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Good evening, Creature Feature fans! 'Tis
I, Count Gore De Vol's TombKeeper, your crumbling companion and gruesome
guide, out of the Tomb and into the Vault for an interview with an exciting
new darkscribe whose terrifying first novel, THE UNWELCOME CHILD, is an
exquisitely written and chilling story of women engulfed by the ultimate
evil. Not bad for a former rock-n-roll video vixen, eh? Okay, now that I've
got your attention, please join with me in welcoming the beautiful and
multi-talented Terese Pampellonne!
TK: Congratulations on the
publication of your first novel, Terese! It’s truly wonderful and already a
contender for the Horror Writers Association’s prestigious Bram Stoker
Award. You’ve created a superb and terrifying portrait of pregnancy
occurring within a malignant environment and, as such, it is sure to be
compared with Ira Levin’s bestseller, ROSEMARY’S BABY. Personally, I think
it’s unfair to compare novels just because they both encompass the same
broad theme. Your novel, THE UNWELCOME CHILD, while wholeheartedly embracing
spooky Gothic tradition, is quite modern and totally removed from Mr.
Levin’s novel, don’t you agree?
TP: Thank you Judy. Although
I have seen the movie, I’ve never read Mr. Levin’s novel so I’m not sure how
much license had been taken. However based on what I do know, I would agree.
Whereas the horror in Rosemary’s Baby is fantastical, I feel in The
Unwelcome Child it is of a more temporal nature. One of the theories behind
Jan’s irrational behavior — her refusal to leave the house or seek any
medical attention because of her belief in the house’ s supposedly
supernatural boundary — is that she cannot face the fact that her baby may
have Downs Syndrome. As for myself, I don’t need a demon to make childbirth
anymore terrifying than it already is. What soon-to-be parent doesn’t
breathe a sigh of profound relief once they get their sonogram back and
everything checks out to be normal? Or, my personal favorite, have had
nightmares that they may raise the next Son-of-Sam? At least with the spawn
of Satan you can rest assured that any anti-social behavior had nothing to
with your parenting.
TK: Haunted houses in fiction
are often thought to be external manifestations of a character’s inner
psyche. How do you view the house on Sea Thistle Hill?
TP: Since the house used to
be a lying-in hospital where abortions were performed alongside babies being
delivered, it forces my heroine, Annie Wojtoko, to face the choices she’s
made in her life, i.e. her own abortions and her decision to never have
children. In that sense, the house reflects Annie’s turmoil. However, I see
the house as a metaphor for motherhood more than anything else. I think many
women fear that when they have had a child, they will have to sacrifice
their independence, and that their lives will no longer be their own. A
house where you can conceive but can never leave otherwise the child will
die, reflects that fear.
TK: The
two main characters in THE UNWELCOME CHILD, Jan and Annie, drive the action
of the novel. Annie, in particular, propels the momentum of the plot as the
first person viewpoint character. She is a woman of strong opinions. When
writing this novel, did you ever worry that the themes explored in the
narrative would be controversial?
TP: I only worried about it
in the sense that I didn’t want to come down too heavily on one side.
Obviously since my heroine is pro-choice, that’s where the book’s sympathy
lies, but I worked hard to give voice to the other side of the debate as
well. No one wants to listen to a one-sided screed. What I didn’t count on
was how difficult it would be to get a publisher for the book. Although some
editors enjoyed THE UNWELCOME CHILD immensely, they passed because of the
controversial subject matter. I was surprised, considering what’s going on
with the Supreme Court and reproductive rights in general in this country.
Fortunately, John Scognomiglio, my editor at Kensington, had the insight to
see that although there was a theme of abortion running throughout the book,
it was still an old-fashioned page-turner at heart.
TK: You
are unflinching and courageous in portraying horror graphically when
necessary, and I applaud you. THE UNWELCOME CHILD is not a cozy little ghost
story; it is a terrifying ghost story. What authors have influenced your
writing?
TP: Edgar Allen Poe, whom I
used to picture as Vincent Price thanks to all those Saturday afternoon
movies I watched as a kid. Cheever, because he’s such a master of depicting
the conflicted life, as well as Eugene O’Neil whose characters always seem
to be so fatally flawed. There are probably others which I’m not even
conscious of, but I tend to admire writers with a dark sensibility.
TK:
You’ve also written short stories and are an award-winning playwright. Which
fictional form do find most difficult? Most rewarding?
