Interview: Steven Popkes on “Breathe”
– Tell us a bit about “Breathe.”
“Breathe” is the story of a vampire that views himself as a parasite. I took some liberties with the idea of a vampire for purposes of the story. Vampires are those creatures that can absorb qualities from other people.
– What was the inspiration for this story, or what prompted you to write it?
Some stories are comments on other things. This is one. I found myself irritated with the romanticization of vampires. I find nothing attractive or sexy about an individual who’s only source of strength is stealing from other people. I had been annoyed for a while but the pedophilic characteristics in some recent work is probably what pushed me over the edge.
– What kind of research, if any, did you do for “Breathe?”
A little. I’m well acquainted with biotech and biological research—my wife is a biochemist and I used to be a physiologist. Mass General Hospital is right down the road. I worked in hospitals for most of my time in college and in the Boston area. Most of the material was just outside the window.
– Most authors say their stories are personal. If that’s true for you, in what way was your story personal?
The choices of asthma and emphysema were personal. I used to suffer from what had been misdiagnosed as asthma and I had several smoking relatives that died of emphysema.
– What are you working on now?
I just finished a novel version of my novella Jackie’s Boy. Now I’m working on a novel that takes place in a fictional Missouri location called Nuthatch County.
– Anything else you’d like to add?
I have no good judgment on how stories are going to be received. It’s nice to see this one get some traction.
“Breathe” appears in the Nov./Dec. 2012 issue of F&SF.
comments
Leave a Reply
If this is your first time leaving a comment, your comment may enter the moderation queue. If it doesn't appear right away, don't panic; it should show up once site administrators verify you're not a spambot. After you successfully post a comment, future comments will no longer be moderated.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Copyright © 2006–2020 The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction • All Rights Reserved Worldwide
Powered by WordPress •
Theme based on Whitespace theme by Brian Gardner
If you find any errors, typos or anything else worth mentioning,
please send it to sitemaster@fandsf.com.
Designed by Rodger Turner and Hosted by:
