Name: Corinne Duyvis
Age: 23
Author of: “The Applause of Others”
Current Geographic Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Twitter: @corinneduyvis
Website: http://www.corinneduyvis.net
Recent publications: I’ve been quiet on the short story front lately, so my most recent publication appeared way back from November 2011 – “Eight“, in Strange Horizons. In terms of upcoming publications: “Lilo Is” will appear in the Clockwork Phoenix 4 anthology, out in June 2013, and my debut YA novel Otherbound is forthcoming from Amulet Books in 2014.
Which zodiac sign where you born under? Taurus — though I just looked up the traits and, practicality aside, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
If a magic fish granted you one wish, what would it be? The power to pause the universe so I can get everything done. Like every writer/artist in the world, I have way too many projects going on for my own good.
What inspired your story? Sometimes I can pin-point something specific that inspired a story — but not in this case. I went about it very methodically. One, I knew I wanted to try to come up with a story for this anthology. Two, I needed a story for my last week of Clarion West. Three, I wanted to set a story in my home town of Amsterdam. I grabbed some CW classmates to brainstorm (sorry, guys) and ended up with the concept of narcissistic magic eels in the Amsterdam canals. Things flowed pretty easily from there.
Did you listen to music while writing it? None. I’m one of those people who’s obsessed with listening to lyrics, so whenever I’m listening to music, part of my mind will always focus on the text. That’s hard to balance when working on your own words.
How many rewrites did you do before submitting? Two – a small one while at Clarion West to make it somewhat friendly to outside eyes, and a major one afterward to incorporate my classmates’ suggestions and squeeze it down to fit the anthology’s word count requirements.
What is your favorite bit?
It was the same eel, Floor had decided, her eel. It had that same shimmer of blue, even when it swam centimeters below the surface. Other times, when the sun hit it just right, the eel’s shade veered closer to purple, or silver, sometimes all at once. She wasn’t the only one who noticed. Passers-by walked up, captivated without fail; they ooh-ed and aah-ed and snapped pictures the same way Floor did, and she’d quietly grin, glad the attention was no longer on her, and tell her eel its show was all the rage.
Want to read the rest? Get the ePub (for nook and other readers) here and mobi (perfect for your Kindle) here. Only $4.99 each, instant downloads.
You can also get FISH as an ebook through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or Kobo.
