Behind the Words: An Interview with 'memnalar

Memnalar is a name that most of us, in the DeviantART lit community, need no introduction to. But who is the person behind the name, the writer, the artist?

In this interview I’ve decided to torture another ex-GM, I seem to enjoy the prospect of that too much. It seems that all those that are contributing to our little community are too good to not be tortured But it is not the contribution to the community which we are interested in here, nor the activeness or support (although always appreciated). It is the writer, the person that moves us not only by actions – but by words. I think that Memnalar is doing just that.

While preparing for this interview I was browsing his gallery, as I always do, looking for points of interest to base the interview on. I was fascinated. Everything I read had so much to offer. That's what I love about dA, there's so much to explore! And here I will try to show you more of who Memnalar, and what is his POV regarding literature, writing, and art as a whole. So let's get to it!



Warm Up Questions
First thing, let’s get to know you a little bit better –

leoraigarath : How old are you?
Memnalar :  I’m 38, which makes me about 452 in deviantART years.


leoraigarath : Ouch, that’s devi-old! But soon it’s your 500 anniversary, and I’ve heard it comes with a free porridge! So, where does Memnalar come from?
Memnalar :  Born, raised and still live in Corpus Christi, on the Texas Gulf Coast. There are days when I’d rather be anywhere else, and there are days when I wouldn’t be anywhere else. It snowed once here, and I managed to be out of town at the time.


leoraigarath : Well, I’ve never experienced falling snow . What is the meaning of your DeviantART nickname?
Memnalar :  Someone once asked me if it was inspired by Agamemnon of Greek myth. Unfortunately, I’m not that erudite. “Memnalar” was the name of an archvillain in Dungeons & Dragons games I used to run (a 2nd Edition lich, for my fellow basement-dwellers among your readers). My players HATED the guy, so the name eventually became of synonym for the worst thing that could happen to their characters. I like to think I’m carrying on that tradition for the poor bastards who show up in my stories.


leoraigarath : We’ll leave that to the readers to decide, so - coffee or Tea?
Memnalar :  Coffee, and I’ll take it any way it’s handed to me, although I prefer it black and sweet. I usually drink tea only when I’m sick, although a cup of jasmine over Thai food is nice.


leoraigarath : Poetry or prose?
Memnalar :  I am more comfortable writing prose. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.


leoraigarath : Any formal experience in writing you’d like to share?
Memnalar :  I got my degree in journalism, wrote for a few small newspapers, and got myself published (for money, even) in a gaming magazine a couple of times. That was a long time ago. Basically, all of my experience happened before the internet was as powerful a force in the publishing world, as it is now. So, I’m at square one as far as my fiction writing is concerned, and so far, I’m content to hang out here and see what happens.


leoraigarath : Where were you published?
Memnalar :  If you seriously lack anything better to do, look up articles titled “Nocturnal Crusade” and “Soulbond: Ecology of the Steel Dragon” in Dragon magazine. Witness the horror.


leoraigarath : I’m sure there are eager readers who would look for the articles and share with us all! What time of day is the best time for you to write?
Memnalar :  When the house is empty and I have enough time to play music and have a couple belts of bourbon or a cup of coffee (remember, black and sweet) without interruption.


leoraigarath : What genre do you prefer reading?
Memnalar : I always come back to epic fantasy. It’s where I started, and it’s home. That said, I also like near-future sci-fi. I’m a huge devotee of William Gibson and his juxtaposition of sleek and grit. He’s the writer who made me want to try my hand. I also love nonfiction, particularly books and articles about history, folklore, politics and the oddities of human belief.

I love ghost stories in particular, because the best ones are all about making you feel the story rather than telling you everything in plain language. The scariest ghost story you’ll ever read won’t use the word “ghost” anywhere. That’s an idea I like to carry into anything I write, that I’m trying to give the reader an impression to work with rather than a blueprint to follow.

I guess I rather like the idea of spending some vicarious time in a world where problems can be solved with a sword instead of litigation and credit counseling. That, and it was the stories of King Arthur and Greek and Norse mythology that drove me to read books on my own. When you grew up on the Twelve Labors of Hercules and the Green Knight carrying his own head off into the sunset, you’re pretty much a fantasy reader for life.


leoraigarath : What is the first thing you look for when you open a fresh new book?
Memnalar :  In fiction? Action. I don’t mean that I want every novel to open up with a car chase or a swordfight, I mean that I want to see characters doing things right off the bat. I have little patience anymore for novels that begin with a lavish description of the setting or page after page of exposition. Characters steer any story, and the best stories give them the wheel.

