Tag Archives: Mila Jaroniec

“The Human Part is Now.” – A Conversation with Mila Jaroniec

March 7, 2017Flappertising, Flappricana, InterviewsdrDOCTOR, Hopscotch, Joseph P. O'Brien, Julio Cortazar, Mark Rothko, Mila Jaroniec, Ottessa Moshfegh, Plastic Vodka Bottle Sleepover, Split Lip Press, TS EliotJoseph P. O'Brien

Mila Jaroniec has been part of the Flapperhouse family since way way back: her poem “Window Glass” appeared in our very first issue, and she was the very first reader to perform at our very first reading.

Mila’s work has also been published at Hobart, Teen Vogue, and LENNY, among many others. She’s an editor for the wonderful team at drDOCTOR, and her excellent novel Plastic Vodka Bottle Sleepover was published last November by Split Lip Press. (Check out an excerpt over at Joyland.) She recently exchanged emails with our managing editor Joseph P. O’Brien about her new book, as well as the afterlife, airport novels, hilarious Polish proverbs, and much more…

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JO’B: You’ve aptly described Plastic Vodka Bottle Sleepover as a “road novel with no road,” and it also struck me as a novel about living in limbo. It resonated especially strongly with me, and reminded me of whatever I can still remember from my own early/mid-twenties. There’s plenty of excitement in the sex & drinks & drugs & uncertainty, yet that same uncertainty also creates this restless, stuck-in-a-rut, waiting-at-the-airport sensation, constantly anxious for something to “HAPPEN.” And while that feeling of limbo has certainly ebbed for me as I’ve progressed through my late-twenties & into my thirties, I still find myself there on occasion. With this book, did you intend to create an atmosphere highly specific to that particular stage of late adolescence/early adulthood, or was it meant to be even more universal & accessible than that?

MJ: It wasn’t planned that way at all. I mean, I didn’t think about stages or accessibility. I just wanted to do a portrait of a person. A young messed up person, in this case, but there are many, many older adults who are stuck in this eternal adolescence. Drug addicts especially.

JO’B: At one point in the book, your narrator (aka “La Maga”) and her friend discuss whether an after-life of non-existence is closer to heaven or hell. Do you side with one character more than the other in that debate? Do you have any unique theories on human existence post-death, or do you think we just cut to black?

MJ: I wanted to think we just cut to black for so long – it’s so easy – but I can’t make myself believe that. It’s just a comforting thought when I feel afraid of dying. Blackout is a comfort. But, you know, I don’t necessarily believe we retain our consciousness as it is now. It changes form. We are souls being carried around in bodies, for now, and then we are set free to do something else. There’s no human existence post-death. The human part is now.

JO’B: PVBS is kind of an “airport novel,” in that much of it takes place in an airport, even though [SPOILER] La Maga never really gets where she’s going. The book’s also overtly inspired by Julio Cortazar’s Hopscotch, which La Maga refers to as “the perfect airport book.” Of course, when most people think of an “airport novel” they probably think of fast-paced, plot-heavy thrillers by Dan Brown or James Patterson. So if a publisher offered you a lifetime of financial security to write a more typical airport novel, what would the title & plot summary be? (And your pen name as well, if you prefer to keep your literary & genre work separate?)

MJ: A lifetime of financial security to write one fast-paced thriller? I’m not above that. So maybe it could be about this housewife with humble beginnings, maybe an immigrant, married to this very high-profile multi-millionaire, and she has everything she wants and an extremely lavish lifestyle, but then she starts to suspect he’s killing and dismembering women, something like that. Which he is. And hiding them in the house. There’s a whole torture chamber in the mansion. So what does she do with this information, and does she make it out alive? He treats her completely normally the whole time. Until he finds out she knows…

Is this convincing? I might actually write this. Get a how-to book, like Ottessa Moshfegh did to write Eileen, and go to town. And of course I would keep my name. I’m not precious about stuff like that. Continue reading “The Human Part is Now.” – A Conversation with Mila Jaroniec →

