Q: How many cats do you own?
A: Sorry. At last count, I am one of only eight North American writers who does not have a pet cat.
Q: Where do you get your ideas?
A: There’s this guy in downtown Montreal, who stands at the corner of Peel and Notre-Dame between 2:02 and 2:19 on Thursday afternoons. Don’t be late! He wears a turtle neck (not the sweater, either, a real turtle neck) and answers to the name Maxime. Other times, I find them in my sock drawer.
Q: Do you remember the first SF or fantasy book you read?
A: Gee, it’s almost as if I’ve put the words in your mouth. Thank you for asking. It was in fifth or sixth grade, I borrowed both Danger: Dinosaurs! by Richard Marsten and Find the Feathered Serpent by Evan Hunter from the school library. Marsten and Hunter, of course, were actually Ed McBain (87th Precinct), who was actually Salvatore Albert Lombino.
Q: How old is your cat?
A: Let me repeat, I do NOT own a cat. I’ve had dogs over the years. Woofer. Shadow. Homer. Betsy. Woody. I miss each of them and wish they were here right now, lying under my desk, keeping my feet warm; I miss those days. Below, left, is the late Woody, bringing me some, uh, wood? Below, right, is our very current Piper in action. An Animatch rescue from Northern Quebec, she weighs in at 72 pounds, claiming Husky, Labrador, and Retriever heritage.
Q: Is it true you once named a dog Krypto, but were so embarrassed to call its name in public, you quickly changed it to Woofer?
A: Who told you that? Who have you been speaking to?
Q: How did you choose the URL of michaellibling.com? It really seems to work for you.
A: I agonized over this, creating a long list of options over several weeks. These included stephenking.com, georgerrmartin.com, cocacola.com, and starwars.com. Unfortunately, all of the best ones were taken. I’m not sure how, exactly, but michaellibling.com just popped into my head one sleepless night and the rest, as they say, is Internet history. Funny how that works, eh?
Q: How old are you?
A: Ask my damn cat.
Q: Are you the same Michael Libling who created, wrote and co-hosted The Trivia Show on Montreal’s CJAD for its first 20 years?
A: My cat was our biggest fan. And working with the late Dave Fisher was one of my greatest joys.
Q: Do you have any favorite authors or influences in terms of fiction?
A: Kurt Vonnegut, though the recent biography (And So It Goes by Charles J. Shields) was depressing on too many fronts. Thomas Pynchon (The Crying of Lot 49, anyhow). Barry Malzberg (especially Screen and Herovit’s World). Anne Tyler. Kelly Link. John Kessel. Richard Matheson. Robert Bloch. Robert Silverberg. Philip Roth. Stephen King. Larry McMurtry (with Lonesome Dove in my all-time top 5). Cormac McCarthy (for All The Pretty Horses). W.P. Kinsella. J.D. Salinger. Sinclair Lewis. Sigrid Nunez. Ray Bradbury. Joseph Heller. Ken Kesey. Bernard Malamud. John Irving. Ring Lardner. Sholem Aleichem. Patrick deWitt (ah, yes, The Sisters Brothers). E.L. Doctorow. And as far as current genre goes, Linwood Barclay writes some pretty nifty and disciplined thrillers. Reminds me of the early David Morrell. Yeah, I could go on.
Q: What about nonfiction?
A: What about it?
Q: Stop being a jerk, you know what I mean.
A: Start with The Accidental Terrorist by William Shunn. Admittedly, Bill is a friend of mine. But, man, what a great book. You’ll never look at a Mormon missionary the same way again. Also… Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. Breakfast in the Ruins and The Bend at the End of the Road by Barry Malzberg. (Addictive must-reads for writers and readers of SF, horror and fantasy.) The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson. (Anything by him works for me.) Carnage and Culture by Victor Davis Hanson. Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II by Keith Lowe. (Forget everything you ever believed about post-WWII Europe.) MFA vs. NYC edited by Chad Harbach. The Embarrassment of Riches by the great Simon Schama. Astounding by Alec Nevala-Lee. Again, I could go on.
Q: From what I see in your home page photo, would it be fair to say you don’t have a lot of hair?
A: It depends on whether or not you are referring to my scalp alone.
Q: Who took the photos of you on your home page? They’re not half bad.
A: Not “half bad”? Are you kidding me? My close friend, the late Matthew Cope, is the photographer. And I truly do hate writing the word “late” before his name. Anyhow, he even made me buy him breakfast at some fancy-ass café in exchange for the shots. And what did I get in return? Photos depicting the mutant offspring of Elmer Fudd and Maria Ouspenskaya.
Trust me, I am infinitely more handsome, younger, and hirsute in person. I realized only too late that Matthew was insanely jealous (you know the type) and did everything in his power to cast me in bad light. (I only wish he were still here to continue to do so.) In my eyes, at least, this is a far more accurate rendition of the current me:
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: This website. Nobody bothered to warn me how much work it would take to maintain. Jeez!
Q: What is your cat’s name?
A: Ginger Fluffy Marmalade Snowball Tiger Robespierre IV. Any other questions?
Q: Any new novels on the way?
A: Thanks for asking. THE SERIAL KILLER’S SON TAKES A WIFE was released by WordFire Press in the fall of 2023. Here’s what Ian Rogers, author of the recently re-released EVERY HOUSE IS HAUNTED had to say: “Libling doesn’t just go for the jugular, he goes for your entire throat, then reaches all the way down and grabs onto your heart. Full of feeling and freakish delights, this is a wild, unpredictable story that will amaze and startle readers by turns. What if Patrick Bateman from American Psycho had been a family man? What would his son be like? Libling answers that question in this terrifying and darkly humorous tale of hereditary horror.”
For more kind words about this twisted, off-kilter thriller, click here.
Q: You seem to have serious issues with cats. Why?
A: When you’re 9-years-old and a cat eats your pet Guinea pig and leaves the leftovers on the sidewalk outside your house, you will understand.
Q: Why can’t I find links for your radio shows?!
You’re not alone. All I have is a cassette tape of my final show. But thanks for asking.
I’m sorry, but I need more context. For instance, how did you look at Mormon missionaries before you read Bill’s book?
From behind a closed door, peeking through the slats of the blinds, hoping they’ll think no one’s home and move on. But now — NOW! Now! — I open the door, ask if they know Bill Shunn and if they’ve read The Accidental Terrorist.