An Interview With My Favorite Author

Varad,

coffee-table-prior

It was nothing like what I had imagined.

I found him rocking forward and backwards on his famous cane chair, a cigarette dangling between his parched lips. The ashtray on the table overflowed with snubbed butts.

There were sheets of paper, scrunched into balls, discarded all over the place. I opened one, and read.

It was not good.

The cabin stank of whiskey, vomit, and failure.

I started the interview, he slurred incoherent words. Then he started coming on to me.

I shot a look of disgust and pity towards him and left.

I shouldn’t have peeped behind the curtain.

Word Count: 100

Written in response to the picture prompt provided by Yvette Prior for the weekly Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff – Fields. Please find other entries here. 


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Published by Varad

Self-published author/ Social media neanderthal.

57 Comments

    1. That’s the ideal case scenario, right? But, we have this annoying tendency of doing something we are not supposed to do. Thanks for the comment, Jilly.

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  3. It’s sad when our heroes don’t live up to the image we have of them. This is full of great descriptions and disappointment, provoking a need to wash off the smell of failure straight away,

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    1. True. Also true is that addiction can make you a failure. Guess the two are like two snakes biting each other’s tail. Thanks for the comment, Abhiray.

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  15. A vivid description indeed! This reminds me somehow of Khushwant Singh. From whatever accounts (by others) about the mighty author I’ve read, he came across pretty insolent and intimidating.

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    1. There are a lot of authors whose real personas were nothing like the one we’d have imagined after reading their books. I was quite shocked to learn about Enid Blyton’s real persona. It was a real shattering moment for me. Thanks for the comment, Jheelam.

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      1. This is true of many “heroes”. We tend to idolize mortals and so we want to be closer to see if the magic rubs off on us or just to learn an apprentice of sorts. The truth is like an old Bette Midler song “From a Distance” – the earth is blue and green and From a distance, we all have enough And no one is in need And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease, No hungry mouths to feed, etc
        You have some interesting stories. I’m actually here as part of the “road trip” from the A to Z Challenge. I want to visit as many participants as I can before April comes around again. Hope to see you in April. All the best.

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  20. I’ve heard of famous male authors getting kinda rapey, too. I imagine that hanging out with Hemingway was a tiresome bore. I wrote him into one of my novels that way, based on Lillian Russell’s New Yorker piece about him. Well done.

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    1. I’ve read accounts of how Enid Blyton was a snob and a racist. When I first read that I felt incredulous. Thanks for the comment, J Hardy.

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  21. I love this. To be all enthusiastic about your idol and then see them struggle and being just simple humans like the rest of us–except for that curtain. What’s behind it? Great last line.

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  25. Dear Varad,

    Yours is a story for all of the senses, I could just imagine this scenario. An unfortunate interview and I’m holding my breath at what might be behind that curtain. Well done.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    1. Thank you for the kind words, Rochelle. It’s really sad to see the person you adore be nothing like what you expect them to be.

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