FLAPPERHOUSE : Year One

January 21, 2015Flappertising, FlappricanaAlibi Jones, Alison McBain, Amanda Sarasien, Angela Enos, anna tizard, Anthony Michael Morena, aoibheann mccann, Ashley Lister, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Brendan Byrne, Cameron Suey, Carl Fuerst, Cassandra de Alba, daniel ari, Diana Clarke, Dusty Wallace, dylan k. jackson, Ed Ahern, Emily O'Neill, Eric Siegelstein, FLAPPERHOUSE Year One, foust, frederick pollack, J. Bradley, J.E. Reich, j/j hastain, Jeff Laughlin, Jenean McBrearty, Jennifer MacBain-Stephens, Jessie Janeshek, Joel Enos, john grey, Joseph P. O'Brien, Joseph Tomaras, Judith Skillman, julie c. day, Juliet Cook, Lauren Seligman, lonnie monka, Luis Galindo, M.A. Schaffner, M.N. Hanson, Mari Ness, Mariev Finnegan, Mila Jaroniec, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois, Natalia Theodoridou, Phyllis Green, Rebecca Ann Jordan, Reshad Staitieh, robin wyatt dunn, Samantha Duncan, Samantha Eliot Stier, Smith Smith, T. Mazzara, Todd Pate, Tom StephanJoseph P. O'Brien

Coming soon in soft, pulpy paperback.
Stay tuned…

Outside the Flapperhouse – 12.30.2014

December 30, 2014Flappricana, Outside the FlapperhouseAlison McBain, Anna Lea Jancewicz, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Cassandra de Alba, Dusty Wallace, Ed Ahern, Emily O'Neill, J.E. Reich, j/j hastain, Jeff Laughlin, julie c. day, Juliet Cook, Mari Ness, Mila Jaroniec, Natalia Theodoridou, Samantha Eliot StierJoseph P. O'Brien

As 2014 has been careening through its homestretch, our Flappers have been even more prolific than usual, getting their work published across the internet like there won’t be a 2015.

Jeff Laughlin shared some things he’s learned this year in “The Year I Didn’t Belong” over at Triad City Beat.

Mari Ness’ “Offgrid” popped up at Three-Lobed Burning Eye.

Dusty Wallace’s “Flight of the Lonely” went up at Acidic Fiction.

Samantha Eliot Stier’s “Plugs” was inserted into The Writing Disorder.

Juliet Cook & j/j hastain collaborated on “Clots Push Over the Edge” for the latest issue of Stirring.

Alison McBain’s playfully absurd “Nothing For Sale” was featured at Saturday Night Reader.

Ed Ahern left his “Aftertaste” at New Pop Lit.

Anna Lea Jancewicz’s poem “Black Robin” nested at Spry Lit.

Cassandra de Alba’s poem “Tyra Banks in the Arctic Circle” strutted the runway at Glitter Mob.

Mila Jaroniec joined drDOCTOR for their year-end podcast.

Emily O’Neill’s poem “Proof” was included in the latest edition of Sundog Lit.

Natalia Theodoridou’s “The Ravens’ Sister” perched itself at The Kenyon Review Online.

J.E. Reich wrote about embracing the changing Jewish family for The Jewish Daily Forward.

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam’s “Sleepers” went up at Fantastic Stories of the Imagination.

Julie C. Day’s “Faerie Medicine,” which initially appeared in FLAPPERHOUSE #2, was reprinted by Luna Station Quarterly.

Outside the Flapperhouse – 9.13.2014

September 13, 2014Outside the Flapperhouseaoibheann mccann, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Diana Clarke, Dusty Wallace, Emily O'Neill, J.E. Reich, Jeff Laughlin, Joseph Tomaras, Mila Jaroniec, Natalia Theodoridou, Rebecca Ann Jordan, Todd Pate, Tom StephanJoseph P. O'Brien

Holy Smoke! Our Flappers have been mighty prolific outside the Flapperhouse these past few weeks…

Joseph Tomaras’ sci-fi surveillance state story “Bonfires in Anacostia” appeared in the August issue of Clarkesworld.

Natalia Theodoridou has had a couple short stories published recently:“Wayward Sons” in Lakeside Circus and “That Tear Problem” at Kasma.

At Split Rock Review, Emily O’Neill has a poem partly inspired by the fantastic show Supernatural titled “Disguises for the Waxing Moon.”

Todd Pate blogged about his new gig with the North Dakota Museum of Art at El Jamberoo.

Aoibheann McCann’s “Premium Line” ran in issue 2 of The Incubator.

