Q&A with K.E. Flann, Author of How to Survive a Human Attack
A humorous advice book for monsters and humor as a way to cope.
This month I talked with K.E. Flann about her book How to Survive a Human Attack: A Guide for Werewolves, Mummies, Cyborgs, Ghosts, Nuclear Mutants and Other Movie Monsters. This satirical guide for monsters would make the perfect gift book for monster-lover in your life, or just get it for yourself as a Halloween gift!
What is your book's origin story?
My husband was watching "The Walking Dead" in the other room, and there was so much screaming. Those zombies were getting slaughtered! Someone should really help them, I thought. I wrote a short advice piece that night, revised it a bit, and then sent it out.
To my surprise, it was published quickly. Pretty soon, I started to suspect there were other monsters that needed help. I wrote and published a few more and a few more. And it would be tempting to say, And bip bop boop, here we are. But it actually took seven years of ups and downs and near misses before the book achieved its final incarnation.
I got started in the "advice" milieu thanks to the story collection, Self-Help, by Lorrie Moore, which revolutionized my thinking about form and tone. I also love pop culture and B-movies. So, I’ve evolved into a horrible hybrid creature! I do hope there are others. We’ll see.
Even though my previous books were technically for adult humans, I don’t think monsters will really be a new audience. A lot of us are probably part monster, even if we don't know it. Self-awareness is a beast. Plus, we are unconscious each night for six to eight hours, and we can’t account for that time. And if we do not fall unconscious during the night, we transform into something quite ornery.
What role does humor play in your life and/or writing?
It’s everything! If I can laugh, I can cope. My dad was one of the funniest people I have ever known, and laughing makes me feel connected to him. He passed away from cancer at the beginning of the pandemic, and his funeral was attended only by those of us in the immediate family, like maybe eight people.
Even in our sorrow, we kept laughing because Dad (half) joked for years that he wanted to have an introvert funeral one day, not one of those showy and exhausting events that memorialize extroverts, with standing-room-only mourners. “Welp,” we kept saying to each other. “He got his wish.” He honestly would have loved it. His ability to see the absurd in just about anything was truly a gift he gave us, as strange as it sounds, one I’ve valued even more in recent times.
What is something you can recommend to readers that makes you laugh?
I don’t know if it works for everyone, but what makes me laugh the most right now is reality TV, like The Bachelor, Naked and Afraid, etc. In fact, I had mixed feelings when a favorite comedian, David Spade, was announced as the guest host of Bachelor in Paradise because it almost seemed the same as buying bagged, pre-cut salad with a little dressing packet.
I wasn’t sure I wanted the show to be pre-snarked, if you see what I mean. I enjoy making my own snark. However, I have to admit that he made some jokes that had me laughing out loud. And then, when I really thought about it, I love bagged, pre-cut salad.
Learn more about K.E. Flann on her website and follow her on Twitter.