Addison Smith — an interview with the author of The Elevator Café
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What's your go-to morning beverage?
Yes, it’s coffee. I have a bit of a black coffee addiction. I drink maybe 5-8 24 oz. iced coffees a day, and an occasional hot coffee to help me calm down before bed. This is not remotely a joke.
How refined is your taste for coffee?
I own at least a dozen methods of brewing coffee. I have my drip machine, two French presses, two cold brewers, two sizes of Bialetti moka pots, two percolators, an aeropress, a chemex, a Turkish coffee pot, an espresso machine, a kcup machine, and whatever I might be forgetting off the top of my head. And still, my taste is not refined. I love good coffee; I love bad coffee.
Just today my friend Evan introduced me to the Pepsilatte™ and I ended up mixing espresso, Italian crème, and Dr. Pepper over ice and it was honestly fantastic. I will drink instant coffee if you give it to me. I like to think of this not as unrefined, but as a Pure Love.
If given the opportunity, are you going all the way down?
I have so much still to do on the surface! Once my to-do lists are done maybe. Give me fifty years.
Do you think the protagonist knew how things were going to end and/or was okay with it?
No idea! I intentionally made the protagonist basically absent from the story. In a way, the tour guide is more the protagonist than the passenger. I thought it would be an interesting bit of fun!
What's your experience with scuba diving or other deep sea activities?
Sadly, none. I am obsessed with ocean life and write about it constantly. One of my friends calls me Fishman Jones. It’s just the right kind of weird and unknowable to tickle my fancy. But I’ve spent most of my life landlocked. Would I venture down? In a heartbeat. I just haven’t had that opportunity.
For folks who don't know, you recently started doing story art for Foofaraw, so I have to ask... How are you so talented as a multi-hyphenate artist-designer-author?
When I was a kid I always imagined I’d become a graphic artist. It was that or programming. I started using various Adobe products when I was about 12, but never took it seriously. I had a familiarity, but no refinement. When I got into the workforce I accidentally fell into CNC machining, which actually led to a brief stint where my hobby was woodworking. Design kind of fell by the wayside. At 20, I started writing, and have been doing that on the side for the past 18 years. I love projects and keeping busy. It wasn’t until a year ago that I jumped back into design and did some real leveling up. Someday I hope to reduce my day job to part time and really go all in on writing and design. Maybe I’ll find another skill to add in there too, as long as I get to work with authors!
How many times has this story been rejected?
Only five! It’s barely out of the nest.
What’s one of your recent favorite short stories?
I’ve been reading slush for Folded Space Podcast this month, so I can’t tell you. 👀 But I can say that episode 1 of the same podcast was a real banger of a story. The story was “Mother of All Bombs” by Matt Hornsby and it was 100% up my alley.
What book are you reading right now?
I’m in the middle of about 30 books. I dabble. But the one I am reading today is Exiles by Mason Coile. I picked it up on a lark and know nothing about it, but I’m enjoying it so far.
Please promote your writing (or friends’ writing) that has been published elsewhere (or anything else you’d like to promote)
One of my favorite recent flash stories is “What To Expect When You’re Expectorating Bees On Hive Colony Delta,” over at Flash Point SF. Content warning for sexual assault, so only read if you’re prepared for that, but I really like how it came out. And of course I do book cover design work over at https://addi.studio