An Interview with Tank Girl
Tank
Girl has been a welcome presence of late here at Pan Historia. Besides
her fiction and her commentary in her novels, she's an avid participant
in many of the contests, and pops up often on the first page of the dailies.
She has a welcome sense of humor, and a keen eye for observations. What's
more, she has a genuinely-interesting blog
Our paths managed to cross recently:
Hello, Tank Girl! You have been selected as a featured personality for the upcoming Pan Historian!
Now, for the Obligatory Interrogation (Iðunn
shines the torch brightly, picks at her teeth with her dagger, and looks
expectantly at Tank Girl).
So, where were you on the night of... er, How'd you discover PanHistoria?
I was told during the Beta phase that the site was in existence, and
asked if I would consider joining. After joining I ran through several
characters until I found the right ones.
Would you be willing to tell us a few things about your offline self?
Off line I am pretty much quiet. I like to read, wash the dishes and sleep.
Why Tank Girl? I remember the comic, but why her in specific?
Tank Girl is quirky, and flippant, but she has charm and power in the comic and in the movie. Even when she is losing she finds ways to snatch victory by redefining what winning is. I wanted to write with power and assurance, so Tank Girl was a natural choice.
What's the inspiration behind your novel, Paradise DOS, and where do you see this novel going?
Paradise DOS is an evolution. Right now there is some redefining of it, and we are hoping to come back on there hard and gritty. The title is a play on Paradise Lost and DOS (the OS). Eventually we hope to get to the point of dealing cybernetics and how man and machine come together. Right now in the novel we have dealt mostly with the post-apocalyptic planet, where man’s attempts at being God have reduced the planet to a wasteland where people struggle to survive. As we move forward, the machine side will start to emerge, as well as the common goal of both man and machine to create a stable society, though with radically different outlooks as to what that is.
In Age of the Vikings, I'm simply off hewing down my enemies and perhaps being my own worst one. You're posting insightful ideas in the 180 Degrees thread. Have you considered actually doing the Viking thing there, too?
Age of the Vikings is the most special novel that I have ever been a part of. It is like a kitchen table with friends sitting about just talking, and joking, and being there for each other. There is novelising, comedy, the 180 Degree thread, everything. Some of the time I think that I will write on the novel threads there, but as of yet I have not.
What other things do you enjoy at PanHistoria?
This will seem odd, but I spend a fair amount of time cruising all the threads. There are so many odd bits that inspire me to write. So, I occasionally get the idea to do a ballet, or some other short effort. I am a big fan of all the contests, and try when I can to enter them. Some I have done well at. Won a few pannies that way, which I find ways to get rid of. I also really like to chat.
Is there any well known person in the twentieth century (or now) whom you'd like to sit down for a brunch and a relaxed chat with, and why?
There are so many. To narrow it down to just one is hard. I think though that I would love to talk with Robertson Davies. The stories that he told in his books were so real, the characters so full that you would swear that they were alive. Yet, in those stories he would offer views on what motivates people to act the way that they do. I think that to talk to him would be like understanding some great mystery, or a magic trick. Suddenly it would be clear and easy, and you would know.
Do you have a favorite song and dance? (Literal or metaphoric.)
Yes. Favourite song is "Lucky" by Bif Naked. She’s amazing. Favourite dance is the Tango. Great attitude, and sharp.
Thank you very much for your interview.
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