I want to commend you on creating this story that is sick, twisted, and disgusting in all the most beautiful ways. This story is all about the intimacy of suffering, the connection forged between people when they consensually merge pain and pleasure. I love that you tackled this, as it’s such a stigmatized subject matter. Can you speak to your inspiration towards and connection to these subjects? Why was it so important to write this story?

I have a habit of writing stories inspired by trips that I’ve enjoyed (for example, my Lightspeed story “Season of Weddings” and my Khoreo story “Toothpaste Feelings” also came about that way). This one, I started writing after the first time I attended CLAW, a BDSM and kink convention in Cleveland. I distinctly remember thinking—on the way back—that some of the activities I got up to would be considered “niche” or “extreme” by a large percentage of the population. I wanted to speak to that through speculative fiction.

Having read this while at Worldcon, I particularly loved the idea of a mutilation/reanimation fetish convention. This line, in particular, made me laugh out loud: “I wormed my way into the gaps within my couch and mouldered there for months like a lump of forgotten bread.” That is essentially my post-convention ritual every time. Do you have a post-convention ritual? What are your favorite conventions to attend and why?

Haha, I do have light “con-drop” every time I return from a big convention. I have vivid memories of returning from IvyQ as an undergrad and thinking, “Wow! Not everyone around me is gay!” My ritual is just to animatedly tell all my friends about my experience. And maybe write a short story about it! I actually really enjoy a little analogue games convention in NJ called “Dreamation.” Just the right size, good mix of indie and big-name games, and I have a lot of friends who attend!

Despite its (at times) graphic and horrifying nature, this story is quite funny and heartwarming. Ultimately, it’s a story about true friendship. About healing and finding love. What is your process for balancing humor and horror, the macabre with the moving? You certainly have a deft hand at it and I’m sure our readers would appreciate insight into how they might incorporate that balance in their own work.

I don’t think I have a specific process, but I’m actually quite experienced in horror storytelling from the RPG world. Body-horror is a thing I like doing there. And I do draw from personal experience. The characters of Zane and Jules are absolutely drawn from real people!

I love the ending to this story, where at long last our “Freak” finally feels comfortable and supported enough to open themselves up to dying at the hands of a lover—an act they’ve performed countless times for others, but have never felt safe enough to entrust to another person. Can you speak to the importance of that level of trust and vulnerability for all of us in our lives and in our artistic endeavors? After all, much of this story is reminiscent of the creative process, especially for us who write work in such “demonized” prose.

In my own BDSM practice, I tend to take on the role of a “dom.” I need a particular sort of connection with someone to act as a “sub” and I wanted to channel that through the protagonist here. I’d like to draw parallels with that and the vulnerability you feel as an artist exposing yourself to others, but honestly, I don’t think it’s quite the same. The embodied implications of S&M make things quite different. But at a general level, giving someone your trust is challenging. I think that is something many people can relate to.

I’m sure that, like me, our readers will be eager to read more from you after finding this story! Where can people find you, and what other projects do you have in the works/forthcoming right now?

My editor would obviously love me to mention my recent book The Iron Below Remembers (which is also quite humorous). But other than that I have the story “Toothpaste Feelings” in Khoreo (I’m not sure if it’ll be “recent” or “upcoming” as I write this); I’m working on an interactive erotic novel for an interactive fiction company; I’m finishing a TTRPG for the National Academy of Sciences called Bloomfall, and I’m currently working on a kink-centered TTRPG called Leatherbound (more updates on that soon!)