In our new author series, we’ll be offering a clairvoyant peek behind the veil of who and what makes up TRANSCENDENT. Here’s a glimpse at Errick Nunnally and his story “A Few Extra Pounds.”
ABOUT THE STORY
Did you have to do any research? If so, what kind? What did you learn?
A little. I’ve been into fitness and dietary effects for some time—mostly due, early on, to my aunt and mother, but more recently by intestinal issues my wife has suffered. I know people who travel for recreational athletic events as well as semi-professional. I’ve run a couple of 5K obstacle courses, as well. The research was mostly digging a bit into that lifestyle to inform the protagonist, his girlfriend, his friends, and the sort of world he’d be used to.
Can you tell me a little bit about your protagonist?
Bill is an adventure fitness enthusiast whose entire personal life has been built around that sort of activity. An accident involving an animal throw his life entirely off course.
Tell me about the setting you chose and how it influences your work.
I consider the setting to be a sort of inflated fat-shaming isolation, how Bill’s friends drift away based on his physical shape, how his girlfriend reacts to his weight gain. It’s more of an emotional and psychological setting.
What would you like readers to take away from your story?
I would hope for people to have some empathy for someone who may be in an uncontrollable situation rather than judging them from afar. That men reconsider their relationships with the women around them, that they be based on something more balanced than physical wants or control.
Which phrase are you most proud of in this story?
“…a gaze spiced with regret.”
If your story was front-page news, what would the headline be?
Not fiction, an NBC headline: “America’s Obesity Epidemic Reaches Record High, New Report Says”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Other than a raft of books on Native American tribes, and Mayan culture for my first novel, I’d say, two books on forensics and police investigation: “Crime Scene” by Larry Ragle and “Howdunit Book of Police Procedure and Investigation” by Lee Lofland.
If you had to put your name on someone else’s book/story, which would it be and why?
Nah. I couldn’t do that. I got my start enamored with comic books, specifically the art. As much as I loved to draw and write comics, I never wanted to do that with anyone else’s characters. I reckon that just carried over to all reading. I love the stuff, am jealous, but never even fantasized about putting my name on one.
When did you decide to take writing seriously?
When I realized that the ideas I’d been having since I was a pre-teen wouldn’t go away, that it was possible to write them down and share them.
If you could choose a single superpower, what would it be and why?
The ability to understand and speak any language, like Cypher of the New Mutants. That would truly make the world my oyster.
Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Errick Nunnally served one tour in the Marine Corps before deciding art school would be a safer—and more natural—pursuit. He strives to develop his strengths in storytelling and remains permanently distracted by art, comics, science fiction, history, and horror. Trained as a graphic designer, he has earned a black belt in Krav Maga/Muay Thai kickboxing after dark. Errick’s successes include: the novel, Blood For The Sun; an upcoming novel with ChiZine Publications; a comic strip collection, Lost in Transition; and first prize in one hamburger contest. The following are some short stories and their respective anthologies: Penny Incompatible (Lamplight, v.6, #3); Jack Johnson and The Heavyweight Title of The Galaxy (The Final Summons); Welcome to the D.I.V. (Wicked Witches); Harold At The Halfcourt (Inner Demons Out); The Last Apology (A Dark World of Spirits and The Fey); You Call This An Apocalypse? (After The Fall);and A Hundred Pearls: PROTECTORS 2 (stories to benefit PROTECT.ORG). He also has two lovely children and one beautiful wife.
Follow our Amazon page for TRANSCENDENT’s release this holiday season!
Transmundane Press 