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Smoking With Nadine Darling

(Read the Story) December 15, 2005

Nadine Darling

Art by Marty D. Ison

The counterpointed scenes demand that a reader piece them together, find their connections, construct a meaning. You place a tremendous amount of trust in the reader’s ability to do so. Is that okay? {I’m not sure I’d trust myself to understand the back of a cereal box.} How can you be sure we’ll get it?

The story is pretty much the back of a cereal box. A maze, or something, all leading to a treasure chest filled with Lucky Charms. I’m not sure I get it, either, but I sure like cereal.

How does one go about making one’s life not “a scam”? Are you there yet?

I don’t think most people are living scam lives. If you’re sad or feel like an outsider, it’s just easier to assume that everything that you’re not a part of is bullshit. I don’t think my life’s a scam. It’s all right.

Talk to us about zombie dreams and dog weddings.

Both a product of my California upbringing. I’ve been to a few dog weddings. As far as I know, they’ve all turned out pretty well.

Broke ass and sick with love? Should we be worried or happy? And how is the old man these days?

The sick with love part is very nice and always surprising; the broke ass part I could do without. And the old man? Geez. Aces. Just the joy of my life. Thank you for asking.

A new year approaches (yikes!). So, what’s the best that 2005 had to offer in literature, web sites, music, movies, television, DVD, and the like? Also, any predictions for 2006? And we’d love to hear your New Year’s resolution.

The writer’s website, Scrawl, has overtaken our lives completely. I wake up in the middle of the night wondering what various members are doing and if they’re okay. Also, the new One Twelve CD was pretty great- anything with falsettos and hysterical, soulful yearning.

For the new year? I know my father will fight with the neighbors and that my old man will be foxy. I’d like to resolve to write everyday, but, you know, that shit ain’t gonna last.

About the Author

Nadine Darling lives in Beverly, Massachusetts, with her husband, Kenneth, who she couldn’t love more if his pockets were filled with candy. She is currently writing her first novel to avoid getting a real job.

About the Artist

A native of Ohio, Marty D. Ison lives with his wife transplanted in the sands of the Gulf of Mexico. He studied fine arts at Saint Petersburg College. In addition to the visual arts, he writes poetry, short stories, and novels. See more of Ison’s work here.

This interview appeared in Issue Eleven of SmokeLong Quarterly.
SmokeLong Quarterly Issue Eleven
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