Welcome to the 35th installment of Writer Spotlight. This week’s focus is Tim W. Burke. I’ve reviewed seven of Burke’s pieces, four of them individually on InkFoundry’s “Get WYSR” feed. (In case you didn’t know, InkFoundry is a wonderful and free resource that aggregates short fiction and poetry pieces!)
Recurring Themes:
Microfiction YAYYY!
Body horror
Body replacement
Mimicry / Trickery
Comedy & Fun Silliness
Day One - Oct 29
“The Garden and the Mirror” | WYSR Review
A young man and his wife seek a cure for a tumor.
“The Mother and the Worm” | WYSR Review
The second installment in “The Garden and the Mirror.”
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
Both these stories are a microfiction series of the same story.
Individually:
“The Garden and the Mirror” This microfiction has themes of medical issues and cures.
“The Mother and the Worm” A continuation of the first micro, this one seems to have evolved into a scheme of sorts between Olivia and the doctor.
Day Two - Oct 30
3. “I.C.U.” | WYSR Review
Keith watches his father struggle in the I.C.U.
4. “The Metal and Its Mold” | WYSR Review
A homunculus is born from a tumor.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
These two micros seemed pretty different to me.
Individually:
“I.C.U.” This one has a character focus with descriptive language, with themes of grief and dynamics of tough fathers in vulnerable states.
“The Metal and Its Mold” This one is a continuation of the series that started with “A Garden and the Mirror” and has themes of body horror/replacement, a homunculus, and what I think might be toxic love. (These are excerpts from Burke’s horror novel, The Flesh Sutra.)
Day Three - Oct 31
5. “Whalesong”
A giant creature has invaded the city, dropping worms that mimic their prey.
The narrator is unsettled at a show where ghouls are employed as actors.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
Both these stories have themes of mimicry.
Individually:
“Whalesong” This story was a fast-paced thriller with eldritch horrors, rescue attempts, and claustrophobic elements.
“Two Shows Daily” This story had a very eerie vibe with an interesting twist. It has themes of necromancy and anxiety. The usage of corpses / replacement reminded me of “The Metal and Its Mold.” There is also an element of trickery and memory loss.
Day Four - Nov 1
7. “FAZGOOD AND THE OBSTREPEROUS MOOSECRAB CAPER” (Chapter 1)
An earl travels to Harmonium in disguise as a grandmother.
“Fazgood” This opening chapter of Burke’s novel has so many elements already: that of a disguised nobleman, a seeming voodoo doll, and a style/atmosphere of fun silliness! Fazgood’s character also reminded me of the trickery as shown in “Two Shows Daily.”
Emmie’s Personal Favorite: “Whalesong”
Interview Questions
What are the themes you tend to return to the most in your work overall? Why do think that is?
Burke: My stories seem to be about people allowing their passion to lead them to disaster. In “The Flesh Sutra” series, Alecsi and Olivia want to buck Karma itself to make Existence better. Fazgood the Mad Earl wants to fix mistakes he made as an Epic Thief. “Two Shows Daily” and “Whale Song” have protagonists trapped by their refusal to accept help.
Sometimes politics sneaks in to emphasize that we ourselves make the choices, and religion is used to justify the choices.
Why? I grew up over-examining the world, but also very imaginative. These qualities pay off in writing.
2. What character(s) in these pieces do you relate to the most? Or, what character(s) are different from you that you found most interesting to explore?
Burke: Fazgood has helped me process growing older and allowing myself to open up to others. I have a better relationship with Fazgood than with Olivia and Alecsi, because those other two have concluded that there is Meaning, but the meaning Does Not Like You.
3. How Has Your Writing Evolved Since You Began?
Burke: My writing has become lighter in tone and more emotionally complex. Growing Old still means Growing Up.
I love language, and language is a laboratory. Fazgood allows me to rediscover lost words and create new words.
4. Do you tend to start writing a story idea out of a particular element, like character, setting, or point of view?
Burke: I have an idea or a mood, build it out, then remove anything that reminds me of anything well-known.
“Two Shows Daily” was based on “The Urbane Tiger” by Jean Ferry, which was a purposefully obscure choice. The ghoul replaced the tiger and I invented the protagonist’s fate.
“The Flesh Sutra” came from a broken heart, which somehow led to a brain emerging from an eye for Love, which is the image at the end of “The Garden and the Mirror”. “Whale Song” came from wanting to design a kaiju, and the question “what is a moment of Adoration worth?” I’ve been inspired by toxic work environments, by friends who’ve passed, and my parents’ passing. Anytime I write without a deep emotional connection, it doesn’t seem compelling.
Fazgood started as a rather classic trope thief many years ago. He stuck with me as I added Spock/McCoy-esqe sidekicks who then grew and changed as well. His weasel familiar grew smarter than his master and became his litigator and accountant. The other sidekick went from being more amorously successful than his boss, to changing gender at times to Fazgood’s frustration, to becoming his love. Piece by piece, my trope Eurocentric fantasy world transformed into a somewhat satiric wonderland.
5. What short fiction author do you look up to? Why?
Burke: Jeffrey Ford is funny, creepy, innovative, and deeply personal.
6. Anything else you’d like to say about your work?
Burke: My priority is to make stories with unique settings, creatures, challenges, and characters.
7. Do you have any piece, listed here or otherwise, that you would like to promote?
Burke: The Mad Earl Chronicles has two books, with Book Three coming this Spring. Reviewers say they are “surprising and fun” and “lean into their weirdness.” A recent reader said they make her smile. They are great, funny, deep books.
My novel “The Flesh Sutra” starts with the stories “The Garden and the Mirror” et al as publshed in Pseudopod. “The Flesh Sutra” is part of a two-book series of gothic, cosmic, body horror. Its first five chapters appeared in professional publications as short stories. It was long-listed for the 2014 Stoker Awards “Best Novel.” It has excellent reviews and is the most obscure gem in indy horror.