Michael Bettendorf (he/him) is a writer from the US Midwest. His short fiction has appeared/is forthcoming at Drabblecast, Sley House Press, and elsewhere. Michael's debut experimental novel/gamebook TRVE CVLT is forthcoming from Tenebrous Press (out this September!). He works in a high school library in Lincoln, Nebraska—a place he tries to convince the world is too strange to be a flyover state.
His story “As the Music Plays Groovy” originally appeared in His Soul’s Still Dancing: A Nicolas Cage Inspired Fiction Anthology and will appear in BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror Volume Two, available to preorder now.
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Give us the elevator pitch of your BNW-nommed story, please.
Nicolas Cage starts speaking to the unnamed character through an Amazon Dot, seeking help as Nic has spun into an existential crisis, fueled by rampant consumerism and his tendency to go full Cage. Is there any other way?
What does your writing routine look like? Do you have an office? A preferred coffee shop? The back of the bus? Standing under your neighbor’s eaves, avoiding the rain? Are you one of those true modern Weirdos who write your entire novel on your phone?
I do the bulk of my writing at home, in an office full of distractions. I tend to work best in the morning, so curse the need for a full time job. Weekend mornings are best for me to focus, but the weeknights hold me hostage.
What does “Weird” mean to you, in the context of storytelling? And what creators/experiences/influences helped sculpt this definition for you in your creative journey?
This is probably a non-answer, but I have a really hard time defining Weird. It's one of those things I know when I see it, read it, listen to it. A lot of it comes down to subversion for me. Traditionally, a lot of speculative fiction has rigid guidelines as to what makes them fit whatever molds of crime, horror, SF, Fantasy, etc. people want/need them to have, but Weird blurs those lines. I think that's why we have a lot of genre-blending in Weird fiction. It's like hearing a song without the bass track. You often don't notice it until it isn't there and I think Weird elements are similar. It's sort of defining the sub-genre by not defining it -- or in the very least, being open to interpretation and constant evolution. Weird is growth. Weird is always squiggling and shifting. The folks who have helped sculpt this definition have been Vonnegut (please don't roll your eyes with this one), Jonathan Lethem, Paul Auster, a bunch of visual artists, comics, music. I tend to cast a wide net with the sorts of media I spend my time with.
Vonnegut is amazing and timeless, no eye-rolling here.
On the Tenebrous Discord, we ask everyone to introduce themselves as a Film-meets-Music Artist (Citizen Kane x Metallica, f’rinstance). It doesn’t have to be your favorite, and don’t spend too much time overthinking it; now GO.
Yikes. Okay, let's roll with Between the Buried and Me + In Bruges
What’s the Weirdest thing—capital W—that’s ever happened to you (that you’re comfortable sharing)?
Probably my sleep paralysis.
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BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror, Volume Two, is out June 26th.
