It was so much fun going to your reading and I got there right when you started the Mad Libs.
Thanks for signing my books now they ROCK even more then before.
Oh and I have been working on this:
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(> )>o I was going to give you a Heck book
U..U
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.o<( <) But then i was like…
….U..U
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. (>o<) I LIKE HECK BOOKS!!!
. U….U
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(> )>o Then i said: sharing is good….
U..U
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.o<( <) But then i was like…
….U..U
Portland journalist Andrew Klaus interviewed me the other day for his blog, Digging to China. It was a fun opportunity to answer smartly asked questions with smart-alecky answers. Here it is: Dale Basye knows where Bad Kids Go.
Author Dale Basye is scary smart and witty as hell, two things that make him perfect to write for the ever growing “Young Adult” market, kids books that parents swipe and read on their lunch breaks. Heck: Where Bad Kids Go caught my eye on a bookstore shelf, I read the opening sentence of the dustcover involving Milton and Marlo Fauster’s deaths in a tragic Marshmallow Bear explosion… I stopped reading knew I had found something special and bought the book, AND a year later it’s sequel Rapacia. Heck tells the tale of innocent boy Milton and his less than innocent sister Marlo in the afterlife of Heck, a limbo boarding school where bad kids go and classes such as ethics are taught by Richard Nixon and Home Economics by Lizzie Borden . While not for everyone (apparently) I’d highly recommend Heck for a clever slightly dark and twisted good time especially this Halloween season. Diggin’ to China was lucky enough to sit down with the creator of Heck and chat about controversy, children’s lit , monkeys versus robots, and more.
Your novels Heck and Rapacia are filled with high brow references and literary allusion next to low brow potty humor, which is a brilliant combo by the way- have there ever been cameos and in-jokes that were too obscure or too high brow to work in that you wished you could?
Dale Basye: Yes, perhaps too many to mention. Ayn Rand was going to make an appearance as the Chairperson of the Netherworld Soul Exchange in Rapacia, which made sense to me, but—in the end—it seemed far more compelling to have Mammon—the devil of covetousness employed by Dante—serve that role instead. Usually the teachers had more interactions with one another initially (I had a scene with Richard Nixon and Bea “Elsa” Bubb, the Principal of Darkness, in the teacher’s lounge in the first Heck book that I had to cut due to gratuitous Watergate references) and those scenes are usually trimmed. In general, whenever I have scenes that focus too heavily on adults, they are the first to go. Most of my favorite references make it in, though, such as Milton’s sign in the Cafeterium: “Milton’s Pair of Dice: Lost.” That’s perhaps my favorite. I’m learning that action is the key to keeping these books moving and many of my “ooh, isn’t that clever?”-isms just slow things down unless they serve the story. Still, I’ll find a way to wedge them into something else…I’m big on recycling, living in Portland and all.
Years ago (nearly ten) I worked at a bookstore and someone returned Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones as it offended her religious beliefs teachings of “heaven”Since your tales are set in a rather unconventional afterlife have you had any backlash from more conservative factions of the populous?
DB: Initially, when the first Heck book came out, there was a website in Texas called BeliefNet that lambasted the book. Of course, no one had read it, and they were literally judging the book by its cover. There have also been some appalling reviews on Amazon that my ever-rationalizing mind is desperate to chalk up to fundamentalism. I mean, if you go through the trouble of posting a long, one-star rant, clearly a button has been pushed. Recently, my publicist at Random House began booking my book tour and the aptly named Page at Barnes and Noble in Clackamas tried to book schools in her school district for appearances and was told that they would not have a book titled Heck in their school! Luckily the Beaverton School District was much more open-minded, especially just after Banned Book Week, and I had a great time visiting schools there. I find it startling when I encounter that rigid thinking. My opinion is that the Heck books, even if you find them in direct conflict with your religious views, invite discussion, which is the proper place for religious and spiritual exchanges, not a book (unless, of course, it’s THE book). It’s not like I’m really conjuring up anything new…I simply take all of the myths, references, and figures available and make a sort of kid-centric collage out of them. I mean, it’s not like I invented the notion of everlasting torment for sinful transactions (but man, if I did, I would have patented it and made billions!). Really: where DO bad kids fit in the Judeo-Christian system of things? If I were a fundamentalist parent, I would be delighted that my child was reading something that even mentioned such things…got them thinking about their spirituality. I would use it as an opportunity to help my child figure out his or her own personal beliefs. But there aren’t as many engaged parents as we really need in this world. I think it’s lame that parents think a book or movie or videogame should do the parenting for them. I also think the Heck books provide a wonderful opportunity to discuss obscure historical figures. I doubt if many kids today know who Nixon, Lizzy Borden, or the pirate Grace O’Malley were…but perhaps, after reading about them in Heck, they—perhaps with a little help from their parents—might nose around another book and learn more. In general, I was expecting a bit more controversy, actually. I even got Random House to print Heck and Rapacia in an environmentally friendly, clean-burning paper to help fundamentalist groups hold more responsible book burnings.