The cannibal-themed anthology edited by Dusty Wallace, “People Eating People,” is now for sale.

Mila Jaroniec’s “Desperate Strangers” was posted at Luna Luna.

Rebecca Ann Jordan’s “Gospel Of” was published in Infinite Science Fiction One.

Jeff Laughlin wrote on the loneliness of tennis in covering the Winston-Salem Open for Triad City Beat.

J.E. Reich wrote about how “We Never Notice Our Own Addictions” over at Medium.

Tom Stephan posted a sort of psychic detective tale, “Never Anything Useful,” on Jux.com.

Diana Clarke reviewed the documentary Kabbalah Me for the The Village Voice.

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam’s “Tea With the Titans” appeared on NewMyths.com.

FLAPPERHOUSE Reading #1, In Pictures

August 27, 2014FlappricanaAlibi Jones, Brendan Byrne, J.E. Reich, Joseph P. O'Brien, Mila Jaroniec, Readings, T. MazzaraJoseph P. O'Brien

We wish to offer our warm, feathery gratitude to everyone who joined us for our first reading last night, as well as to those who couldn’t make it but were there in spirit, not to mention the extremely kind staff at Pacific Standard, to the amazing Alibi Jones for all her assistance and photography, and of course to our esteemed readers (Mila, Brendan, J.E., & T.). Maybe let’s do this again a few months down the road?

The editor & the amazing Alibi Jones welcome the crowd. Photo by Trisha Siegelstein.

Mila Jaroniec reads from her novel-in-progress. Photo by Alibi Jones.

Brendan Byrne reads from “Human Child,” from our forthcoming Fall issue. Photo by Alibi Jones.

Joseph P. O'Brien reads his short story, — Joseph P. O’Brien reads his short story, “Reaper Taps.” Photo by Alibi Jones.

J.E. Reich reads her short story “I Will Be There But I Will Not.” Photo by Alibi Jones.

T. Mazzara reads “Rebel, Rebel” from FLAPPERHOUSE #1. Photo by Alibi Jones.

FLAPPERHOUSE Reading #1

August 6, 2014Flappertising, FlappricanaBrendan Byrne, J.E. Reich, Mila Jaroniec, Readings, T. MazzaraJoseph P. O'Brien

A surreal, shadowy, sensual, satirical evening you won’t soon forget. A very flappy time will be had by all who attend.

Outside the Flapperhouse – 7.29.2014

July 29, 2014Outside the FlapperhouseBrendan Byrne, Diana Clarke, Dusty Wallace, J. Bradley, J.E. Reich, julie c. day, Mila Jaroniec, Rebecca Ann JordanJoseph P. O'Brien

Our beloved Flappers have been popping up all over the internet these past few weeks:

Julie C. Day‘s bewitching flash fiction “Drinking Grandma’s Tea” was published by Bartleby Snopes.

Mila Jaroniec shared “5 Unpopular Opinions in No Particular Order” with Thought Catalog.

FLAPPERHOUSE #3 contributor Brendan Byrne’s article “Urban Growth: Bio-Bricks Offer a Whiff of the Future” was posted by New Scientist.

Diana Clarke, another contributor to our Fall 2014 issue, talked robotics and erotics in her interview with a virologist at The Toast.

Future contributor Dusty Wallace’s poem “DNR” appeared at The Mystic Nebula.

J. Bradley interviewed David James Poissant, author of The Heaven of Animals, at Electric Literature.

J.E. Reich‘s novel The Demon Room is now available as an audiobook through Audible.com.

Rebecca Ann Jordan busted some character cliches at DIYMFA.

Outside the Flapperhouse – 7.2.2014

July 2, 2014Flappricana, Outside the FlapperhouseBonnie Jo Stufflebeam, J. Bradley, J.E. Reich, Jeff Laughlin, Mila Jaroniec, Rebecca Ann Jordan, Tom StephanJoseph P. O'Brien

Here are some writings our beloved Flappers have posted & published around the internet in the past couple weeks:

J. Bradley responded to SCOTUS’ Hobby Lobby decision with his poem “Where the White People Are: Women’s Reproductive Rights” at The New Verse News.

Mila Jaroniec recounted her “Brief History of Blackouts” in an essay for Medium.

