Andrez Bergenis an expat Australian writer, journalist, artist and DJ from
Melbourne, entrenched in Tokyo these past 13 years working there as a
journalist and teacher.
He
published his debut novel Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat in 2011, followed by
One Hundred Years of Vicissitude (2012) and Who is Killing the Great Capes of
Heropa? (2013).
He has
also published short stories and comics (such as Tales to Admonish with Matt
Kyme) through Perfect Edge, Crime Factory, Snubnose Press, Shotgun Honey, 8th
Wonder Press, IF? Commix, Big Pulp, Ace Comics and Another Sky Press, and
edited an anthology of post-apocalyptic noir. On the side Bergen worked on adapting scripts for feature films by Mamoru Oshii
(Ghost in the Shell), Kazuchika Kise and Naoyoshi Shiotani at Production I.G.
He additionally hammers together tunes as Little
Nobody, he covets sashimi and saké, and lives in Japan with his wife and
eight-year-old daughter.
Welcome Andrew!
Your real name and pen name?
"Real name is Andrew Bergen, though I write as Andrez, and I
have a few other aliases. Music wise I'm better known (I guess) as Little
Nobody, and sometimes I do artwork as Joe King."
Please
share some of the best memories of your childhood.
"I
grew up mostly in Melbourne, Australia, but also spent a couple of years of my
childhood living on the Gold Coast in Queensland, so I've always had an
affinity for wilder beaches. At stages I imagined myself a poor-man's
Huckleberry Finn while exploring the backwaters of Gardiner's Creek in
Melbourne. But otherwise I was a bit of a homebody, rapt up in books, writing,
comics, drawing, and old movies on the telly."
What
career did you plan during school days?
"I
actually always wanted to be a writer and dreamed of being involved in comic
book production. Oh, and I had aspirations to be an astronaut. Does that count?"
What
languages you can speak and write?
"English
(I hope), plus some Japanese and a smattering of Swedish and French. Minimalist
stuff."
What
is your biggest source of inspiration in life?
"Currently?
Easy. My eight-year-old daughter Cocoa."
If you
had to live a day of your life as one of the living or dead personality, who would
it be and why?
"Um...
maybe 24 hours in the shoes of Edward Wood, getting drunk and making bad movies
— while hanging out with Bela Lugosi."
What
is your favorite genre and why?
"Definitely
noir, especially classics written by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. I
love the gray areas within the text, the anti-heroic personalities, the
eccentric side characters, and their cracking dialog. But I also enjoy sci-fi
and the offbeat surreal since these add a certain extraterrestrial dimension to
proceedings. People like Haruki Murakami, Angela Carter, Nicholas Christopher
and Jedediah Berry. And I love the noir comics of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
('Fatale') and Brubaker with Steve Epting ('Velvet').
When
did you start writing? What is the purpose of your writing?
"I
started writing when I was about five or six — whenever it was I could fist
hold a pencil or crayon and string a sentence together. It was a means of
escapism, I guess, and an outlet for the worlds flitting through my
imagination."
Which
of your work has been published so far?
"I've
published three novels — 'Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat' (2011), 'One Hundred
Years of Vicissitude' (2012) and 'Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?'
(2013) — and co-edited a post-apocalyptic noir anthology called 'The
Tobacco-Stained Sky' (2013). There's also a published collection of my short
stories, articles and comic yarns, 'The Condimental Op' (2013), and two issues
of the comic book I do with artist Matt Kyme ('Tales to Admonish')."
What are
your forthcoming writings?
"The
next novel is titled 'Depth Charging Planet Goth', while comic book wise we
have 'Tales to Admonish' #3 and the 'Black/White' noir anthology."
What
are your future plans?
Definitely
more novels and comics. Books-wise I'm mulling over a possible offbeat
sci-fi/fantasy romp, kind of like 'Dune' sandwiched together with Buck Rogers,
John Carter from Mars and 'Sliders' — a rejig of something I wrote in high
school called 'Snow'.
What
four top most things you take care of while writing a book?
"Trying
to be true to myself and my sometimes wayward imagination — I'm not in this to
write a bestseller, but to write a story. I also don't place constraints on
myself while I write. There is no solid plan, so I guess I'm winging it as the
tale unfolds. This gives me the freedom to pursue whatever course, and I
certainly don't like to be constrained by genre pigeonholing. I think they're
the only 'rules' I follow."
Your
origin of birth and other countries you have lived in.
"I'm
born and bred Melbourne (Australia) — it's in my blood and I'm fiercely
parochial about that city. But I've also live the past quarter of my life in
Tokyo, Japan. This is another city I love and I think it's the people here and
the rich history/culture — tempered by its fragility — that makes it special.
And I lived six months in London when I was 23. I love that place too."
Your
zodiac/ sunsign?
"Sagittarius,
born in the Year of the Dragon."
Your
favorite book, and why?
"I'm
always torn between Raymond Chandler's 'The Big Sleep' and Dashiell Hammett's
'The Maltese Falcon'. Both books have streetwise, cynical detectives who have
the best commentary in literature. Plus the oddball characters surrounding
Spade and Marlowe are just plain mesmerizing."
Your
favorite food?
"Sashimi.
It only just pips sushi. Not for health reasons — but before I discovered raw
fish, I didn't like fish at all. Then I had these dishes... and wow. Forever in
awe."
Some
quickies: Sun or Moon, Laughter or Smile, Coffee or Tea, Mountain or Sea, Water
or Fire, Mars or Jupiter, Tulip or Rose, Left or Right, Glance or Stare...?
"Sun,
laughter, coffee, sea, fire, Mars, roses, left."
State
your signature line/ tagline/ best quote.
"Zounds!"
The
last line of your autobiography would be…
"Tried
everything once, did his best, and aspired to be a half-decent dad."
Links:
Andrez@ Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Andrez-Bergen/e/B009I1QB2I/
Andrez@ Goodreadshttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4771196.Andrez_BergenAndrezwriting bloghttp://andrezbergen.wordpress.com/Andrez@ Twitterhttps://twitter.com/andreziffy
AUTHOR PROFILE @ AMAZONhttp://www.amazon.com/Andrez-Bergen/e/B009I1QB2I
Tobacco-Stained
Mountain Goat / Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? / Tales to Admonish
MUZAK
as Little Nobody and Funk Gadget
http://www.beatport.com/artist/little-nobody/69970
Senior
Writer/Editor @ Impact magazine (UK)
Writer/Editor
@ Anime Update / Gaijinpot / JapaneseCultureGoNow! / Yomiuri Shimbun
Comics
@ IF? Commix
http://iffybizness.weebly.com
Books Magazine
Author Interview: Andrez Bergen: Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat: Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa
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