Reading through Lannie Stabile’s short stories, I was transported elsewhere to experience the tale through the eyes of the narrator each time. I was also confronted with facts of life that move from mundane (morning coffee) to monumental (somehow also morning coffee). It reminded me of Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, surreal and eerie with parts so relatable it reads like a memory. Though, with a title like Something Dead in Everything, I knew we were in for a good book absolutely steeped in imagination. Lucky for us, this remarkable Michigan author took a few moments to answer our questions.
- If you were a dewey number, which one would you be and why? Ooh. Tough question. I think I'm a cross of Ghost (fiction) – 808.838 and Energy – 333.79 with a dash of Finance – 332 and Cats – 636.8.
- If you were to come back in another life as one of your characters, which one would you choose? I might come back as Jena in my short story "Feed the Birds" (Something Dead in Everything), and give my ex-boss and ex-coworkers the old what for. I just hate how she shrivels up in humiliation when she's laid off.
- Do you have a stack of "to be read" books and what would we see on that stack (or what are your favorite reads)? Boy! Do I have a TBR stack. It's probably about three-feet high at this point. You'll find lots of things: poetry, short story collections, self-development, queer YA, Celeste Ng, Stephen King, etc. I just finished Michael Garrigan's poetry collection River, Amen, and now I'm working through The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins.
- Being from Michigan, do you have a favorite Michigan memory? I gotta go with Boblo Island. I remember my brother throwing popcorn at me on the bow of the ferry and driving around the park in a Model T Ford with a bumper in the middle of the street, so you couldn't go off course. It was certainly a highlight of my childhood.
Huge thanks to Lannie Stabile for taking time to share with us!
Did I also mention that the book has Discussion Questions for book clubs!?! If you check out one book this October, I recommend Something Dead in Everything.
Enjoy!