TP: It’s a tie between
playwriting and long prose. A novel takes an enormous amount of patience as
well as faith, two things I’ve struggled with my whole life. Perhaps because
of this, I feel that finishing my book was an enormous ‘personal’
achievement. I say it’s a tie with playwriting because although dialogue
comes very naturally for me, I’ve yet to write a two-act play. One of the
reasons why I chose to tackle the novel for my MFA thesis was in the hope of
expanding my craft beyond the short story or one-act play, both of which are
very easy for me. But because there’s nothing like watching an audience
respond to my work, or see characters I’ve created brought to life, I’d have
to say that writing a full-length play, should it ever come to pass (there’s
that issue of faith again!) would be the most satisfying endeavor.
TK:
You’ve had a very interesting career trajectory, to say the least! Tell
everyone about your adventures in the lively arts.
TP: Born and raised in
Michigan, I came to New York on a scholarship with Alvin Ailey, and from
there went on to dance professionally with a number of modern dance
companies, most notably touring internationally as a soloist with Elisa
Monte. That was my day job. Nights, I danced at the Cat Club in New York
City, in a show choreographed by Peri Lister, who just happened to be Billy
Idol’s girlfriend. It was because of this connection that I eventually
danced in a number of music videos, including Billy Idol’s Hot in the City
as well as went on a short-lived tour as a back-up dancer with his band. The
reason for it’s brevity was because Peri, a modern-day Lucy, had basically
browbeat Billy into having dancers in his show even though the rest of the
band couldn’t stand the idea. In the end, the band won out and we were
vetoed. Back to the kitchen for Lucy! Anyway, I tried acting for awhile, and
after some moderate success off-off-off Broadway (okay, Jersey City), I
decided it was time to become a responsible citizen and go back to school so
I could make a real living. I discovered writing instead.
TK: Wow! Okay, this is way
off topic, but I just have to ask: Is Billy Idol the bad boy we think he is?
TP: All I can say, without
being sued, is that in my presence he was always a perfect gentleman.
TK:
Good answer! You're definitely going to make it in this business, Terese!
There’s an old saw that states that writing can’t be taught, and a deep
division among writers who feel that creative writing classes are or are not
worthwhile. You’ve earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Hunter College.
Tell us a bit about your studies. How valuable was that education to you as
a writer?
TP: First of all, there’s the
competitive environment. Nothing makes you work harder than having to
present your work to other writers for critiquing. Then there’s the
opportunity to work with the same group of people for an extended period of
time — a group that not only knows your faults as well as your gifts, but
knows your project intimately as well. They’ve seen it grow, how it’s
changed, and because of this their insights are usually well-informed. Most
of all, an M.F.A. keeps you on track. You have to produce, whether you’re
inspired or not, which in my opinion is the true secret to being a
successful writer.
TK: I
couldn't agree more. Do you have any advice for unpublished writers who are
trying to break into the horror field?
TP: Well, if I were to pass
on the advice my editor gave me, I would say go into Mystery instead (it’s a
much larger market). To tell you the truth, I had no idea my book would end
up in Horror. On a blog I participate in, Storytellersunplugged.com , I
wrote an essay entitled, ‘I didn’t know I was a Horror Writer until Somebody
told me.’ The fact is, I wrote what was of interest to me, not what I
thought would appeal to others, or in what genre my writing would fit.
TK:
Last question. When may we look forward to your second novel?
TP: I’m hoping to have a
first draft finished by the end of the summer. There. That’s a public
declaration I now have to live up to.
TK:
Well, you heard it here first, folks! We'll all certainly look forward to
your next novel, Terese. I hope you'll come back and share it with us. Thank
you so much for taking time from your busy schedule to be my victim--er,
guest tonight!
Although Terese Pampellone is no longer with us in the Vault, she has left
behind a special treat for all of us to enjoy. Head upstairs to the Library,
where you will find a brand new, previously unpublished short story from the
author! I don't want to give the plot away, but the subject matter ties in
to the subject matter we've been discussing here tonight. Watch out, it's
truly compulsive reading! You'll love it!
Also, I want everyone to be sure to visit Terese Pampellonne's official
website, http://www.fictionbookauthors.com/, where you will find excerpts
from her Stoker-nominated first novel, THE UNWELCOME CHILD, and lots of
other goodies. For more about her novel, please click on http://www.unwelcomechild.com/.
I know you're going to want your own copy of THE UNWELCOME CHILD, so follow
me on down to the Tomb, where my review of the book is waiting for you with
a direct link to Amazon.com!
As always, last one into the Tomb is a rotten vulture's egg!
Good night, everybody!
Yours from the DarkSide,
J. L. Comeau
The TombKeeper
Creature Feature © D. Dyszel 2006
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