Lincoln Michel's previous books are the story collection Upright Beasts and the novel The Body Scout, which was named one of the 10 Best Science Fiction Books of 2021 by The New York Times and one of the 50 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time by Esquire. His writing has appeared in The Paris Review, McSweeney's , Lightspeed, Granta, The New York Times, The Guardian, and elsewhere. He runs the popular literary newsletter Counter Craft and coedited the anthologies Tiny Crimes and Tiny Nightmares. He was born in Virginia and lives in Brooklyn. His latest novel is Metallic Realms and he recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for Metallic Realms?
When I was in the early stages of the book, I called it "My, Pale Fire meets Star Trek novel," and those are two huge sources of inspiration. Nabokov's Pale Fire is a novel I read when I was young that totally expanded my concept of what fiction could (and should) do. It's such a weird, formally inventive, complex, and yet super-fun-to-read novel. Metallic Realms takes inspiration from that novel's narrator and structure, and from a lot of popular science fiction franchises like Star Trek—especially The Next Generation, which I grew up on—Star Wars, and Warhammer 40k. And authors like Ursula K. Le Guin, Italo Calvino, Iain M. Banks, and countless others. It's both a comic satire of writers and a pulpy space adventure romp.
Are Taras, Darya, Jane, Merlin, or any of the other characters in the novel inspired by or based on specific individuals?
Much of the novel and the characters are inspired by my friends in real life, but the characters are intentionally not based on single individuals. One way I tried to avoid that was by distributing a lot of myself into the different characters. "Taras Castle" is actually a pen name I used as a younger writer. Jane's aesthetics are closest to mine. Etc. The characters are all amalgamations of people I know, myself, and imagination.
Same question for Michael Lincoln (because I think there may be a story here)?
I was playing around with ideas of metafiction and autofiction and thought it would be funny to name the character an inversion of my name. I've often had people tell me I must have written my name Lincoln Michel down backwards. This happened to me just the other week, actually, when I went to a doctor's appointment and signed into the computer system. The program said, "You may have entered your first name as your last name" above a button labeled "Swap first and last name."
Anyway, Michael Lincoln is also an inverted version of myself. Or perhaps he is the embodiment of my worst traits or the things I fear about myself. I wouldn't say I'm like him… but in my lowest moments, I can relate.
What inspired you to add yourself, briefly, into the narrative of the Orb4?
I felt that if I was already playing around in the metafiction and quasi-autofictional sandbox, I might as well have fun with this too. But I knew if I inserted myself, if I wanted it to be mocking and not self-serious. I wanted it to be the inverse of the "Mary Sue or Gary Stu" idea in fan fiction of idealized self-inserts. And different from how many published authors—including some I love, like Stephen King—have inserted themselves as author-characters who play big, important roles in the narrative. So, I was lightly roasting those tendencies at the same time I was making fun of myself.
How did the novel evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters, scenes, or stories that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the published version?
A whole lot changed in the revision process! This is the case for most books, but was especially true for Metallic Realms because the somewhat intricate structure—with both a real-world storyline and a science-fiction storyline—meant that any changes caused a whole lot of revision headaches. But I wouldn't say I wish any cuts made it into the final version. I think the novel is much stronger for having gone through those revisions and having "killed my darlings," so to speak. Writing is always about cutting and revising. As a writer, you just have to hope you can reuse the best scraps for other projects.
How challenging was it to write the Star Rot stories in the voices/styles of the different participants?
This was a really tricky aspect of the novel for me. The Star Rot stories are written by four different characters, and I wanted the stories to feel distinct enough you believed they were by different authors… but not so disjointed that the novel felt incoherent. It was a problem. But every novel is, in a way, a series of problems you make for yourself as an author. I like to think I solved this particular problem. And the solution, like so many things in writing, was just revision, revision, revision.
Have you ever participated in a writing group like the Orb 4? If so, can you tell us a bit about it and the experience? If not, is it something you'd like to do?
I haven't participated in something exactly like the Orb 4, i.e., a writing collective that pens science-fiction tales in a shared universe. But, I have been in writing workshops, co-edited magazines, and done many other collaborative projects. Definitely a lot of those experiences made it into the Orb 4.
And yes, I would love to try to collaborate on a shared narrative at some point. It sounds fun! Although I would hope it would have less drama and in-fighting than the Orb 4 in Metallic Realms…
When and where were you first published?
Outside of college lit mags and zines I made with friends, I believe my first acceptance was a humor piece to McSweeney's Internet Tendency in… 2003? Yes. I am old. My first book, though, was Upright Beasts, a story collection published in 2015 by Coffee House Press.
Do you have a friend, or friends, that you've known as long as Michael and Taras have known each other?
Yes, that is one quasi-autobiographical element. I have a few good friends from Virginia—where I was born—who I have known from birth or a very young age. I have never been roommates or in a writing collective with any of them, though. Probably a good thing for the friendships.
