Thirteen Fictions for Middling Millennial Melancholia received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Elmore Collins.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Thirteen Fictions for Middling Millennial Melancholia. Published in November 2022.
What’s the book’s first line?
I rise from bed and stare at my fat fucking gut.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
The book is broadly about a generation – Gen Y – which happens to be the one I belong to. Its protagonists span that age range (mid-twenties to late thirties), and though the stories are primarily set in Australian capital cities, they try to cover a range of millennial middle-class experiences.
The pervasive theme throughout the book is a sense of unhappiness, but it’s a strange and perhaps avoidable one. I also hope people find the book funny – most of the stories are a dark comedy of sorts. You’ll find no shortage of irresponsible behaviour: affairs, drug and alcohol abuse, internet addiction, vanity politics. There is a nihilistic tone to most of the stories, but I don’t think the characters are necessarily nihilists; it’s more accurate to say they are spiritually lost.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I think firstly just observing culture, the zeitgeist, how people behave – that kind of thing. I am generally attracted to and influenced by social realism as a wide genre of art. I love the realism of The Sopranos, Tom Waits songs, Raymond Carver stories. I would also identify as a Cohenite, so any minor poetic flair comes from listening to Leonard’s records on repeat.
As far as particular people in my life, I have a friend called Mad who is into literature, and I only really started writing properly when she would read stuff. After that, I had a few stories accepted for publication in literary magazines, so that was the extra bit of validation I needed to keep going and eventually publish this book.
I should also say that I’m blessed with a tolerant wife who puts up with me coming home from work, opening a bottle of wine, and writing all night.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
If you feel like most of the culture is bullshit and you want to laugh at it. If you are yourself a millennial who suffers from anhedonia and wants to be understood. Or if you are the parent of a millennial and want to get a feel for what’s wrong with your children, rather than hear another diatribe about how you’re to blame for everything.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I started writing short fiction in mid-2020. You’ll find quite a few of these stories are very much set in the pandemic era. I had my first piece accepted for publication towards the end of that year, which spurred more writing.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Yes, it is. I’m now turning my attention to my first novel.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I work in construction. I am a quantity surveyor by trade, which is someone who estimates and manages the costs of construction projects.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
It varies quite a bit depending on my work and social life, but I would say I get a couple of hours in every other weeknight, and then some weekends I’m fortunate to have a day free to write all day and night. Some stories in the book took a day or two draft, whereas others were more agonizing and took months to complete.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Find someone generous and interested enough to read your stuff. Have a go. Get used to being met with rejection and indifference.
I don’t roll in creative writing circles, so having a couple keen friends to read my stuff meant a lot to me.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Maybe but I doubt they’ll call. I don’t think my tone or message (not that there really is a strong message) is in vogue. I also have a real job so I couldn’t work to deadlines etc. But it is difficult marketing yourself without a traditional publisher, because hardly anyone reads as it is.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I am vain, so recognition from people is always nice, but I am torn on that because part of me would like to stay under the radar. I don’t really want the scrutiny of my moral life, nor do I want my day job to be impacted.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I love John Cheever and Raymond Carver, that era of American short stories. I think Cheever had the upper-middle class down while Carver had the lower-middle. It is recent enough so that the stories are relatable, sans the internet of course. But they both have that alcoholic melancholy that I like and that this book was certainly influenced by.