Why do you think Kids/Young Adult fiction has boomed as of late?
DB: Because being an adult sucks. So why wallow in it by rubbing your face in an adult book? I just think that you can approach so many more interesting, potentially controversial subjects in YA fiction these days, versus the ossified realm of adult fiction. It’s like the wild west, where anything and everything is possible because kids are so on the ball these days, eager to tackle difficult subjects and themes because they haven’t learned that they shouldn’t yet. The line is really blurry between YA and adult, which is a good thing because that’s how it is in real life. It’s just an exciting place to be. Young fiction plays a much more significant role in helping to form a reader’s foundation than adult fiction. The books that really meant something to me were almost all read as a teen or young adult. Much of the adult stuff I read lately just seems so pretentious and precious and self-serving, much more about the author than the story. But, then again, I don’t read much adult fiction these days anyhow. A macro view may be that, in the modern world, adults have less time to read overall, with technology taking hungry megabytes out of what little time they/we have. Children have a little more time, though not much, to devote to reading, and they do so voraciously.
Choose: Monkeys versus Robots? (Robot monkey cannot be your answer as I already called that)
DB: Without a doubt, robots: pneumatic grappling claws down. Robots are cool (I’m currently working on a robot book now, it just so happens) but it’s more to do with the fact that monkeys creep me out. Seriously. I can’t make eye contact with them at the zoo: that imploring look they give you that seems to say “I’m just a few DNA strands away from you…you better watch your back or I’m liable to take a big chunk out of your bald back!” Monkeys are just wrong: scat-slinging, chattering simian chumps!
Do you have any writing rituals? Music that you listen too while you write?
DB: Before sitting down to write, I typically pour myself a sifter of Mendis brandy and sacrifice a small helpless animal to the writing gods. Actually, I used to surround myself with creepy surreal art (like Mark Ryden) and hunker down to work behind a hulking, imposing desk in the dark, blasting if-it-ain’t-Baroque-don’t-fix-it music. But I’ve discovered I’m not much of a method writer. There just isn’t any time. Plus, after hours of industrial and Goth music, I feel more like jumping off a bridge than making some kid on the other side of the page shoot chocolate milk out of his nose. Usually I just shuffle my music library, which is heavy on Brit Pop and ska at the moment. I can’t listen to overly wordy music (sorry Elvis Costello) or else I get derailed, and soundtrack music usually sends me to sleep, so I keep it eclectic…until Van Halen’s Panama pops up then I have to stop everything for an air guitar solo (which can be embarrassing as I often work in coffee shops). I try to listen to new music, but after a couple of tracks, I’m reminded of better, older bands that the currently hot band ripped off and I just go to the source.
You are a parent I understand. Has that changed your work ethic/way you work?
