by Peter Clarke
“Wait… What did I just read?”
This was my first thought after reading “The Stand-In,” a work of flash fiction by Darlene Eliot, which appears in the recent issue of Jokes Review. In general, I don’t particularly care what a story is about so long as the voice and the style are strong enough or unique in some way. Eliot’s story passed this test easily. I loved the humorous rage that came through on every line. But still—what was this story?
Then it struck me: it was a ghost story—obviously! But it wasn’t a typical ghost story. It subverted genre expectations in a strange and goofy way, and all to very humorous effect.
As it turns out, this is a trademark of Eliot’s work: playing with various genres elements to create something new. She describes her stories as “suburban tales,” and she has a wide range of artistic influences that have helped shape her particular style.
Here is our interview with Darlene Eliot, where we discuss her writing style, her influences, and more:
Peter Clarke: Jokes Review gets shockingly few submissions from people who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, even though we’re based here. It’s hard to escape the feeling that the Bay Area’s time as a literary hub might be over. What’s your experience being a Bay Area writer? Do you think it will ever again be known as a literary hub?
Darlene Eliot: I’m a Southern California transplant who moved to the Bay Area just before the pandemic. Timing is everything, isn’t it? I’ve always romanticized the Bay Area, admired its literary history, its beauty, the ever-changing weather, and its ability to reinvent itself. With everything that’s occurred in recent years, another reinvention is about to happen, literary scene included. I’m excited to see it happen.
How would you describe your writing style?
My short stories are dark around the edges, sometimes speculative, sometimes dark-humored, sometimes creepy. Most are suburban tales with elements of dread, but I like to throw in some sweetness too because, contrary to popular belief, it still exists in the world.
You mention in your bio that you're inspired by film editors and composers. Can you explain how film editors and composers inspire you? Are there any particular film editors or composers you have in mind as inspirations?
I admire them because they join projects already in motion and have to revise things on the daily. It’s a huge challenge, along with the ups and downs of collaboration. I’m inspired by their ability to work in service of someone else’s vision. I doubt there are any egomaniacs in film editing especially because, when their work is at its best, it’s invisible.
My favorite film editors, past and present, are Thelma Schoonmaker, Dede Allen, Sally Menke, and Walter Murch. Sometimes I put their films on mute, watch how they cut the scenes, and think about how that applies to storytelling on the page. How would this sequence work better if I tried it a different way? The same with music in a scene. How does it enhance or subvert what’s happening between characters?
My favorite composers are Bernard Herrmann, Terence Blanchard, Michael Giacchino, Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat, Hans Zimmer, and of course, John Williams. I listen to their music while writing and sometimes to silence my inner critic. Music really does soothe the savage beast.
You’ve said in the past that you're a fan of cross-pollination between genres. What do you like about mixing genres? Do you have a favorite genre combo? Or any favorite writers who play with multiple genres?
I’m fascinated by hybrid writing and incorporating other forms to tell a story. It can be charts, ads, recipes, portions of poems, novels-in-flash, fictional obituaries. Gwendolyn Kiste’s “Sister Glitter Blood” gives the reader instructions on how to play a haunted board game. I love it when writers take a familiar premise, toss it in the air, reconfigure it, then take you on a ride you don’t expect.
Your story “The Stand-In” is possibly the strangest ghost story I've ever read, totally subverting my expectations about how ghosts behave and interact with the world. What inspired this story and its unusual premise?
The story was inspired by a “what if” conversation with my partner. We were talking about movie depictions of the afterlife and people wanting departed loved ones to send them a sign. He said, if that was possible, he would want me to do it. I felt the opposite and said it would freak me out if he tried to communicate from the afterlife. He looked sad. It was only for a split second, but his reaction caught me off guard, especially because he knows how jumpy I am. I thought about it days later and also thought about the waiting room scene in “Beetlejuice,” which makes both of us laugh. I imagined the camera moving past the counter and into the back office and thought, What’s going on back here? and the story emerged.
What writers have influenced you the most? What are some specific ways you've been influenced by other writers (perhaps in terms of style, voice, writing routine...)?
Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, Helen Oyeyemi, Neil Gaiman, and Sarah Hall. Ray Bradbury and Neil Gaiman acknowledge the speculative darkness, but there is humor and playfulness mixed in with the menace and struggle. Shirley Jackson and Helen Oyeyemi introduce dread and haunted pasts into everyday circumstance. Sarah Hall’s stories of transformation have unexpected sensory details that make you squirm. All of them have mastered “things are not what they seem” and taken it a step further.
Who’s an underrated modern novelist that you think more people should read?
Savage satirist Dawn Powell. When Fran Lebowitz, with a collection of over 10,000 books, recommends an author, you listen.
What is the last great short story you read?
It’s hard to narrow it down. There are three that come to mind. “On the Sudden Appearance of Many Large Invisible Floating Spikes” by Aidan O’Brien, “Oreo Arroyo” by Vanessa Hua, and one I return to often because it reminds me of my family background and also feels like a metaphor for writing, “Fern Gully” by Jonathan Escoffery. Completely different styles. All thought-provoking and wonderful.
What projects are you working on now?
A collection of short stories, notes for a novella, and trying not to be so jumpy.
For more about Darlene, visit DarleneEliot.com and follow her on Twitter @deliotwriter.
