TOD 051 The Secret Life of Molly Tanzer

August 22, 2019
7 mins to read

In this podcast Scott Nicolay interviews author/editor Molly Tanzer, whose most recent book is Creatures of Want & Ruin, and is also a featured guest at NecronomiCon this week in Providence, RI. The podcast was recorded on Thursday August 15, 2019.

Show Notes

In this podcast Scott Nicolay interviews author/editor Molly Tanzer, whose most recent book is Creatures of Want & Ruin, and is also a featured guest at NecronomiCon this week in Providence, RI. The conversation begins with Molly’s first appearance on The Outer Dark as moderator of TOD 037 ANNIHILATION: An Expedition into Area X and geeking out on Warhammer, then shifts to what she’s working on now, her first novel Vermillion and why she hasn’t written a sequel yet, her obsession with the difference between alternate and secret histories, two kinds of fantasy authors, and inspiration in England’s Lake District. Molly delves deep into her The Diabolist’s Library series, touches upon her roots in Lovecraftiana, and expresses disappointment in some ‘smart’ scary movies. Discussion then turns to discourses on the creative burst that gave rise to Creatures of Will and Temper, reading Tarot for creative cues, her strange relationship with Roald Dahl’s writing and his sociopathy, her passion for Thomas Day, her favorite 18th century novels, Pygmalion and her novel The Pleasure Merchant, more on Thomas Day including disturbing misogyny, cross-referencing and the evolution of culture, her fascination with the picaresque, societal rises and falls, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, being a ‘Hobbit-truther’ and being drawn to small stories, Long Island, experiencing the rise of Trump’s America through the lens of having grown up in the Deep South, how her LBGTQ+ lead characters reflect actual history, telling absences, and her forthcoming projects such as Creatures of Charm and Hunger (April 2020) and editing a new translation of ’70s horror manga The Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezo, as well as her recommended recent works including In the Night Wood by Dale Bailey and Automatic Eve by Rokuro Inui.