Interview with Monica Drake

Hugo House:  You'll be debuting a brand-new piece at Hugo House-have you started working on it yet?

Monica Drake:  Yes, I've finished it--though have to take another look to make sure it's something I want to make public. It's a wild story, a little nuts. Maybe it's a big mistake...

HH:  Can you give us a hint of how you're approaching the theme of "Love is the Drug?" Literally? Figuratively? Prose? Poetry? Interpretive Dance? None of the Above?

MD:  I wrote a short story, then when I read it over it seemed unrelentingly bleak. I stepped back, and asked myself what might be more thrilling, because, why not? So I wrote something more like an out of control party, something that came to me in a quick rush. I think it's a lot of fun, but there's a big gamble involved.

HH:  What were your first thoughts on receiving an invitation to write to an assigned theme? Any regrets on saying yes? 

MD:  I love a deadline and an assignment. Very, very cool.

HH:  Could you tell us a little bit about your process-how you approach writing something new?

MD:  I have a day job and a child and a lot of other projects bouncing around, so I'm not one of those writers with time to write every day. I write when I can. In between, I think about stories. I turn over ideas. Then I sit, usually late at night when everyone else is asleep, put words on the page, and see how it all shakes out.

HH:  Tell us 3 non-literary things we don't know about you.

MD:  I was once on the Okemos Michigan high school bowling team, where I threw a ball backwards instead of down the lane. 

I can sheetrock like a pro, though I'd rather not.

I've adopted three schipperkes over the years, and each one has been trouble--eating money, sniffing out drugs on friends and strangers--but I still think they're the coolest dogs around.