Lessons Learned When Talking to Authors

An Interview with Debbie Urbanski

I try to get along with everyone. I try to be insightful, empathetic, curious… other adjectives as well. But there is something about me that rubs people the wrong way, I guess. My insight can come across as pomposity, my empathy as disingenuous, my curiosity a bit passive-aggressive, I suppose. Am I a little full of myself? A little holier-than-thou? A little above-it-all? Maybe. Writers are so sensitive and neurotic, myself included, particularly during this epoch of human technological dystopia, that I should try a bit harder to be aware of how others are responding and reacting to my unique blend of charm, candor, and bluster.

I have known all this for years, and I should have kept it all in mind when Necessary Fiction set up a conversation between myself and Debbie Urbanski. We were supposed to talk about the author’s new collection, Portalmania (Simon & Schuster, 2025), but she mostly wanted to talk about ghosts, anti-depressants, and her dream of publishing turning into a digitized, Kafkaesque inferno. If you read between the lines, you’ll be able to tell what is going on. You always can.

I just want to tell all of you that I don’t hold a grudge. And I hope she doesn’t either.

Check out the interview here.