It’s kind of become a tradition that I interview the contributors to my anthologies and share those interviews on my blog. It’s also kind of become a tradition that it takes me a very long time to get them all posted. I plan to continue the first tradition but I’m hoping to avoid the second. Just to be different.

We’re continuing the Chimeric contributor interviews with Pete Aldin. I believe Pete and I first crossed paths when he was a contributor to Niteblade, but I’ve also had the pleasure of including his work in all three Alphabet Anthologies so far, and even co-written a story with him (unpublished). Interesting fact about Pete, he was the first contributor to send me his story for C is for Chimera and his D is for Dinosaur story is already sitting in my inbox!

What letter were you assigned?

D

Did you struggle with the letter you were given?

Not at all. Last time was tougher when I got a W. D had lots of possibilities.

What was your favourite idea for the ‘word’ to use in your title that you didn’t use?

Diddly.

What kind of chimera is your story about?

A composite creature made up of all that has lived and died on planet earth over the eons.

What, other than the letter you were assigned, helped inspire your story?

My strong belief in loving relationships. My belief in a purpose for life. And my cynicism. Weird combo, huh?

Lion, goat or snake–which are you more like?

Goat. Eat anything. Kind of gangly too.

If you were going to be magically transformed into a chimera composed of three different creatures, what would you want them to be?

Chimp. Cameleon. Octopus.

What if it wasn’t limited to creatures? What three things would you want to be composed of?

…Gold, frankincense, myrrh??

Unrealizable dreams have been called chimeras. Taking the ‘unrealizable’ part out of the equation, what is one of your fondest dreams/goals?

Honestly, writing for this series is a dream. And I’m livin’ it!

Can you share a short excerpt from your story?

He saw it then in a flash of insight–or was it memory? The one never far below the surface–all he had to do at any given time was scratch the veneer of Now and the images and sounds and smells and emotions would come screaming into center-camera as if it was happening all over again. The wreck. The flames. The blood. The screaming.

Nineteen years old and just having fun, out driving with Mike. Stupid drunk Mike who never should have been behind the wheel even when sober. Mike driving without lights while Alec cranked up the stereo and hollered in testosterone-inspired glossolalia. The little Toyota appearing from nowhere at the intersection, the pickup hammering into it and sending it spinning spinning spinning until the telephone pole arrested its dance. Mike bleeding from the forehead and nose, slumped back in his seat, groaning…

Alec sobbing no no no as he stumbled on bruised legs toward the other car. Fire leaping from under the hood. Inside the driver enmeshed in metal, his brains leaking from his head and his clothes dyed red; the front passenger crying and jiggling her door which wouldn’t budge even when Alec reached it and used all his strength against it; and the girl in the backseat–a girl named Jen–unconscious, slumped against her seatbelt. Her door worked, so–

He growled, blinked it away and put his head in his hands.

 

By day, Pete Aldin delivers a program for people with disabilities; by night, he sits at a laptop and writes. His short fiction has appeared in publications including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, and Niteblade. His non-fiction has appeared in parenting and business magazines. He is a big fan of alcoholic ciders, the FIFA franchise on xBox and (being an Australian) Vegemite. He is a member of the Australian Horror Writers Association and the Chelsea Dark Fiction Writers Circle. He don’t like pina coladas nor taking walks in the  rain.

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