Date Published: 10-12-2021
Publisher: Deuxmers Publishing
In this collection of fifteen curious and delightful short stories by S. K. Kruse, you never know who you’re going to meet or where you’re going to end up. You can be certain, however, that whether you follow Schrödinger’s cat into the zeroth dimension, or hang out with Bigfoot on a public beach, or have drinks with a woman who’s seen Gertrude Stein in the condensation on her window, you’ll find yourself smack dab in the middle of some befuddling predicament of existence.
Using humor and horror, satire and allegory, fabulism and realism, Tales From the Liminal takes you for an extraordinary ride, submerging you in spaces where anything is possible, especially transformation.
Interview with Sandy Kruse
For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?
They can start anywhere! All the stories in the collection explore liminality in some way—those transitional situations, places, and experiences in our lives, where we find ourselves betwixt and between. Whether readers start out by following Schrodinger’s cat into the zeroth dimension or by having drinks with a woman who’s seen Gertrude Stein in the condensation on her window, they’ll find themselves smack dab in the middle of some befuddling predicament of existence.
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
I became involved with the theme of liminality through my own experience of it—times of confusion and darkness in which I knew what I’d been doing or believing no longer worked but was unable to see the way forward yet. These types of experiences are usually unwelcome at the onset but are later revealed to have been essential to some significant period of growth in our lives.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
When I wrote these stories, I wanted to just open myself and see what came out. It’s harder than any tangible aspect of writing. There’s a certain dread that precedes it. At least for me. I always think of the quote, often (I guess apocryphally) attributed to Hemingway, “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” That’s what I tried to do. There was always editing that I needed to do after the first draft, but the voice would be there, very sure of itself, and it just kept happening. Every time, I was surprised.
Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I hope you enjoy the stories! And, just as my character the Ferryman encourages his brother Death (who’s having an existential crisis after the 20th Century), I guess I would like to say, in times of darkness to “always remember to look for the light!”
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I loved the bizarre premises and unique voices that came out of me for this book. And I never had so much fun writing in my life as when I wrote the political satire, “Mistakes May Have Been Made.”
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
My agent is currently shopping around my science fiction novel, which has the following elevator pitch: a sentient android escapes the corporate city Metro with the rejected infant son of its ruthless CEO, and the CEO wants one of them back. Hoping to get a call one of these days saying she sold it!
How long have you been writing?
Since second grade! But after making my big debut in The Onion while in college, I found myself on a twenty-five-year sabbatical to raise eleven children. Since emerging from this truth-is-stranger-than-fiction period of my life, I’ve been working hard at it again. I’ve got two novels completed and this book of short stories published with Deuxmers. Hopefully I have a few more decades to write!
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Tales From the Liminal?
In this collection of short stories, you will encounter a pig with political aspirations, a troubadour of the apocalypse, Bigfoot on the beach, and the Ferryman and his brother Death, just to name a few. Whether the story uses humor or horror, satire or allegory, fabulism or realism, the characters take you for an extraordinary ride, submerging you in spaces where anything is possible, especially transformation!
If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Tales From the Liminal who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
I would choose to spend the day with Bigfoot. On the beach. Grooving to Barry Manilow. Just like in the opening story! I would choose him because he so free, just being himself without any consideration of what others might think of him. It would be mortifying yet liberating!
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