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Interviewing author Erik Quisling

Lauren Smith: What inspired you to create a work of fiction? 

Fables from the Mud

Lauren Smith: Do you see Fables From the Mud as a satire, cultural commentary or something more? 

Erik Quisling:  Fables From The Mud is about three little creatures – a clam, an ant, and a worm – all of whom are struggling with very human problems.  The stories are satirical but in many ways are simply a cultural commentary on the human obsession with finding meaning in the world.  All in all, they are designed to be amusing and to get you to see somewhat the absurdity of taking life too seriously. 

Lauren Smith: How did you develop each of the fables? 

Erik Quisling:  Each fable was born from its own separate bout of inspiration. In each case, it was a single line of text that came to me that was like lighting a fuse that set the story on its course.  Once the fuse was lit, the stories pretty much wrote themselves – I simply had to go back and edit them a little bit. 

Lauren Smith: Are any of the characters based on anyone – or any type of person - you know? 

Erik Quisling:  I can say that the more I read the stories, the more I learn about myself.  But I truly think each character is a reflection of some deeply common human experience – not of any human in particular.

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