In nonfiction, I want the writing to make the topic real and human to me, to set me down in the middle of it, and make me curious, no desperate to know more.

In poetry, I look for clarity of language, attention to rhythm and deceptive depth. I like observational poetry that finds meaning in the mundane.


leoraigarath : What is the last thing you expect to find when you open a fresh new book?
Memnalar :  The ending. I’m a notoriously slow reader, and the vast majority of books that occupy my shelves have a bookmark stuck in them.

leoraigarath : What is the one thing you can’t live without?
Memnalar :  Water? Oxygen? Beer? I can’t say that beyond the obvious necessities that there is one thing that would make life completely impossible were it to vanish. I mean, I love music, but I could go on without it. Sex, too. And caffeine. I could probably not do without all three.


Main Part
OK, those were warm-ups, now let’s get down to business  

leoraigarath : Tell us a bit about yourself, who is the mysterious Memnalar?
Memnalar :  Not so mysterious. A stepdad, a husband, a dishwasher, a beer-drinker, a cook, a non-smoker, and the guy on the corner that walks his dog in Homer Simpson pajamas. I’m the one in the pajamas, in case there’s confusion. I eat red meat, I hate telephones, I wear cowboy boots whenever I can and I think everyone should get a week off for Halloween.  

leoraigarath : List the biggest 3 influences on your writing and why. What was your motivation to write, and what does it mean for you to write?
Memnalar :  1. Music. It fires my imagination like nothing else.
2. My fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Marroquin. She was the first person who told me I was any good at this.
3. Roleplaying games. Although I don’t play much anymore, I was a face-to-face, dice-and-pencils roleplayer for about 20 years, and everything I write is colored by those journeys of shared imagination.

leoraigarath : After reading Eyrie it is an inevitable question – why heights? And what is the function of Fear as a motivation, according to your view.
Memnalar :  Fear defines us, one way or another. We’re giving in to our fears, (over)reacting to them, denying they exist, or rising to meet them head on, but it’s all about them in the end. One of the better stories about the afterlife I’ve ever seen was the movie Defending Your Life, with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep. In that version, you are not judged on arbitrary ideas like Good or Evil, but in how you faced your fears (or didn’t) during your life. It’s a very powerful idea to me.

Eyrie is about that internal conversation that takes place when you are deciding whether to leap off into the unknown to fly or fall, or just staying there on your perch, safe but never moving. Since I’m very afraid of heights - and yet have spent quite a bit of time in high places - it’s an easy metaphor for me. I’m not very complicated.


leoraigarath : Can you try to summarize your writing, a short introduction to those who have never read your work but are interested -  what should they expect?
Memnalar :  I try to write things that are fun to read. I prefer fantasy and sci-fi, with a smattering of horror. In all cases, I try to look at things from a different point of view, create worlds that breathe without burying the reader in pointless detail, and explore the myriad shades of grey in between black and white. I like to write about action, about characters doing things. While I can and do confuse readers, I try like mad not to bore them.

That’s prose. My poetry is much more personal, and observational. That’s where I deal with the real world. My prose is for other worlds.

I write fantasy and sci-fi most often because I’m a shy, repressed introvert that doesn’t like to deal with the real word or the squishy beings that move around it, at least not on their terms. So, instead of taking on the human condition with stories that examine us how we are, I bury that stuff in derivative hackwork about zombies and battle nuns and vengeful robots. I’m probably better than all that, but I’m having a good time.

I mentioned D&D earlier, and the reasons I love that game are the same reasons I write the stuff I write. I like to make up worlds, and then (even more so), the characters who have to deal with the world I’ve given them. They are often not happy people. That probably says something about me that I haven’t confronted.


leoraigarath : leoraigarath : Sometimes it seems that your writing relates not to a grand notion, but rather to the little mundane things. In example, your poem 'Rain or Shine'. What do you think about the idea of "heavy poetry", and what is the difference in approach between the two?
Memnalar :  The little, mundane things are where life is, and during the rare times I gnaw through the leather straps and give poetry a try, it’s usually to talk about life. My prose is all about fiction, whereas poetry for me is about seeing the meaning in my toes.

