Twenty Questions With Myas

Myas, aka Margaret Prezioso-Frye, is a self published author whose work is a mixture of  poetry, literary fiction, and memoir.  An Apartment In Madrid and A Notebook Full Of Stories are both available on Amazon.  She was kind enough to play along with the Twenty Questions game, and so here are her answers.  (She also posted them on her own blog.)

 My questions, her answers:

You are building your dream house. Choose three characters from three separate fictional works (not your own) to head up your construction crew.

The Vampire Lestat would be my first recruit. He’s open to innovation, would trade bodies to get the job done, and has the advantage of superhuman strength and speed, doesn’t need sleep, doesn’t need to eat. I’d have him work the night shift.

The Time Traveler of ‘The Time Machine’ would be one of the day crew. A brilliant creator, inventor, machinist and scientist, he can manage the construction, invent and reinvent, utilize and modify equipment, and because he has the capability to time-travel, can have repairs made in the past, re-modify design, and know exactly what the outcome will be.

Last and certainly not least, Hua Mulan would be the third member. There isn’t anything she can’t do, she’s always victorious, and has an excellent eye for style. She would be an asset for all facets of construction design, from fighting in battle knows how to hold together and support team relationships keeping them focused on the job at hand. She would definitely be the foreman of the three without the other two being aware she were in charge.

What album do you play when you are depressed that can be guaranteed to make you feel better?

Ah albums! I remember them from days gone by and the collection I’d accumulated spanning the floor of my bedroom wall. I remember the threats to my younger brother and sister not to touch that fell on deaf ears. They didn’t even try to conceal they’d listened to them. What would relax me hands down then when the offense had been committed that can still hold the same power, have the same influence now? Something heady, trippy, dreamy – Blind Faith, made up of other established band members who felt like jamming that day. You see, “But I’m near the end and I just ain’t got the time
And I’m wasted and I can’t find my way home.” (Steve Winwood 1969-ish)

You are on a first date with someone that you find attractive. Your partner picked the restaurant, and it is an ethnic food with which you are not familiar. When you get the menu you realize that you don’t recognize the names of any of the dishes and there are no descriptions. What do you do?

If my partner has picked the restaurant, I’d hope he could translate. There’d be no problems turning over the reigns and learning what everything is including the background behind them within reason – depending how hungry I am. If my partner doesn’t really know either but chose the place on recommendation, we’re about to find out everything we need to know about customer service through the waiter who will be bombarded with questions – depending how hungry I am. I may just cut to the quick and ask specifically about things similar to what I eat, fish, veggies – like that. Hopefully we’ll both be nursing cocktails while this is taking place.

What character from fiction do you wish that you had invented?

Huh, which character from fiction do I wish was my idea? Man, the list is long. I remember as far back as reading in People before it became a gossip magazine, when it was actually about people, about the guys who thought up the Ninja Turtles, one thing leading into another and then it began grossing zillions. Without getting into that long list, let’s say the Ninja Turtles. Otherwise, I can leave the door open for any character that has gained grossing-zillion-dollar notoriety. Nonetheless, I’ve fair to middlin’ imagination myself and’ve come up with some unusual stuff. There’s no telling where it’ll all lead.

Have you ever based a character on that character?

Indirect Ninja Turtle reference? Well, I guess I have. In fact, sure I have. I’ve written about super-folk in human form. They may not spin staffs or nun chucks around but they have powers and can alter outcomes. It’s always better when they show up and there’s nothing like a team of super-folk who’ve come together for a purpose, perhaps to settle a score. How I’d love to shoot a super-glance at a bad guy and land him/her on his/her respective backside.

How do you backup your work, and how often?

A well-known author wrote, ‘save, save, save – change a couple of words, save don’t wait – always save your work’. Often but not often enough I back up my work, copy my folders and send them to different sites. They have to be accessible in case of crash landings. In fact, I’m going to do that right now, after I take my vitamins.

If you had to power to “uninvent” an existing device and make sure that it would never be made, what would it be?

I would definitely uninvent the Smartphone. What a piece of junk. The person at the electronics store who pushed this product wasn’t technologically savvy at all. She was a damaged droid with faulty programming pushing a product. It is undependable, its updates are questionable and cause more problems than help, it has deleted photos on me, doesn’t share media well with others, is difficult to control and difficult to find functions, it’s unclear how to buy ringtones, in a nutshell it’s just too complicated. From what I’ve heard from others who have purchased Smartphones, buy an iPhone.

If your life were a sandwich, what would it be?

One of those elegant 300 Sandwiches, let’s see… nah, I’ve got one: grilled smoked salmon and horseradish-cheddar on ciabatta or one of those small Italian rolls I’d buy at Auchan in Citta Bassa. Salmon is so good for you, horseradish-cheddar gives it kick, and good bread completes it. At this point there’s no skimping the grill in either olive oil or butter, nothing watered down. Eat it hot, take a bite, and savor as you chew. Burning sting on your tongue, wash it with wine, dry red or white. Life is important and just for you.

What song from a Broadway musical best describes your ideal relationship?

‘Heart’ from Damn Yankees. I’m originally from New York, that’d be me. If he takes it to heart and can sing as good as those ballplayers can, we’ll be fine.

If you could choose a pet that was a reincarnation of a historical figure, who would it be, and what sort of pet?