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam‘s short story “Hero” appeared yesterday at Daily Science Fiction. UPDATE: Bonnie also had a story go up at Hobart last week, the amazingly-titled “The Stink of Horses: Excerpts From The Marina Golovina Controversy By the Ballet Book Series.”

Jeff Laughlin coped with a metaphysical hangover in his Hunter S. Thompson-esque “A Night Without Peace at Bowman Gray” over at Triad City Beat.

J.E. Reich‘s “Breakers” (from our current issue) was read aloud on last week’s broadcast of Mr. Bear’s Violet Hour Saloon, and it was also reposted at Medium under the title “Teasing it Open.”

Rebecca Ann Jordan‘s magical realist tale “This Is No Garden” was recently published at Swamp Biscuits and Tea.

Tom Stephan posted the very creepy “A Summertime Tale” last week. We’re not sure if it’s a true story or not, and we’re too scared to ask him for the answer.

“Window Glass” – Poetry by Mila Jaroniec

March 22, 2014Excerpts, Flappricana, PoetryMila Jaroniec, Spring 2014 (#1), Window GlassJoseph P. O'Brien

Frau mit Schleier (Woman with Veil) - Odilon Redon, 1895 — Woman with Veil – Odilon Redon, 1895

There’s a question in the middle of Mila Jaroniec‘s “Window Glass” that bites us in the heart every time we read it. This dark, wistful, slightly sardonic poem is merely one of the many fine works of lit that you can read in our Spring 2014 Issue, now available for purchase at the low low price of just $3.

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THE WINDOW GLASS IS TEXTURED WITH DIRT. My eyes settle on smears of leftover Windex in between squished bugs. Wonder if everyone sees the world through dirty glass. Wonder if everyone knows there’s always glass. I consider going outside for a moment but then remember my halfheartedly molting sunburn.

Shelley wrote something about the painted veil, what was that?
That wasn’t this.

Go clean your room, my mother said. No man wants to marry a slob.

No one gets married anymore.

Don’t be silly. Everyone gets married.

                        When we were together I never got a ring
                        or a tattoo of your name
                        but I still feel you next to me when I smell cigarettes or touch leather
                        maybe that’s why I don’t wear my jacket or smoke.

Who are you going to die with?

Pinpricks of stars dot the expanse of black sky. It’s quiet.
My cigarette tip illuminates the invisible street.

Last summer we looked at that sky, you and I
we lay on our backs on the bike trail and when you put
your hand
under my sweatshirt
my heart
ricocheted violently,
pinpricks of stars,
like air holes in a dark
box that someone keeps
their pets in,
and looks inside
from time to time
to check if we’re alive.

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MILA JARONIEC lives in New York City.

FLAPPERHOUSE #1 Now On Sale

February 3, 2014Flappertising, FlappricanaCameron Suey, J. Bradley, Jeff Laughlin, Jenean McBrearty, Joseph P. O'Brien, Judith Skillman, Lauren Seligman, Luis Galindo, Mariev Finnegan, Mila Jaroniec, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Phyllis Green, Rebecca Ann Jordan, Spring 2014 (#1), T. Mazzara, Todd Pate, Tom StephanJoseph P. O'Brien

UPDATE:

The PDF of FLAPPERHOUSE #1 is no longer for sale, because it is now available for free.
Click the cover to enjoy.

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“No More Poems About Resolutions,” “A Highly Magnified History,” “When A Poet Wants To Date You,” and “Yelp Review – Total Wine” – J. Bradley
“CRYONICS” – Mariev Finnegan
“The Puddle of Romeo’s Tears” – Luis Galindo
“The Thrill of a Lifetime” – Phyllis Green
“Window Glass” – Mila Jaroniec
“Stage Manager” – Rebecca Ann Jordan
“What Really Drives You To Drink” – Jeff Laughlin
“Rebel, Rebel” – T. Mazzara
“The Root of Everything Arty” – Jenean McBrearty
“Stanley Kubrick’s Shit Happens“ – Joseph P. O’Brien
“The Better Cowboy” – Todd Pate
“Angels Howling in the Trees” – Misti Rainwater-Lites
“Dare” – Lauren Seligman
“Rules and Secrets” – Judith Skillman
“Reach” – Tom Stephan
“Axis Mundi” – Cameron Suey

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