DB: Thank you for being so understanding about my status as a parent. Considering I haven’t been writing fiction for that long, my role as a parent hasn’t really been all that affected. Time is an issue since I prefer to be with my real son than make up pretend people in a book, but thankfully there’s this thing called “school” that usually gives me enough time to hammer something out during the day. I can’t really work at home when my son is around, since our house is just as smidgen larger than ones typically composed of gingerbread. Usually I go to one of several coffee shops that haven’t kicked me out and work until I get the sense that I must leave. Usually one cup of coffee equals roughly two and a half hours of rent at a coffee shop, I’ve found. Anything more and you receive the surly look that only a hardened barista can deliver. I was laid off from my advertising job six months ago, so I have more flexibility (the yoga helps too). I still do a lot of corporate freelancing as this author thing doesn’t really pay the bills on its own. I can’t help but think that there’s a more efficient, more rewarding way of writing, but I haven’t found it yet. I used to try working at odd hours, but I just can’t handle it. If I work too late then my mind gets going and sleep is impossibility. Too early and it’s like trying to turn over a ’63 Thunderbird on a cold winter’s morning. Usually I have a few productive hours between 10 and 3, then I’m kind of burned out and do other things, like interpretive dance, panhandling, shrieking belligerent poems at passersbys, and getting arrested.
Writer Jeff Baker with the Oregonian interviewed me a few weeks ago when I was in, of all places, Denver and the resulting interview came out in last weekend’s A&E section. I had a lot of fun, as I almost always do when talking/lying about myself. It seemed like Jeff had fun too, judging from his goofy piece. Check it out!
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who showed up at my reading yesterday at Wordstock: the penultimate celebration of all things “book”! That said, I would also like to officially castigate all those who didn’t show—billions of you. You really let me down, especially you sheepherders in the Tibetan village of Xiahe (you know who you are). I shared the stage with the brilliant David Michael Slater (an audience member asked if we were related and, in a sense, we are all brothers—except the women—they would be our sisters, which is weird when I think of my mother and wife both being my sisters…never mind). The audience was supportive and engaged (maybe they’ll get married some day) and several lucky children won OFFICIAL Heck buttons. After a brisk book signing, I led a workshop on marketing to young folks—a subject that no one can ever really master as kids are too smart for such things—but the adults in the group asked great questions and oozed integrity (I trust that’s all they oozed) and seemed to enjoy themselves (one attendee even brought me French fries!). Anyway, Wordstock is an amazing resource for authors and readers alike and I look forward to embarrassing myself next year!
Wordstock—Portland’s premiere literary event—hits town next weekend, and they’ve created these fun, food-themed videos. Give ‘em a look and I hope to see you next Sunday at Wordstock!
I did an interview with Cathy “Happy” Camper of the Multnomah County Library and thought I would share it with all of you good people, as well as the rest of you. It’s really interesting: Cathy contacts all sorts of cool Portland authors (and me, too) and invited them to drop by her office and chat with her digital recorder going. She then elegantly turns these into something listenable, that library visitors can access as they search for books. It’s a fabulous way to get behind your favorite books. Enjoy!
I was apparently on KATU’s AM Northwest Show a couple of weeks ago. I say/write “apparently” because it was really early in the morning and I barely remember the actual experience, though it certainly appears as if I had fun.
Hosts Helen Raptis and Dave Anderson made me feel very much at home, or as at home as you can feel on a set made to look like a living room, surrounded by bright lights and cameras. And no need to adjust your monitor: I was wearing my Official Heck Outfit, scientifically designed to look as if I were engulfed in flame.
Well, if I were sent to Heck, it would have to be the Circle of Heck reserved for really, really old boys. I would be the victim of one doozy of an administrative error…the likes of which hasn’t been seen since…the last doozy of an administrative error.
As a kid, however, I would have—more than likely—visited all of the Circles of Heck at one time or another. That’s probably true with most of us. If pinned down to pick just one, I would first ask you to stop pinning me down because it is very uncomfortable and I have a trick back that occasionally goes out…where it goes I don’t really know.
Perhaps I (not my back) would have gone to Snivel, the Circle of Heck reserved for whiny, cynical kids, the kind that not only think that their glasses are half empty, but that someone will come along at any moment and take that glass away from them.
Or Lipptor—which sounds like some prescription medicine your grandpa might take for his cholesterol, but is in reality the Circle of Heck for kids who sass back, who use words as weapons.
OK, in retrospect, you should have kept me pinned down because I keep squirming around on the floor of your question, but perhaps also Fibble, the Circle of Heck for kids who lie, since I have worked in the advertising industry, taking to the art of artifice far too readily.
