Norma Boe is the most supernatural author in the iPulp Series. Her collections of stories are somewhere between horror, revulsion, and nervous laughter, ideal for spending a night of fear. Norma is a frontier woman. Tex-Mex at heart and in words. One fine day she decided to start writing because, as she tells us, she didn't want to end up dry and moth-eaten like Norman Bates' mother without leaving the world a legacy. It was somewhere between that and patchwork quilts. Fortunately for iPulp, she decided to take up literature. She likes Poe and Vincent Price, but she likes Vincent Price playing Poe best of all. He also has a devotion to Ambrose Bierce, a writer to whom she has dedicated a little shrine at home. Consequently, his chills move between the macabre and the sophisticated. It's time to interview her. How would you introduce yourself? "As a southern lady with a beatnik spirit who fills her loneliness with Kentucky Bourbon, Paquita la del Barrio songs, and cats. Deep down, I have simple habits: I like to sit on the porch in the evenings and drink lemonade, while Grandma's rocking chair swings by itself beside me." Really? "Yes, although I'm more than used to it. My life has never been very conventional... There is, for example, the dad thing..." What was wrong with your dad? "He suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. His experience in the Vietnam War really scarred him. He was never the same. Soon after he came back, he set up a sort of diorama of the Indochinese jungle in the basement, with a bunch of plants and vines. When he had one of his flashbacks, he would lock himself down there for days. From upstairs we could hear the shots from his rifle. In his deranged mind, he was still fighting charlies. In Vietnam he took a lot of acid." Gee, sorry... Now seriously, all of us iPulp fans were hoping you'd publish another volume of stories for Halloween, but it looks like you didn't. "I know," she replies cryptically. "Like I say: always do the opposite of what everyone expects of you. Never lose the ability to surprise. It's another collection of my short stories... But it won't be set on Halloween, it will be set at Christmas." At Christmas? Why Christmas? "First, because of not being predictable, which is something that bores me to death. Second, because as I heard Sabrina Spellman say, 'Christmas is perfect for ghosts. The veil between the living and the dead is thinnest during the solstice.' I couldn't agree more. Christmas is a time for horror." You hear music in the background, what's playing? "Oh, it's a classic, a song I listen to a lot. Not just these days, all year round. It's I put a spell on you, in the voice of Nina Simone. A jazz piece made of black velvet, like the one on the catafalque." OK, and what can we find in this volume of scary stories for Christmas? "There will be eight, as usual. It's not a random number. I'm very Chinese when it comes to numerology; I'll leave it there. Among the stories there will be Christmas-themed ones and others that may not have much to do with the holidays but that will make your family gatherings less terrifying, because they will overcome it. Fear knows no boundaries, nor holidays. Fear is the most transversal emotion that exists. It can be felt at any time, in any place, on any occasion. Fear doesn't discriminate, so why should I?" Good point, indeed. And what's the title? "It's called Radioactive Christmas, but I almost called it Twitter Killed the Christmas Spirit." Any title is good. Your judgment is always exquisite. Anything else to add? "I want to adopt Daruma Neko. Cats, like dogs, are most reliable bio-indicators of paranormal activity. And now I'll leave you, I have to go feed my carnivorous plants." Bye for now, Black Lady. It’s been a guilty pleasure. Radioactive Xmas: iPulp Series |
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