Our final mini-interview from the winter RPP authors comes from Sylvia Hiven. Her short, historical-artistic fantasy provided the end punch for the issue, so it seems only right.
1. Can you dsecribe “The Still Life of Doriana” in one sentence for those who haven’t read it yet?
It is a story about a woman who is willing to give up her life for immortality. As contradictory as that may sound!
2. Is there a larger connection to Dorian Gray than the names “Doriana” and “Basilio”? The entire story is a meditation on similar themes, but to very different ends. Does Wilde’s book have a special place, for you? Were there other inspirations? Commentaries?
The prompt for the story was a writing contest at Scribophile, which is a website I frequent. The challenge was to write a story based upon a photograph of a girl carrying a portrait.
Originally, the story idea just came from word play. I was thinking about the expression “still life”, and how contradictory that expression is–and how cool it would be if someone actually could paint still a life. As Dorian Gray was willing to let his portrait distort in order to keep his physical body young and attractive, Doriana of my story is a woman who wishes to do the opposite and seeks the artist who has the ability. Reflecting the names of Wilde’s novel was just a fun little referenceI threw in on top of it.
3. Irresistible, for sure. A google search shows a general sprinkling of fiction around the net — are there any in particular you think would appeal to the RPP reader, and what’s up next?
I think most of what I write is in the RPP vein: definitely fantastical with a serious tinge of dark. I’ve got a story about a sentient island coming up in Bards & Sages Quarterly in January, and OG’s Speculative Fiction will feature a science fiction story about a rather unique space ship. I am very pleased with how both of those turned out.
Else than that, it’s all about churning out new yarns.
And thank god for that. We’ll keep watching for it, for sure. Thanks for stopping by Sylvia! And for those of you who haven’t seen “The Still Life of Doriana”, hey, now might be a good time.