I don’t know what “heavy poetry” is, unless you’re talking about poetry that deals with deep topics deeply and with full force. “Death be not proud,” and all that. I don’t dwell on heavy concepts except for where you find those concepts reflected in the small moments. “Rain or Shine” is about cancer survivors walking around a track in the rain. It’s a very simple thing about a very big thing. Although I love reading sweeping, epic poems, I don’t write them. For me, the fascinating bits in life are not the first loves and the emergency rooms and the moments of monumental change, it’s the grocery store trips and the lighting of cigarettes and the chopping of vegetables in between.


leoraigarath : Talking about grocery, how about the grocery-list - do you plan what you are going to write?
Memnalar :  I’m a very undisciplined writer. I’ve tried outlines, beat sheets, snowflake methods, etc., and I always come back to simple impulse. I’m doing really well if I can force myself to come up with a story’s end before I start writing it. I don’t recommend this mode of working, because it leads to frustration and reliance on old (and usually bad) habits.


leoraigarath : In your opinion, what is the most important thing that differentiates a writer and a person who aspires to be a writer? Do you think that the popularity or amount of publications is a key element in that?
Memnalar :  There are all kinds of qualifiers. A professional writer regularly gets paid to do it, for instance, while an amateur does what I do. A good writer is not always the same thing as a popular writer, and vice versa and so forth.

Strip all that away, and a writer is nothing more than someone who shuts the hell up and does it. There is no other way to “be a writer” than to write things. The act of crafting words to get an idea across in a meaningful is the thing that makes a writer. If we think too hard about that, then we’re wasting time that could be better spent, you know, writing.


leoraigarath : Do you believe in a unified theory of a writer, or would you say that writers should be artists of multi-styles and concepts. Where are you in that scale, and what do you think is the right place for you to be in as a fully developed writer?
Memnalar :  I think writers, like any other artist, should go where their creative heart takes them. Don’t be afraid to explore new things, new styles, genres, forms, whatever. If you find something you’re good at, don’t be afraid to stick with it if that’s what you really want to do.

I will say that I firmly believe that good writers are good livers of life. Good readers, good music listeners, good tasters...sponges. If all you do is sit there in your room in the dark doing nothing but pounding out stories or poems, then every one of those stories or poems is going to sound like the one before it.


leoraigarath : You described the short story 'Exact Change' as being short, therefore heavy on vague. What did you mean, and what is the importance of the effect of vagueness?
Memnalar :  That was one of the stories I wrote for Flash Fiction Month last year, where it’s all about brevity. I admire writers that can pack a good story into as few words as possible, and I like to play with that when I can.

I guess the “vagueness” in that story and in others comes from leaving certain details to the imagination; implying more than explaining. I’ve always admired those who employ that technique well. It probably stems from my love of ghost stories in which the spooky stuff is never revealed in the full light of day, but inferred. I love showing and not telling, sometimes to a fault. I’m often guilty of obfuscating things that should really be more clear. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.


leoraigarath : Now I’m intrigued, what is your favorite piece in your gallery and why?
Memnalar :  I think that Milk Run is the most “finished” piece, meaning that it’s a coherent story that succeeds in most regards, and has a suitable ending. Even so, my personal favorite is Verdigris a dystopian-fantasy that I wrote in response to a ScreamPrompts challenge.  It’s very ham-fisted in its subtext, and I’m still not sure about the ending, but I had a ball coming up with it.


leoraigarath : What is 'Two Paths' and how did you come to write it.
Memnalar :  Oh, lord.

Two Paths is the albatross around my neck, the monkey on my back and the love-hate relationship in my creative life. It’s a fantasy story that has grown into a serial with delusions of someday becoming a novel. It’s why I started posting writing on dA in the first place, and that was close to four years ago. It’s still not finished. Every once in a while I’ll get a comment from some brave soul who has read all 53 episodes thus far, and I always feel both elated and guilty when that happens.

