Suicide in Tiny Increments: A Tragic Comedy
by: Riya Anne Polcastro
The smartest decision Daniel Long ever made was to take a hit out on his own life.
Too scared to kill himself but also too scared to live, he is a sad, pathetic man; a miserable martyr of depression. A year after he was dumped by his self-centered alcoholic girlfriend, he still wallows in the hole she left behind. And, except for the cubicle that he spends forty hours a week in, Daniel rarely leaves the bare white walls that make up his apartment. Trapped in his self-made ennui, his only escape is to hire a hitman.
But when one of his few friends kills herself Daniel realizes the error of his ways. He tries to cancel the hit but in the process he offends his contracted killer. Now his impending death is personal and his life is about to get more exciting than he could have ever imagined.
Too scared to kill himself but also too scared to live, he is a sad, pathetic man; a miserable martyr of depression. A year after he was dumped by his self-centered alcoholic girlfriend, he still wallows in the hole she left behind. And, except for the cubicle that he spends forty hours a week in, Daniel rarely leaves the bare white walls that make up his apartment. Trapped in his self-made ennui, his only escape is to hire a hitman.
But when one of his few friends kills herself Daniel realizes the error of his ways. He tries to cancel the hit but in the process he offends his contracted killer. Now his impending death is personal and his life is about to get more exciting than he could have ever imagined.
Interview with Riya Anne Polcastro:
1.) What
inspired you to write Suicide in Tiny Increments?
I've always been really fascinated by
mental illness and why people do the things they do. And of course perspective.
Also, I wanted to write something that tackled a serious subject but in a funny
way. The concept behind Suicide in Tiny Increments, suicide by hitman, is one
that hasn't been overdone to death so I felt like there was an opportunity here
to write something different.
2.) How
long have you been writing?
I've been writing seriously for about
five years but I have enjoyed "writing" stories since before I could
technically read or write.
3.) What
genres do you write in?
I mostly write dark literary fiction.
Really dark literary fiction. The whole fascinated with mental illness thing .
. . it finds its way into most of my work. But I do branch out and enjoy many
different genres. In fact, I will be genre hopping with the next book I have
coming out (see #7).
4.) Who
is your favorite author(s)?
My favorite authors are Chuck Palahniuk,
Leo Tolstoy, Christopher Moore, and Donald Ray Pollock.
5.) If
you had to choose a fictional character from a book you read to have lunch
with, who would it be and why?
Tyler Durden, Fight Club. Because Holy
CRAP! I'm sure he would blow my mind. But it has to be Tyler Durden from the
book, not the tame movie version.
6.) What
has been your biggest accomplishment since publishing?
Right now I think publishing is still my
biggest accomplishment.
7.) Do
you have anything else in the works?
My next book to come out will be the
first in a trilogy called Left Behind. I haven't settled on a title for Book
One but I better hurry since I aim to have it out in about six weeks. Left
Behind is middle grade sci fi lite. The concept of the trilogy is the idea that
maybe earth isn't the first planet humans have lived on. Maybe those little
green men in outer space are the descendants of those left behind when humanity
escaped environmental disaster. It's a tale of history repeating itself; a
moral tale, yes, but in a way that kids can relate to and with plenty of
adventure. Plus it's told by a fourteen year old alien so that's pretty cool.
The Left Behind Trilogy will be released under a somewhat different ::pen name:
R. Anne Polcastro. I want to have a distinction between my adult and young
adult work because what I write for adults is definitely not something kids
should read. But at the same time I want the name to be similar enough that my
adult audience can recognize it and share it with their own kids. Well I am
quickly getting off topic of the question but I do want to say that if you are
interested in featuring Left Behind too that would be amazing! I should have
ARCs available in the next couple of weeks. I'm still trying to navigate the
whole pre-release thing but I hope to have it available for free to anyone who
wants to write a review through Story Cartel ASAP.
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