The Lakeside Drive-by: Christopher Green

I knew of Christopher Green via my write club buddy Peter M. Ball. Chris was a fellow Clarion South graduate (2007 iteration), but I didn’t read anything of his until ‘Lakeside’. We both had stories in Jack Dann’s Dreaming Again and Chris’s story was the first one I read in the collection. And it scared the crap out of me: genuinely creepy, well-paced and written with a light touch. It was also shortlisted for the Australian Shadows Award in 2008 and the Aurealis Awards in 2009.

He had three stories shortlisted for the 2009 Aurealis Awards: ‘Having Faith’ (horror short story division), ‘A Hundredth Name’ (in the science fiction short story division), and won the best fantasy short story with ‘Father’s Kill’.

His stories have appeared in a variety of publications including Nossa Morte, Expanded Horizons, The Edge of Propinquity, The Tangled Bank, Midnight Echo, and Abyss ad Apex, and ‘Letters of Love from the Once and Newly Dead’ won the 2010 AHWA Short Story Competition..

1. I first realised I was a writer when …
I discovered that the Choose Your Own Adventure books I was devouring were full of lies. Do you sneak through the secret entrance to the dragon’s treasure? Yes. Too bad, gentle reader. The dragon somehow smells you and spends the rest of the day trying to keep you alive whilst at the same time carving a new pair of slippers from you. Huh? So I’d turn back to the page I’d come from (of course my thumb was still saving my place back there) and try a different path, where another seemingly excellent plan would turn me into a dragon’s plaything.

That’s when I realized that books are games we play with people we’ll never meet, and I didn’t like the thought that the author wasn’t playing fair. So, I decided I’d try to do it “better”.

2. The story/novel I wish I’d written is …
Whichever story/novel I’m currently working on. That’s the real answer, but I’ll gladly go with Lord of the Rings, too…

3. I keep my Aurealis Award …
Up until a couple of weeks ago, I kept it in the box it came in, for fear of breaking it. Then, I decided that was silly and cleared a spot on my desk for the darn thing. Then it fell over and the corners chipped (a little), which I am taking as proof of my yet-to-be-perfected clairvoyance and not an indication of the state of my desk’s clutter.

4. You get to be your favourite fictional character for a day – where do you go, when do you go, who’s your companion and what do you do?
I’ll be Captain Tightpants himself, Malcolm Reynolds, of Firefly fame. I’d go where the work was and bring all of the crew who made it through ‘Serenity’ with me. Inara’s already a Companion, so she’ll do just fine. The most important part of this answer, though, is ‘When do you go?’ During Season 2, that’s the answer.

5. Donuts or danishes?
Definitely Danishes. The denizens of Denmark are awesome.

He doth blog here.

This entry was posted in Drive-by Interviews, News, On Writing: General and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.