The Devil's Thesaurus (Author Interview)


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9ZV1CTN

Any plans to turn it into a series?

No. Even though it’s my “debut book”, I think the beauty of this book is in its completeness.

 

What inspired you when writing The Devil’s Thesaurus?

A lot of my writing came from my own heartbreak. Even though these poems are fictional, the (unnamed) speaker of the poem and I share a lot of similar experiences.

Also, I drew a lot of inspiration for the structure from The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan. I loved the way he crafted that novel, with its powerful vignettes.

 

How did you come up with the title to your book?

The title is my nod to The Lover’s Dictionary. I wanted something similar, but I made it my own. Thesaurus hints at my format of going through the alphabet, but also including opposite poems.

 

What will readers get out of your book?

Readers will find catharsis as they travel on this journey of loss, love, and the bittersweet moments of reminiscing that we’ve all experienced at the end of relationships.

I know I’m not the only one who has sat in the dark, waxing philosophical about the one who got away. I really hope that this book can help readers not feel so alone as they “write the poem in (their) head”.

 

Did anything stick out as particularly challenging when writing The Devil’s Thesaurus?

Finding 5 words that start with the letter X and have an antonym…my greatest feat yet.

In all seriousness, the writing itself was difficult. Through these pages I relived a lot of my past—some of it good, some of it bad. Is it based on my own experiences? Yes. Does that mean it’s not fictional? No. Does that mean that I did not feel the emotion of every word? Me genoito!

 

What do you like to do when not writing?

I play board games, listen/produce podcasts, and binge too much TV.