It’s also the reason I’ve met some of my closest friends here. In that regard, it’s a success.


leoraigarath : What is the uniqueness of serials (as in prose in parts) in comparison with short prose or novel writing, and how do you use the serials form when you write in comparison with other writing styles?
Memnalar :  There’s a big difference between a serial that was intended to be so, and a serial that was really a novella or novel that just got out of control. I’m guilty of the latter. If a novel or series of novels does not have a plan behind it, it can easily grow into an open-ended hydra.  It’s not just the province of the amateur, either. Fans of George R. R. Martin know what I’m talking about.


leoraigarath : Talking about serials, tell us a bit about Furies, and what is Science Fiction in your eyes. What is would you say the emphasis of this genre is, and how do you use it to achieve your goals in a piece.
Memnalar :  I came up with a working definition a while ago that suits me for now: Science-Fiction embellishes the possible, while Fantasy embraces the impossible.  Sometimes the boundary between the two is very thin; “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” as Arthur C. Clarke said.

I am fascinated by the concept of artificial intellligence, by the premise and possibility of machines that think, learn, react emotionally, make mistakes, and perhaps grow from those mistakes, or perhaps not. I’m particularly interested in the premise of human consciousness transferred to a digital environment, and that’s what Furies is about. It’s the clumsy result of me feeling my way down the path that William Gibson blazed.


leoraigarath : And what about nonfiction, you’ve mentioned Journalism?
Memnalar :  I got my degree in journalism, and wrote quite a number of feature stories for my college newspaper, as well as small-press local papers after graduating.

I love nonfiction, I read it often, and I think it’s important for aspiring writers to recognize that nonfiction is critical to civilization, that writing isn’t just about novels and poems. History, science, philosophy, journalism, even the instructions that come with your digital camera are made or broken by the skill of the person who writes about them. Writing is a skill, and it can be employed to make life, truth and reality more accessible, or less so. That’s very powerful.


leoraigarath : It seems that most of your gallery is in present tense. Can you try and describe the reasoning for that, and what is the effect of present tense in your writing?
Memnalar :  I’d love to tell you that I write in present tense because it’s more active, engaging, and plants the reader “in the moment.” But that’s not the truth. The truth is that I started writing ‘Two Paths’ in present tense, and then developed the habit over time, and then it bled over into other stories.

I have to admit that present tense, while I like it and I’ve become comfortable with it, does not sell well. It’s yet another bad habit of mine that I don’t encourage in others. Omri, I’m afraid that this interview is turning into Jay telling the world how NOT to write.


leoraigarath : Lol, I think I like it. It’s the first time I interview a writer that tells me what not to write – it’s refreshing! And if that’s the effect of talking about Present Tense let’s see what talking about Death will do: It seems that you deal a lot with the concept of Death, as we can see in example in the 'Prologue to Two Arcs' and speaking about themes and motifs, can you try and think if there is any special kind of those that reoccur, just like the notion of Death, and surround your pieces? Can you explain them to us?
Memnalar :  I do tend to insert death in some fashion in a lot of things I write. It’s probably another unresolved issue. Oddly, death seems to be a starting point or a plot driver in many things I write instead of an ending or a point of finality. Furies  deals with death in terms of digitizing the immortal soul. 'Exact Change' begins when the main character - a bus driver - dies in an accident. <a href=”fav.me/d2q6f9f“>Verdigris starts out when a main character’s friend dies. Even one of my poems, <a href=”fav.me/d2jmbv1“>Up in the Air is my musing about my grandparents’ method of interment. There are others. I’m plainly dancing around larger questions, but I haven’t reached the point where I can tell you what those questions are.

As for other recurring themes, I tend to write about strong female characters. Not “strong” in the sense that they are flawless or have a chip on their shoulder, but strong in the sense that they don’t depend on men (or anyone, really) to save them from the world. The men that I write about are usually tormented. Not weaklings, not losers, but men who are ill-used by life and usually have to give more than they get.

I like to drop a reader right in the middle of a story, or really, as close to the end as possible, and spoon out backstory only as needed. One of my pet peeves involves novels or stories that dump WAY too much information on you. This is a frequent problem in fantasy fiction especially. One of my inspirations in this regard is fantasy writer Glen Cook, who employs a minimalist, gritty style in his novels. He tells you only what you need to know. I admire that.


leoraigarath : I think that in fact was a very sharing answer, and maybe one of the most interesting in this interview, so let’s close the main part of the interview with that, and just add one more thing, because the position demands: As an ex GM in dA, how would you describe the community and its activity?
Memnalar I love this place. Where else are you going to get feedback on your writing from a martial artist in California, a scientist in Australia, a photographer in Canada and then have it illustrated by a designer in the Philippines? There is no other social network where you can interact in so many ways with so many different kinds of people, all over the world, who all have a creative urge in common.

