Interview - Part 8, FIRE, the Hunger

Have you verbally told or written any of the fire stories before?

The FIRE stories came about when I went to Feather River Family Camp, 2005, the first week of August when the outdoors is hot and very dry. I told the stories around the first night's campfire to children and parents. Later, I presented more FIRE stories at night on the Open Stage. And I have a spot for evening stories in the Crafts Circle just before dinner, what better than FIRE stories.

After telling at Feather Family Camp, I told stories for Oaklandish, 2006, who were building pride in Oakland and having a campout at Oakland's Chabot State Park. The FIRE stories went well with the crowd of young adults.

Next, I told the stories for a birthday party, 2007. Parents of a young girl called me about stories; I asked if they could have a fire; the parents said yes. I narrated the FIRE stories around the pit and related how we must constrain FIRE because of the horror of eating everything, and that now FIRE was held in candles on a birthday cake and blown out for a wish. The young lady liked the stories.

The last story, Bertha Digby was published in an anthology organized by the 4th Street Studio's Saturday Salons, The Livermore Wine Country Literary Harvest, ©2006. 'Saving the Woods' is on pages 67 to 69. My folktale honors a squirrel and all animals (a metaphor for people) who restore burnt forests that other humans destroy by one means or other.

The FIRE stories were bridged together by the desire for warmth and light and told monthly at a storytelling swap in 2008, which I helped run at the Orinda library.

The folktales were written out for the April 2017 NaNoWriCamp were enhanced, modified, elaborated and bridged together around one of the worst predator, who eats everything, 'FIRE, the Hunger.'

Now, the segued folktales are on wattpad, a great platform to connect with readers while writing and editing. Soon 'FIRE, the Hunger' will be posted on Bublish with 'bubbles' that appear on Twitter and Facebook for publicity.

Interview - Part 7, FIRE, the Hunger

What are the lessons learned about FIRE?

FIRE is our enemy, who eats everything but treated like a hero, a treasure to be sought, a prize to have as if a best friend. FIRE is a monster and humans, especially children, need to learn this and how to control its hunger.

FIRE is never to be free, never allow FIRE out of any container holding it. By container is meant keeping FIRE in a hearth of the bricks or rocks like our fireplaces, or a simple dirt pit in the ground. We must always keep FIRE confined.
When finished with FIRE while camping, cover FIRE with dirt or drown with water. If cooking on stove that uses gas flames, complete turn off the flame. If using matches, drown the burning part with water. If ever smelling smoke, investigate. Have a fire extinguisher ready and have the phone number of the Fire Department close. 

BE WARNED!


FIRE has an enormous, ferocious appetite, always hungry, and eats furiously. From the lava formed from melted rocks in the volcanoes to the lightning that dashes through the air; fire's priority is to consume everything. 



FIRE flickers with hypnotic light and dashes as it dances over a victim with penetrating heat to consuming its prey. Fire is formless and raises up to the sky as if praying. While eating victims, fire chants with sounds like hollowed crackling, sudden pops and snapping, or a long rumbling hum. Sometimes sparks like diamonds from FIRE spray quickly into the air reaching, this is to send FIRE to its next meal. Fire is dangerously beautiful, enchanting, and hypnotic.

REMEMBER!


FIRE is a trickster using charms of heat and light as magic, this is to hide a ferocious appetite and is it always looking, searching for ways to escape a confinement to burn, sting, and roast victims causing enormous damage and pain. After FIRE eats only ashes are left.

FIRE, the Hunger

Interview - Part 6, FIRE, the Hunger

Are you satisfied with the way the stories follow each other?

Yes, I have made a specific point to use the animal's or the human’s desire for FIRE at the beginnings and FIRE’S horrible appetite at the end of each story to weave into the next story so the characters push the plot along. This is called bridging or the segue, in which ‘FIRE, the Hunger’ is desired for the warmth and light, and how each character managed to secure their desire, or not and the following tragedy FIRE starts. There is a difference in time when the Greek and Roman gods secure FIRE for their followers and how the animals secured FIRE in the folktales from the Americans, the ancient of all worlds.

FIRE, the Hunger

Interview - Part 5, FIRE the Hunger

READ on WATTPAD.

How did you put the stories together?

First, I selected stories to prove my premise and compliment the theme, then arranged the order: the volcanoes and then the animals that helped to a hunter that steals FIRE to the tragedy of that theft burning down the forest, thus making the god Kaang’s warning true, “The human loss of harmony with the animals.” 

And for a constructive conclusion after the horrid FIRE ate the forest and homes, I added a creative story I wrote about a squirrel, Bertha Digby. who replants the forest. Which is fitting because if you ever lived among trees, squirrels are the busiest of creatures planting everything they get their paws on. In my yard, they are always in the Oak, Avocado, Magnolia, or Camille trees. And if they could, they would even plant apples and orange trees as they do the plum trees. The squirrels carry flowers seeds on their fur, and these seeds scatter around the ground while they dig in the acorns, walnut and avocado seed, which will grow into trees if not dug up for foods later.

  FIRE, the Hunger.

Interview - Part 4, FIRE the Hunger

READ on WATTPAD.

What is the theme that holds the stories together?

Fire’s personality is the theme. FIRE stays alive by eating, which is the horror of FIRE making it a monster. FIRE is a voracious, selfish, hungry, villain that has no guilt or shame and feasts on everything. FIRE eats oxygen out of the air, which is its very best friend.

FIRE has hypnotic powers to maintain a spell-bound entranced viewer. I witnessed this as a kid watching the hypnotic flames flicker back-and-forth sometimes yellow or orange and maybe green or blue fueled eating FIRE eating its wooden victim. As FIRE reached up into the sky, it popped sparks to escape the trees to satisfy its ravished appetite.Where I live now, FIRE burned the dried ivy from the house next door eager to eat the house and sleeping victims and damaged our shed in the backyard. Years later an enormous FIRE came from smoldering roots in the Public Park up the hill behind our house. The wind blew the smoking embers into flames, which roared down the hill eating homes, pets, and trees. When ashes fall, and the smoke gathered around our house, I panicked. I took weird things, like the dogs, chickens, phones, frozen chicken, and all our coats. And, all the photos I had because I worked on my Father’s family tree. That FIRE was drowned by Firemen just two blocks away from our home. The just last month, the horror of FIRE, crawling and eating all the plants, animals, buildings of 7,000 people and businesses in the North Bay area of San Francisco.

FIRE is a monster and the humans needed to know this and how to control its hunger.

FIRE, the Hunger.