Welcome, Readers! My special guest today is author Dana Hammer to chat with me about her new comedic dystopian sci-fi, The Cannibal’s Guide to Fasting.
During her virtual book tour, Dana will be giving away a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!
Bio:
Dana Hammer is a playwright, screenwriter, short story writer, and novelist. Her screenplay, Red Wings, has been optioned by EMA Films, and she has signed a book deal with Cinnabar Moth for her novel, The Cannibal’s Guide to Fasting, which just released. She just completed a writing residency at Hypatia in the Woods, in summer of 2022. She has received over sixty awards and honors for her writing, few of which generated income, all of which were deeply appreciated. Her works have been and will be published in many anthologies, journals, and magazines.
Welcome, Dana. Please tell us about your current release.
It’s about a reformed cannibal named Igor who has to take down his brother’s cannibal rights cult.
What inspired you to write this book?
I created Igor many years ago, and loved him. I also wanted to write a satire about the way drug addiction is handled in our society. Cannibalism fascinates me, and I thought Igor would be a great cannibal.
Excerpt from The Cannibal’s Guide to Fasting
From CHAPTER ONE
Igor is a huge, scary looking man. Standing six feet, six inches tall, encased in bulges of muscle, he attracts attention everywhere he goes. Ropey veins snake beneath his taut, tanned skin. A spider web sprawls across the left side of his face, a tattoo choice that has not endeared him to potential employers or dates, and one that he regrets deeply.
He is not the type of man one can ignore. He is also not the type of man who one confronts about breaking the park’s “no picking wildflowers” policy. He carries an old-fashioned woven basket, which is filled with bluebells, daisies, and a few shy violets he managed to find hiding behind a rotten stump. He picks wildflowers regularly. It is zen as fuck.
There was a time, not so long ago, when he would have mocked such a pursuit. There was a time when he turned up his nose at botanists, botany, and plant-based careers in general. He’d thought of them as glorified gardeners, hobbyists puttering away in the dirt. Those days are long gone now.
He gasps and slaps at a mosquito that tastes his neck. He always kills mosquitos if he can. He knows that his virus can’t be transmitted via mosquito bite, but the thought makes him panic all the same. Too many rumors and fake news articles have done their damage, and he can no longer be bitten without fear. That’s why he has covered himself in a long-sleeved T-shirt and long pants, despite the hot day. He doesn’t want to risk it. Infecting another person is his worst nightmare.
It’s been six months since he was released from the rehab center that purported to cure him of the urge to eat human flesh. The program itself was lengthy, and long on religion, but since his graduation he has managed to stick to a socially acceptable diet, and so, he supposes, the program was a success. He’s stuck with it and kept himself out of trouble. That’s more than many of his friends can say.
It’s getting too hot. He needs to get his flowers home and get them pressed between the pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica he purchased from a garage sale a few weeks ago. After they are pressed, he will categorize them, label them, and add them to his growing collection of pink, glittery scrapbooks. Igor does not understand why all scrapbooks are designed for basic eleven-year-old girls.
He also needs to tend to his vegetable garden; in this heat, the plants will dry out and die, and then where will he be? It’s hard to get fresh, good-tasting produce nowadays, so he has to grow it himself. It’s either that or give in to temptation and eat the stuff he really wants to eat.
A family on a nature hike stares at Igor. He’s sure it’s not often they see a man like him, especially not out here, especially not with a basket of flowers, but their rudeness irritates him all the same. Igor glares at them.
“You got eye problems?”
The parents put protective hands on their children’s shoulders and scoot them away from the dangerous man. Igor rolls his eyes. “Douchebags,” he mutters as he walks past them.
He is tired of being stared at, tired of being an outcast.
He is tired of everything.
What exciting story are you working on next?
Right now, I’m working on a middle grade novel called My Best Friend Athena. It’s about an eleven-year-old girl whose best friend is the reincarnated goddess, Athena. Athena accidentally turns the school bully into a cockroach, and the girls have to try to find him and turn him back into a boy. I don’t typically write clean, child-friendly books, so this is a fun departure for me.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Personally, I think anyone who writes is a writer, whether they’ve been published or not, whether they’ve had commercial success or not. By that definition, I’ve always been a writer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I do write full time. I have like twenty-five projects going at any given time. Every day I work on something, whether it’s a short story, novel, screenplay, or stage play. I am a mother and housewife, so I’m able to make my own hours, which is a true luxury. I’m very lucky that way. Typically, I write while my kid is at school, and on days when she’s not in school, I do the shitty mom thing and let her watch YouTube while I get a little work done. This is totally fine, and I am at peace with it. Sometimes on weekends my husband will take her for Daddy Daughter Adventure Days, and then I can get REAL work done.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t know how interesting it is, but I find it hard to work without a beverage. Typically, I drink tea, or iced tea while I write. Also, I hate writing with shoes or a bra on. Shoes and bras hamper creativity.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
For a long time I wanted to be a psychologist, but then I realized you have to be good at comforting people and smiling to do that, and I am very bad at both of those things. I don’t come from a privileged background, so the idea of writing as a career was not something I seriously considered. Poor children aren’t really encouraged to go into the arts, and for good reason. It doesn’t pay well in most cases, and it’s not a stable career choice by any means. But I married well, so I can do what I want now.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I really hope you read and enjoy my book!
Links:
Website | Facebook | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Target | Cinnabar Moth
Thanks for hosting!
I liked the excerpt, thankyou.
intriguing
Sounds like a really good story.
This sounds so interesting! Very cool
This sounds like an interesting book