Tenorio, born in the Philippines and raised in California, has taken a uniquely Filipino-American perspective, polyglot and glittering with cinema dreams, and used it to make a bold collection of stories of the rejected, the helpless and the lost. Monstress is the debut of a singular talent.” NPR
Lysley Tenorio is the author of the short story collection Monstress, which critics have called “vibrant,” “electric,” and “gorgeous.” See the collection’s title story performed on the Shotgun Player’s Ashby Stage on Tuesday, October 9, 7 pm, as part of Stories on Stage. Tenorio will also discuss writing short stories at our Art of Short Fiction panel Saturday, October 13 at 2:30 pm, Z Space.
- 1. What is your favorite book?
- I have lots, but to name a few: Midnight’s Children by Rushdie, The Remains of the Day by Ishiguro, The Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken, Edwin Mullhouse by Steven Millhauser, Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary.
- 2. Who is your favorite writer?
- There are several, but whenever I’m asked that question Ishiguro and Millhauser come to mind more quickly than the others.
- 3. How old were you when you were first published?
- I was 23, but it was a letter to the editor in Entertainment Weekly and it was about Winona Ryder. They called my letter “Low Ryder.” Does that count?
- 4. What writing style do you most abhor?
- Drug-induced or dream-driven stream of consciousness prose rarely appeals to me.
- 5. What is your favorite writing cliché?
- The scowl-y, brood-y, non-smiling author photo. Sometimes it works, I get that, and I secretly wish that I was blessed with the bone structure to pull such a photo off. But mostly, the author ends up looking like a troubled soldier-of-fortune, an emaciated supermodel, the homeless-but-chic, or like someone with an unfortunate eye condition. But at the very least, it’s good for a laugh, so keep it coming.
- 6. What is your favorite word?
- “Nemesis.” Second favorite: “shenanigan”
- 7. When and how do you write?
- The writing feels best early in the morning, at the laptop, with a cup of coffee beside my keyboard.
- 8. What is your greatest fear when you first turn in a manuscript?
- That it sucks.
- 9. In what era do you wish you’d been born?
- I wish I was born in an era where little kids ride safely on hover-bikes and human beings can float at will, where corporations aren’t considered people, and where mainstream TV shows, movies, and books regularly featured main characters of different ethnicities, sexual orientations, sizes, and economic classes. And where we have eye-operated cursors. I’m not guessing that this era will happen anytime soon.
- 10. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
- “I.”
- 11. Which talent would you most like to have?
- I wish I could sing and play guitar at the same time.
- 12. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
- Given that it’s almost 1 am, that I taught 3 classes today, and that I haven’t eaten since breakfast, answering these questions is feeling like a major accomplishment right now.
- 13. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
- Ramona Quimby
- 14. How would you like to die?
- Tipsily.
