John K. Danenbarger is the author of the new story collection Waves of Light and Darkness. He also has written the novel Entanglement: Quantum + Otherwise.
Q: Over how long a period did you write the stories in your new collection?
A: Good question. Since I have written in spurts, it is impossible to answer. I will have new collections coming which are more compressed in creative time. But this collection is probably spread over 10 years.
Q: How was the book's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: Sorry to make it so simple, but the title just came to me as right. It popped into my head and I never looked back. If only all titles were so easy.
Q: How did you decide on the order in which the stories would appear in the collection?
A: I did not decide. My editor did, and I approved.
Q: Do you usually know how a story will end before you start writing it, or do you make many changes along the way?
A: My favorite question. I never, ever know how a story is going to end since I let the characters decide. But often I argue with the characters and we come to a friendly conclusion.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have a long pipeline filled with stories. I think I have overloaded my publisher, but the next book should probably be a novel-in-stories titled The Dying Cat. I have enough short stories for two more collections so far, because I have had these stories pent up in me for years and, at age 84, I need to get them written before my brain turns to mush.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Market research shows that my existential literary fiction is most popular in Europe, Africa and Asia. I don’t know what that says about America except that, if I ever get the time, I will try to find translators for Italian, German, and French versions.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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