The downside is when we put aside the important things in order to get caught up in rumor, petty drama, self-aggrandizement, public self-pity and trivial nonsense.

At the end of the day, the thing I love most about dA is the people. It doesn’t really matter if we connect in a chatroom, in the forums, in comments or at a devmeet. It’s the connection itself that is meaningful, and dA gives a unique environment to connect on creative as well as personal levels. I think it’s unfortunate how we can sometimes become overly concerned with the features and the technical gizmos to the point that we forget about the people. Keep the people in mind, always.



Fast Round
to close the interview, answer as intuitively as you can:

leoraigarath : Your favorite book.
Memnalar :  Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. It touched off a lifelong love of spiders. More importantly, it taught me that beauty and strength are not always physical things, and to consider people individually, not as a type.


leoraigarath : Your favorite poem.
Memnalar :  Der Erlkönig by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I must also take this opportunity to recommend orphicfiddler’s story Trickster’s Gambit, which is directly inspired by the poem, and one of my favorite Lit pieces on dA.


leoraigarath : A word/phrase that turns you on.
Memnalar :  I think that “Susurrus” is the sexiest word in the English language.


leoraigarath : A word/phrase that turns you off.
Memnalar :  What turns me off is intellectual dishonesty about language, deliberate co-opting or disingenuous perversion of a word or phrase to achieve some agenda, to exclude or diminish others or inflict a wound. Think of these words: Socialist. Elitist. Patriot. Gay. Jew. Muslim. How are they often used, and how is that different from what they really mean?


leoraigarath : A genre you’ll never write in.
Memnalar :  It’s a big mistake to wall off a genre or style as forbidden territory, or look down our nose at it as if it were beneath us. When we do that, all we’re really doing is giving power to self-imposed limitations. When you say “I’ll never write fantasy,” who are you really helping? Who are you hurting by giving it a shot?

I will say that I’m uncomfortable writing romance, but I’ll never say never.


leoraigarath : A genre you didn’t try and wish to give it a go.
Memnalar :  I’d like to be better at writing about the real world, be it historically or in the present day, with no fantastic elements whatsoever. So far, my attempts have been flat and uninspired. That is unacceptable, since there is so much in our world that is fascinating.


leoraigarath : Cursing or no cursing in your art?
Memnalar :  When I need to cuss, I cuss. They’re only words. It’s what you mean by them that gives them impact.


leoraigarath : The most embarrassing piece you ever wrote.
Memnalar :  The most embarrassing thing I ever wrote was a way-too-long, pathetic email to an ex after she broke my heart. No poem or story will ever come close to flushing my dignity down the toilet like that did.


leoraigarath : What is success in the literature world for you?
Memnalar :  Knowing that there are people who enjoy what I write, who look forward to reading it, and are honest about their opinions when they do read it. That’s a wonderful thing.

But what do I really want? Above all else? To change the game. To introduce something in my writing that echoes in how other people think, imagine and create. Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein. William Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer’. Walt Disney’s mouse. Pink Floyd’s wall. Doyle’s detective.

Aren’t we all like that? Even a little?


leoraigarath : If you were to meet any writer/artist in the world – who would it be and what is the first thing you will do/say?
Memnalar :  Living or dead? Vincent Price. I’d ask him to our house for dinner, and I’d apologize in advance for my cooking.



I am now extremely intrigued regarding Jay’s cooking. I think that the next devmeet should be dinner at his house. I would like to thank Memnalar for taking the time on answering this interview, which was superbly interesting to read. I deeply encourage you to find a quiet time to go over his gallery, read, comment, interact. I assure you there’s a lot to read and see.

As always, answering my torturous interviews is both pleasure and a chore, but Jay was brave enough to give us a glimpse into his world, and I think it was a fascinating one.

This interview was composed by Omri J. Luzon ( leoraigarath ), and is the 6th in the series. Previous interviews are:

• Behind the Words #1: Interview with ATrue
• Behind the Words #2: Interview with Snow-Machine
• Behind the Words #3: Interview with LadyLincoln
• Behind the Words #4: Interview with Elmara
• Behind the Words #5: Interview with GaioumonBatou




If you would like to suggest an interview, post a question or any other reply, send a note to leoraigarath. I would very much appreciate your ideas and comments,

Hope you enjoyed and always look behind the words,

- Omri J. Luzon ( leoraigarath )