What an awful thing to do to someone. Give up on resting in peace? In this life you must be my pet? It’d have to be something that can’t bite first of all… I love horses so it’d have to be cool for the both of us… more consideration, hmmm…

The black stallion Pegasus from Clash Of The Titans… who would be Socrates reincarnated. I’ve always loved the Greek philosophers and I’d bet he’d get a kick out of being a Pegasus as much as I’d love to have that one from Clash Of The Titans as a pet, which would also make him a Hollywood icon. Yeah, we’d both dig it.

A comic book superhero approaches you for help in defeating a villain. Who is the character, and how are you able to help?

Like a Silver-Tongue in Inkheart, I’d change the story. I’d heard that according to marvel Comics, although one of the Avengers now, the Hulk is overcome by what pumps through his veins and will ultimately become a villain. What would happen if The Hulk were the bad guy fighting Thor? Neither of them can be defeated, but if the story can be changed, the bad guy can be changed, eliminated, defeated in that way, maybe in the way the elements can defeat an immortal – that one fatal flaw. Lightening may charge up Iron Man, but it doesn’t work that way for everyone.

Thor, who loves a good brawl, has kept the Hulk at bay but no amount of strength is going to stop him. It’s a shame this turn of events, but he’s been through it before with Loki. The Hulk manages to knock Thor into a park where I happen to be sitting at a picnic table with my laptop responding to a 20 questions writing prompt. I look up and my heart skips a beat at the approaching figure. Usually it takes me a minute to recognize someone but not this time – kind of hard not to recognize Thor. He sits at the table. I could tell by looking at him he’s in battle or just finished one. It does break my heart as he tells his tale, I’ve liked the Hulk until now, and agree to help. It won’t be easy but Thor should be able to keep me safe. The Hulk tramples down trees and is in the park. Just as well, I’d rather a surface to type on anyway.

Dr. Banner wakes up in the middle of a park not certain how he got there. Thor greets him helping him up. Bruce has heard of the Avengers and is excited to meet Thor but he must get back. Today he’s being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Thor asks about his gamma research and Bruce laughs. He’d scrapped that idea years ago. It’s just too dangerous.

After he leaves I’m awarded a cool person nod of acknowledgement from Thor as he summons his hammer, scares up some lightening and rockets skyward. This whole ordeal has given me an idea for writing. Fire and rescue trucks pull up along with a few police cars and an official-looking SUV. Someone runs up to me and shouts, “What happened here?” I shrug. “Don’t know, just got here. I was wondering that myself. What happened to the park? Mind if I keep writing while you guys do your thing?”

Good thing there wasn’t anyone else in the park when it all took place.

If three were four, what would five be?

I know Hendrix wouldn’t mind if six turned out to be nine, so mathematically boringly speaking I’d imagine five would be six. However, if three were four and three plus two make five, that’d mean two’d be three and three being four make three plus four being seven which has nothing to do with six except that three and four both represent five, so seven represents five which means seven represents six, five is six. Five would be three, four, six and seven.

If you had the power to make everyone on Earth read one book (not your own) what would you pick?

I’m going to have to give this some thought. Although the adage is if you read a dictionary you’ve read all the books in the world, except that so much is lost in implication, innuendo, subliminal, decryption, description and the list goes on, I’d say a real classic, and I’m talking an original work. Begin with Plato’s Republic and take it from there.

If you were a professional wrestler, what would your ring name be?

Nemesis.

Would you rather have an action figure or a Pez dispenser based on you?

My action figure would be sitting at a laptop typing. Would that say enough? Pez could handle that by handing out laptop shaped candies, but that stuff is bad for you anyway. When my daughter had her baby her brother asked her if she was ready to be supermom. Supermom. An action figure, Supermom it is!

What one superpower would make you a better writer?

Not needing sleep. I could get thoughts down right when they occur to me instead of dreaming about them because I’m passed out on the keyboard, snapping to just as the drool starts but not before my cheek is indented with square lettering.

If you could spend one day living in the world of a movie, what movie would it be? What would you spend the day doing?

The world of Safe Haven, aside from the maniacal husband on the hunt for his wife, set in Southport, North Carolina would be the movie world I’d like to spend one day living in. Of course when I’d first arrived it’d be necessary to find a place to spend the night. After that I’d wander the beaches, enjoy the atmosphere, food and people. I loved the scenery that was shown in the film, and if the people are that kind of welcoming, it’d be a great place to spend the day. Who knows, maybe I’d even look for a job.

What one emotion more than any other would you like your readers to experience while reading your books?

I think the best emotion is being absorbed in what is being read. We could call that emotion the excitement of being in the book and experiencing what’s taking place as if it’s happening to the reader.

If you could send one object that you own to your ten-year-old self, what would it be?

Tis pity I can’t send myself a letter
It could be kept hidden away
But what could I say except to change my life
My original thought wouldn’t be the same
Be strong and leave home
I’d tell me the age
But I can’t do that
Well now let’s see
Knowing my situation when I was 10
What object could I send to me
Gee
I couldn’t send back the laptop
My father’d have me burned as a witch
Books now are way ahead of my time then
Ears won’t be pierced until I’m 18
Earrings, no sense in that
Sketches I’d bought in Spain
Would be something else I can’t explain
This is becoming a pain
Wait
What are the odds one of my books
If I saw one
What would I think of me
Would that alter future time
Change future destiny
A picture of my kids
A short note on the back
To set me on my way
Chin up
That’s an object not a letter
Better
Anyway it’s looked at
Life makes it no easy choice
This question no easy task

If you could live anywhere on Earth, where would it be?

San Ditalyego, San Diego and Italy. Not certain how I’m going to pull it off yet.