Your biography says that you currently live in Brooklyn, where most of Metallic Realms takes place. Do you have any favorite places? A hidden gem that someone visiting should not miss, but would only learn about from a resident?
It's hard to say because New York City is such a constantly changing city. Your favorite restaurant might shut down at any moment, and the best view gets ruined by a new high-rise building tomorrow. But I love walking around the lake in Prospect Park. That park was designed by the same people who designed the more famous Central Park, yet they considered Prospect Park their masterpiece. They were correct.
Are you, or have you ever been, a practicing member of a fandom? If so, for what? Are you still active? If not, what drew you to write about fandom?
I have certainly participated in fandoms. I grew up playing Magic the Gathering and painting Warhammer figures, and I've spent (wasted?) a lot of my life in various online forums. That said, I wouldn't call myself a terribly active participant in fandoms. I am a huge fan of art. I use that term broadly. I have found myself, broadened my horizons, and expanded my thinking through art, whether that art is punk rock songs, Surrealist paintings, weird science fiction stories, or dense literary fiction. I am a deep fan of many works of art and artists. My preferred way of expressing my fandom of art is by creating my own work to share. Nothing would make me happier than people reading Metallic Realms and being inspired to create something new of their own.
Have you ever attended a fan convention?
Yes, most recently, New York Comic Con as an author.
Are you a fan of the Science Fiction genre? What are some of your favorite novels, films, and/or series? Who are your favorite authors and/or filmmakers?
I'm a huge science fiction fan and grew up reading and watching it. Some favorites from literature: Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed, Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed, Kobo Abe’s Inter Ice Age 4, Adolfo Bioy Casares’ The Invention of Morel, Gene Wolfe’s The Fifth Head of Cerberus, William Gibson’s Neuromancer, etc. I could go on forever!
Do you have a least favorite? (I realize that you may not want to address this one, and if that is the case, please don't. But I also realize it might be so bad that it could be fun to answer.)?
Honestly, if I really dislike a book, I don't finish it. And I wouldn't want to critique a book I didn't finish. I will say that I have a special dislike of cyberpunk-ish fiction that loses the cyberpunk critique of corporate capitalism and consumerism. If you are writing a cyberpunk book that's about how billionaires and corporations are cool, I think you've misunderstood the subgenre.
What do you think it is about Science Fiction that draws you, as an author and/or reader, to these types of stories?
The infinite possibilities. Science fiction is as vast as the cosmos. You can create anything you can imagine.
If Metallic Realms was going to be adapted to a film or series, who would your dream cast be?
I'd love for it to be adapted. I'm not sure I have a dream cast, but I could kind of imagine Tim Robinson as Michael.
As an author with both published stories and novels, what advice would you give to people still hoping to get their work published?
Just keep at it. There's no secret beyond reading a lot, writing a lot, and revising a lot. But one bit of advice I like is to pick the dumbest or weirdest idea you have and then write it as seriously as possible.
What's currently on your nightstand?
Rie Qudan’s Tokyo Sympathy Tower, Catherine Lacey’s The Möbius Book, and The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales collected by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth.
Can you name your top five favorite or most influential authors?
This would change day by day and project to project… but how about Franz Kafka, Ursula K. Le Guin, Kobo Abe, Donald Barthelme, and Italo Calvino today?
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
I can't remember the title, but a book of unsolved mysteries and legends. Or else a book of Greek myths. I pored over both.
Was there a book you felt you needed to hide from your parents?
Honestly, my parents were really encouraging of my reading habits. I don't remember them ever censoring my reading, and they took me frequently to new and used bookstores.
Is there a book you've faked reading?
I have never done this! I have reading integrity. Well, okay, maybe I've kinda pretended when an author was talking to me about their book at a party. But I've never pretended to read a book that I haven't read to seem smart or well-read or whatnot. Only to avoid social awkwardness.
Can you name a book you've bought for the cover?
Ooh, lots of pulpy science fiction. Love a good, weird pulp cover.
Is there a book that changed your life?
Parables and Paradoxes by Franz Kafka.
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
I think Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino is a book that anyone who wants to be a writer should read. It is one of those "you can get away with that?" books that makes you just want to write new, weird ideas.
I riff on that book explicitly in one chapter of Metallic Realms.
Is there a book you would most want to read again for the first time?
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. (I realize I'm repeating books here, but there is a reason they are my favorites.)
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
Kwaidan by Masaki Kobayashi. It is from the 1960s, but I did not watch it until recently. Gorgeous, strange, and haunting. Highly recommend.
What is your idea of THE perfect day (where you could go anywhere/meet with anyone)?
I'm a simple man. Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast. A day reading in the park. Writing a bit. And a lively conversation at dinner with my wife and/or friends.
What is the question that you're always hoping you'll be asked, but never have been?
"Can I give you several million dollars so that you will never have to work a day job again?"
What is your answer?
"Yes, my bank account and routing numbers are [redacted]."
What are you working on now?
Always lots of things! But to name one: a novel about haunted houses, real estate, and the American obsession with possession.
