{"id":12570,"date":"2019-10-13T17:33:52","date_gmt":"2019-10-13T21:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=12570"},"modified":"2019-10-13T17:39:41","modified_gmt":"2019-10-13T21:39:41","slug":"episode-344-liz-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-344-liz-hand","title":{"rendered":"Episode 344 – Liz Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 344:
\nLiz Hand<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Episode_344_-_Liz_Hand.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“Henry Darger was a devout Catholic who was engaged in a huge argument with God.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Transgression vs. transcendence: Elizabeth Hand<\/a>‘s brand-new novel, Curious Toys<\/a>\"\" (Mulholland Books), explores artistic and cultural taboos through the lens of a serial killer mystery set in the amusement parks of Progressive Era Chicago. We talk about her inspiration for making outsider artist\/writer Henry Darger<\/a> one of the lead characters of Curious Toys<\/em>, how she first heard about Darger and the Vivian Girls mythology he created in his paintings and 15,000-page (!) novel, the striking similarities between Darger and Tolkien, the tragedy of outsider\/visionary artists, and the challenge of casting a nonbinary character a century in the past (the novel’s other<\/em> lead, not Darger). We also get into why writers have no control over the success of their books, the differences between writing on spec vs. on contract, some hints about her next Cass Neary<\/a> novel, the time she outdrew Deepak Chopra at a bookstore signing, and more! Give it a listen!<\/a> And go buy Curious Toys<\/a>\"\"!<\/p>\n

And check out our 2015<\/a>, 2016<\/a>, and 2017<\/a> episodes!<\/em><\/p>\n

“Transcendence is not easy to achieve, and neither is true transgression.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n