Interviewing Dwale! :D

Welcome back to all you furries out there! It is a wonderful Thursday evening at the time I am writing this post and I am very excited because I am starting a special thing here today. I have shared before that the furry fandom is full of talented members and, as I said, that is why I love and enjoy this fandom so much.

So I got this cool idea to contact some furries I know, and ask them to sit down and do an interview. I can’t literally sit down with a lot of them because there is quite a distance between some of us, so most of these will be done online.

Speaking of these interviews, I am doing the first one right now! With whom, you ask? Why with my good friend Dwale, of course! Dwale is an agender writer and singer who resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. It hosts a weekly chat in the Furry Writers’ Guild shoutbox every Thursday and is a valued member of the writing community there.

Hello Dwale!

Dwale: Good evening.

Thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview.

Dwale: My pleasure.

To start, I have some ice-breaker questions. Just random, fun questions to make sure we are both comfortable with this interviewing process. That sound good to you?

Dwale: Sure.

Perfect! So, what is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Dwale: I don’t eat a lot of sweets, especially cold sweets. But if I were to eat some ice cream, I would choose cookie dough.

Sounds Delicious! Which Johnny Depp character is your favorite?

Dwale: Edward Scissorhands. That was him, right?

Yep! That was him. He is a very interesting character. What would you say is your least favorite condiment?

Dwale: Hmm. That’s a tough choice. Mustard? I hope that response wasn’t too intense.

No, it’s fine. I don’t like mustard either, to be honest. It looks and smells really weird. But hey, I am not judging people who like it… O_O So, how are you feeling? Ready to answer some writing/furry questions?

Dwale: Sure. To the best of my ability.

Awesome! So, what species is your fursona?

Dwale: My species is termed “cabbolf” which is a cat/rabbit/wolf chimera. But also a plant, though I don’t talk about that much since it confuses people.

That actually sounds really cool. Like a super fusion. So you are a writer. How long have you been a writer?

Dwale: I’m not sure. I know I have been writing poetry at least since I was ten or eleven years old. My background is in poetry. I didn’t start to focus on fiction until about ten years ago.

And in that time, when did you become interested/involved in the furry fandom?

Dwale: I learned about the fandom in the late 90’s, I think around ‘97 or ‘98. That’s when I first started to associate with other furries.

I see. How did you first find out about the fandom?

Dwale: We didn’t have a computer, but my parents had gotten a “WebTV” if anyone remembers those. A machine that let you connect to the internet on dial-up, but it didn’t have a hard drive or anything. I stumbled across a furry’s website which discussed the fandom and included some basic terminology.

And I assume soon after, as you said, ‘97 or ‘98 was when you first started meeting other furs?

Dwale: Only online. But yes, I sought out others immediately. I went by a different name back then, however.

Okay, this is just out of curiosity. What was the fandom like back then?

Dwale: Well, it was smaller. And I think the average quality of the media produced at that time was lower. Not that we didn’t have talented people, but the pool was so much smaller that fans couldn’t afford to be as picky, I guess.

What would you say your favorite thing about the fandom is?

Dwale: Furries are open-minded and tolerant people… for the most part. You can’t have a fandom this size without a portion of unpleasant types, but most furries are friendly and accepting people who are willing to live and let live.

Of course, and fortunately the pleasant people outnumber the unpleasant ones. So there is a bigger chance you’ll meet a great individual through the fandom, instead of an unpleasant one.

Dwale: That has been my experience.

So back to the subject of writing, what would you say is your favorite genre/sub-genre to work with?

Dwale: I don’t consider myself a genre writer. My works fall under the category of “science-fiction,” but I’m more interested in expression than adhering to the tropes of a given genre.

I like working with multiple genres as well. In fact, I have been more of an action/suspense oriented writer. But my only published book is a romance. And it is a book I am very proud of and wouldn’t have written if I hadn’t branched out and tried something new.

So there is an expression out in the interwebs, that says something along the lines of “if you want to be a good writer, you must be a good reader.” So who or what would you say is your go to furry author/book when you need a break from life?

Dwale: Ha, you’ve got me there. I don’t usually buy books because I don’t have money for that. Instead, I borrow from the library, where there is a notable shortage of furry literature. But if you just want to know who are some furry writers I enjoy reading, Huskyteer is one, SlipWolf, Mary E. Lowd…

All very good authors. Most I know from reputation, though I did recently start working through In a Dog’s World. So let’s talk about your writing now. Have you ever published any of it?

Dwale: Oh, certainly. I’ve had about a dozen poems published, I would guess, and about the same number of stories.

Can you tell us about one of them? Say, your favorite one?

Dwale: My personal favorite was “The Darkness of Dead Stars.” It began as a subversion of the space opera genre, but ended as an intensely personal allegory.

Space Opera seems very popular among some of the others in the FWG. Would I be right in saying it’s… Like a soap opera? I don’t know. I am not to familiar with the term.

Dwale: It might be a fair comparison in certain respects, but I wouldn’t say they’re entirely the same, unless you happen to think “Star Trek” and “The Days of Our Lives” are duplicates.

Point taken. They are indeed different. The more I know. So I know one part of writing a story, is making characters. Who is your favorite character that you’ve written?

Dwale: I’m not sure I have a favorite as such, but I am partial to the character Fjola from “A Secret Place” and “The Foreigner”.

What is your favorite attribute of this character?

Dwale: Just the concept, really. She’s a horse bound to a wheelchair. After a youth spent in athletic pursuits, she was forced to find other means with which to occupy herself.

That sounds tragic… Do you have a story about how she got into the wheelchair?

Dwale: That is explained in “A Secret Place” but it isn’t the focus of the story.

So where can one find your stories?

Dwale: Scattered over several anthologies. I do post them online now and then. I’m hoping I’ll be able to put out a collection all my own someday soon.

Well I know I am looking forward to seeing that. My last question for you today is, do you have any new stories in the works that may be surfacing online or in print soon?

Dwale: Yes. Well, depending on certain editorial choices.

Well okay then! Dwale everyone! Thank you again for taking the time to answer some of my questions! It was wonderful talking to you!

Dwale: Thank you.

Okay everyone. That was the interview. I hope you all liked this, and that you’ll go follow Dwale! Have a wonderful day everyone!

Here is a goodreads list of anthologies that Dwale has worked on. https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5354982.Dwale

Dwale’s FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/dwale/

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