimes happen for me when a book climbs out of the chaos of madcap reality, steps away from it, and creates a work of living art from the flying debris, art that provides clarity. Truth, if you'll allow.

Scott Spires's new book is aptly named. Social Distancing, published by Alternative Book Press, takes aim at a particularly widespread anxiety in the contemporary now: that the world is unraveling. This is a daunting task for an artist, as the effort can sometimes lead to hackneyed art.

In less-skilled hands, a story like Social Distancing might be helplessly mired in the particulars of our apocalypse: Covid, climate change, the internet, political division, democracy etc... But here, Spires is able to step away from the details of our maddening reality, acquiring his own social distance from it, in order to cast a glimmer of light on the true nature of our civilization's problems.

The novel follows Fred Traubert, former academic, as he attempts to build a new life, away from the encroaching collapse. Fred, a professor of Germanic languages in Philadelphia, is overcome with dread about the future and he becomes something of a prophet of doom. His anxiety has many roots: climate change, political unrest, and the increasingly obvious signs that his vocation in the academic humanities lacks any value in the world (his work has become laughably irrelevant both to students and administrators).

The novel opens some time after Fred's big decision to quit his job and move to the Great Lakes town of Roverton, Wisconsin. His son, Ethan joins him, seizing the opportunity to brew craft beer for Roverton's growing climate refugee population. However, Fred's wife, Amanda, declines to take part in Fred's new life, and she goes off to Europe, in search of her own vocation, leaving the future of their marriage in deep doubt.

The novel's great achievement is the way Spires uses the fictional Roverton as a tiny stage to work out the social and epistemological problems that face the collapsing world. Inevitably, the tribalism of our actually-existing world reproduces itself in Roverton. The traditional Rovertonians (the old-timers) are neatly and irrevocably divided from the "nukes," the people with Zoom jobs busily gentrifying the town, trying to remake it in an image comfortable to overproduced elites. Fred finds himself caught in the middle, as he admires the traditional life of the Rovertonians, but is undeniably a nuke. He is a man without a country in Roverton.

The care Spires put in the character of Ethan Traubert is particularly remarkable to me. Ethan falls neatly into certain "type-of-guy" discourses. He is a young man, radicalized by various right wing lunatics on the internet (think of a Curtis Yarvin devotee). In short, he represents the very kind of person that liberal-leaning people would like to blame all the problems of the modern world on. And in contemporary storytelling, he is the kind of character who would be easily reduced to parody and cliche (think of how sickeningly one-dimensional Rian Johnson rendered his strawmen in Glass Onion).

But in Spires's gracious hands, Ethan is a sympathetic character, despite the ridiculousness of his politics. Fred understands that his son is simply flailing for meaning and is another a victim of the internet's incentive structures. Throughout the novel, Fred exercises extreme patience with Ethan's ideological fascinations, being careful not to radicalize him further, letting him find his way into increasingly mature ideas. The relationship serves as a thoughtful model for those of us stuck in the real world to consider as we fight online demons.

Ethan is just one of the characters that Spires uses to explore the social and political dynamics of our world, and each similarly avoids falling into banal caricature, allowing Spires to reflect on the culture wars honestly, and not allowing the book to fall into the trap of "sanctimony literature."

In addition, Fred's first-person narration allows Spires to focus his observations, moral perspectives, and philosophical musings about our world through the character of poor, hopeless, idealistic, lapsed academic. Ultimately, it is Fred's own search for meaning and purpose that makes the book inspiring as well as thought-provoking. As Fred figures out how to live a new life in his world, I was inspired to do the same in my own.

Once again, the novel is clearly about our world as it actually exists, but the moral distance it assumes is the key to its artistic success. This is no didactic novel that settles for pandering to dedicated Bluesky users.

The novel's title, along with its chapters (feature names like "Sheltering in Place," and "The Toilet Paper Situation Is Critical") are obvious references to the Covid era, yet the pandemic is never mentioned. That creative choice is but one of the ways that Social Distancing accomplishes its artistic feat. It's a prime example of working from sociological reality without being bogged down in it. Scott Spires has written a truly great "Covid-era novel," without ever mentioning Covid in the book's pages. It is a book stuffed full of wisdom about our world, but from a "socially distant" perspective. It's conclusions are therefore never breezy or simplistic.

The effect is to allow the reader to step out of our world, briefly, so we can see it more clearly and do what we might with that clarity.

Links:

Alternative Book Press Page for Social Distancing

Adam Pearson’s Review for The Metropolitan Review

Lakefront Review of Books: Scott Spires’s Substack

Abandon All Hope: Scott’s first novel, published by Auctus Press

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In this episode Danny Anderson talks with novelist Stuart Ross about his recent book The Hotel Egypt, published by Spuyten Duyvil.

Ty, our protagonist, burns his love affair with Jenny to ashes when he checks into the Trump Hotel (The Hotel Egypt) as a provocative act of defiance. Then he meets Ellory, parking lot heiress, and a series of existential crises begin. This terrific novel is a satirical love story framed as a surrealistic travelogue across Donald Trump’s America.

In this conversation Stuart Ross discusses the influence of the great Jewish American writers of the Twentieth Century (Bellow, Roth, Stanley Elkin…), and how he brought that literary approach to our contemporary moment.

In addition, Danny and Stuart discuss how art can engage with contemporary political crises and still attempt to transcend the immediate moment.

