Submitted by Susanne Bacon.
Author Justin Teerlinck is at home in Gig Harbor, Washington. The trained and experienced forensic occupational therapist works currently as a freelance writer and community mental health occupational therapist. He has been writing since he was 16 years old and began by keeping a diary every day for 15 years, along with poetry, short fiction and memoir. Justin was awarded Best Journal, Senior Camper I, 1989, at Camp Buckskin, Ely, Minnesota (or thereabouts). Justin enjoys exploring and making things with his (romantic) partner. He likes searching for things: wild plants, mushrooms, unique rocks. He wants to know as much as possible about how the natural world works because knowing is a kind of honoring. He always seeks elusive solitude, which is so hard to find now. He is a minimalist by habit but has a secret addiction to books. Justin describes himself as an adult who never got to have a childhood, so he participates in activities that others might mock a 46-year-old man for doing: “eating sugary cereals and junk food, poking about in caves, picking up too many shiny rocks, howling, things like that.”
Which genres do you cover?
Justin Teerlinck: I write primarily satire in the form of historical fiction, focusing on the Victorian era. I also write faux self-help books, real self-help books, short stories, essays, poetry, and experimental fiction.
Which is the latest book you had published, and what is about?
Justin Teerlinck: My latest book in-print is “Squabble of the Titans: Recollections of Roosevelt and His Rival’s Hunt for Bigfoot in the Olympic Rainforest”. It’s an epistolary novel about Teddy Roosevelt hunting Bigfoot on the Olympic Peninsula here in the Pacific Northwest, in 1911. Most Bigfoot literature focuses on whether or not Bigfoot exists, and questions of “proof.” My novel asks, if we found Bigfoot, what would society do about it? How would society change? Among other things, “Squabble” is a satire of both American and British cultures near the turn of the century. It pokes fun at faulty logic, quack medical treatments, greedy governmental expansionism, manifest destiny, and reliance on untried technologies all in service of absurd and vainglorious ends.
At which book events can readers find you?
Justin Teerlinck: The last author event I participated in was the Lakewood Film Art and Book Festival (FAB) in 2021. It’s a great place to connect with fellow writers, meet with the public, and the organizers are very kind, generous people. I highly recommend it. At some point, I hope to return to author events because they are such a great way to connect.
Which book event connecting you with readers is your favorite and why?
Justin Teerlinck: I feel sheepish admitting this, but the honest answer is that I’ve attended too few to give a competent response. The puzzled and quizzical looks I get from many people are a sign that perhaps I have not yet found where I belong. I am exploring the idea of attending comic cons and Bigfoot-related events.
Do you have any specific messages to your readers and, if so, which are they?
Justin Teerlinck: Indeed, I do. First off, who are you? Are you out there? Secondly, I enjoy writing and creating, especially humor writing. I love to laugh and as ridiculous as it sounds, I often make myself laugh while I’m writing. My characters become friends and family. I hope to extend that to a readership. I write for my readers, whoever they are. I want to bring people joy. I want people to see what I see, to feel what I feel, to know what I know, that life is full of absurdity. I want my readers and the world to know that not taking yourself seriously is not immaturity, but strength. I collect lost causes like hoarders collect cats, but with the difference that while the hoarder’s cats might live, my causes have no hope of survival. As bleak as that sounds, I can—and do—still always find the absurdity even in the heart of tragedy.
Which writer(s) keep(s) inspiring you and why?
Justin Teerlinck: They change often, but Richard Flannagan immediately comes to mind, particularly “Gould’s Book of Fish”. My tastes and habits are all over the place. Satire and humor fiction—particularly in a historical frame of reference—is grossly undervalued both in the overall literary canon and in general. Yet, it has the most to teach us about human nature, our foibles, our fears, and the shortcomings of people in power.
Do you have specific writing habits?
Justin Teerlinck: I’m an extremely lazy, undisciplined writer, and I’ve made my peace with it. I find it difficult to complete my own projects, but when I’m collaborating with someone or working on a commissioned piece, I work well because the focus lends consistency and purpose to my creative drive. I don’t know how to type; and I only use a mechanical keyboard. I use typewriters for most of my correspondence, poetry, shorter projects, and drafts. They’re wonderful because they remove you from the distractions of the internet.
What are you currently working on?
Justin Teerlinck: I have been slowly publishing a sequel to “Squabble” over the past year online as a serial in weekly installments, for free. What if Teddy Roosevelt lived to fight in WWI? What if Bigfoot was discovered and an army of them were conscripted to fight in Allied forces in an attempt to stop the Germans and Austrians from terrorizing the Allies with acid-spitting, flying unicorns and mechanized giants? “The Devil with the Spiralled Horn” is an epistolary novel, painstakingly researched to include authentic background details, vivid imagery, and characters who live through their own words.
Which book are you currently reading simply for entertainment?
Justin Teerlinck: “Pure” by Andrew Miller, an underrated British author of historical fiction, after being seduced by his masterpiece “Now We Shall Be Entirely Free.”
What advice would you give any aspiring author?
Justin Teerlinck: For the most part, for most people, traditional [book] publishing is a dead-end. Even if successful, it will yield neither wealth nor status, but it will lead to the loss of control of your work. Writing is always evolving into new forms, styles, and mediums. That’s why I am careful to value all the writing I do; even a work email, a grocery store list or a tweet can provide you (or potentially even an audience) satisfaction if you put thought and heart into it. Do not discount the power of the simple, the ordinary, or the eccentric. There is a deep sense of community between writers that binds us all regardless of subject, theme, genre or form. If you attempt to share what you write, even if you never find an audience for your work, you will never be truly alone.
You can find Justin Teerlinck’s books at Amazon, at https://www.dashfirediaries.net/, at https://teerlinck.tumblr.com/, and – in his own words – “also in my closets and in little free libraries gathering dust.”