The Hotel Egypt is a highly recommended novel about the moral cost of transgression and finding hope in commitment. Speaking personally, I hope many people discover this wonderful new book.

As always, if you are an author who would like to discuss your work (or if you know one), please feel free to reach out to me via the UnTaking Substack, or by emailing me directly at [email protected]

Links:

Stuart Ross’s author site, with more info about the novel, and its predecessor, Jenny in Corona.

The publisher page for The Hotel Egypt.

The Hotel Egypt on Amazon.

If author interviews are your jam, subscribe to Danny Anderson’s UnTaking Substack and never miss a new release

In this episode, Danny Anderson is joined by Desiree Horton, a writer who proudly bears the title of “Horror Writer.”

Danny and Desiree discuss her recent book, Midnight Mother, an excellent Southern Gothic-inspired story that takes place in and above an abandoned mine in the Pacific Northwest.

Desiree also talks about writing for the indie publishing community, and the great pleasures of that world.

And finally, as always, Danny asks his guests the “5 questions,” and Desiree truly moves him with one of her answers. It was very special.

Some Links:

Desiree’s new release, a collection of “Galactic Horror:” Terrible Things That Happen When You’re Alone in the Dark.

Desiree’s author website, where you can check out all of her work

As always, if you’re an author and would like to talk about your work on this show, feel free to reach out: [email protected]

I had the great pleasure of speaking with Kimberly McElhatten, a writer, editor, and writing coach. Kimberly left a career in education to start her own business helping writers develop their craft and market their work.

In our conversation, we talked about how our education systems fail both students and teachers, how writers can benefit from taking a more communal approach to their craft, and how volunteering to read for literary magazines might hold the keys to publishing success. Plus a lot more.

If you’re a writer who’s interested in working with Kimberly, check out her website in the links below.

And as always, the interview ends with Kimberly’s responses to the 5 Questions:

1. How are you trying to make the world better with your work?

2. How did a particular place make you who you are today?

3. Think about a person you have lost. How did the shape of your life change to adjust to that loss?

4. What’s a beautiful thing that most people don’t appreciate enough?

5. If your life were a novel, what the final chapter be?

And if you or someone you know would like to come on the show and talk about YOUR work, please drop me a line at [email protected]. You can also message me via UnTaking on the Substack app.

Links:

Kimberly McElhatten on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.mcelhatten/

Open Roads Coaching & Editing:

https://openroads.life/

WCONA:

https://wcona.com/

Brevity Magazine:

https://brevitymag.com/

In this episode, Danny Anderson talks to forest ranger and writer Andrew Akers. Andrew is a prolific writer, who has published some fascinating science fiction and fantasy stories. In addition, Akers has a forthcoming novel, Tapestry (coming in April of 2026).

Danny met Andrew at the recent WCONA conference (the Writer’s Conference of Northern Appalachia), which was a great experience for both writers. For a recap of that, see Danny’s recent Substack post, “Belonging in the Unbelonging.”

In this conversation, we discuss the connections between working as a forest ranger and writing. Also, Danny dives into the fascinating religious themes in Akers “techno-primitivist” brand of science fiction.

Also, be sure to check out Andrew’s website: Andrew-Akers.com, beautifully designed by Derek Day.

Inspired? Have something to say? Also, if you’d like to take part in one of these interviews, contact Danny ([email protected])

Today, Danny Anderson interviews Andrew Pessin, author of the new novel Bright College Years, published by Open Books Press.

The novel is a fun and emotionally rich story about a group of Yale undergraduates who live together and learn the lessons that will shape their lives.

Along the way, Andrew answers the Five Questions, and leads Danny through a rich conversation about campus culture (then and now) and the importance of dealing honestly with friction, both in the past and the present.

Plus, Andrew offers some terrific insight about the writing process.

Links:

Andrew Pessin Author Website: https://andrewpessin.com/

Open Books Press: https://openbookspress.com/

Danny’s previous interviews with Andrew for The Sectarian Review Podcast:

The Jewish God Question

Nevergreen

In this episode, Danny’s conversation is with TJ Fuller, a writer and teacher from Portland, Oregon.

Danny came across TJ’s work in a rather unorthodox way (listen to hear that story).

In addition to answering the Five Questions at the end of the episode, TJ Fuller discusses his process, publication strategies, and his experiences in an MFA program.

Here are some links to help you know TJ’s work better:

TJ Fuller’s website: https://www.tj-fuller.com/

Two of the specific stories we discuss:

“Doorbell Songs:” https://vol1brooklyn.com/2018/10/14/sunday-stories-doorbell-songs/

“My Body Remembers” (a fascinating interactive collaboration with Celeste Voce): http://7x7.la/my-body-remembers/

If you enjoyed this episode, check out the other interviews in the series at the UnTaking Substack.

If you would like to be interviewed yourself, or if you know someone you’d like me to reach out to, please reach out at [email protected]

This time, Danny Anderson is joined by , music critic, aficionado, and the man behind the popular music Substack On Repeat.

In his responses to the five questions, Kevin discusses the importance of sharing one’s enthusiasm for music while trying to avoid the toxic impulses of competition and posturing.

Also, Portland is discussed. Kevin recalls it as a creative, collaborative crucible.

All in all, what comes across from Kevin is a spirit of hospitality and seeking peace through music.

Please check out On Repeat:

And, as always, if you are a creative who would like to be a guest for a future interview, feel free to reach out. I’d love to spread the word about more interesting people.