The title obviously makes sense once you’ve read the story, but I’m curious how you came up with it because it still is a bit cheeky, in a way.
It was actually the last line of the story that helped me find the title. It was one of those lines that came to me immediately after I conceived of the idea for the story. It was punchy and silly and I kept laughing at it, so I knew I had something special. I used that last line as my North Star. The word rare pointed me to red meat, and my mind somehow made a connection between that concept and the cataclysmic event at the heart of the story and, well, the rest is pre-history.
Is it safe to assume our “protagonist” is a T-Rex? Did you consider any other dinosaur while building out this world?
Yep, decidedly a T-Rex! I thought it would be easier to convey that the protagonist was a dinosaur if I used a species that was particularly iconic. There are little hints sprinkled throughout the story: the protagonist’s four fingers, his scrawny arms, the reference to being a “tyrant king” (i.e. T-Rex’s Greco-Roman namesake) and, of course, his preference for devouring fellow Jurassic-era titan, Triceratops. To be honest, I never really considered another dinosaur because I thought it would be funniest (and perhaps most ironic) to sympathize with history’s most fearsome creature.
Do you think triceratops would be the tastiest of the dinosaurs?
Oh yea, definitely. Either that or Ankylosaurus. You gotta work to get a taste of those fellas. The struggle and sacrifice (a broken rib here, a puncture wound there) just makes the meal that much more delicious.
I love this idea of a dinosaur bar in the sense “they’re just like us” — do you think the bar would have a fun name?
Hahaha, that line was such a Hail Mary. It was a little too sly for its own good. I was hoping to use some crafty linguistic subterfuge to convey that the dinosaurs were gathered around a sandbar: a strip of raised sand with water on either side. However, if it were instead a bar in the human sense, I’d vote for something like “The Tar Pit.” It’s got a divey vibe to it and it sounds like the type of place you can really sink into.
What kind of cocktails or beer do you think dinos are drinking?
Martinis: shaken, not stirred. But shaken only via T-Rex impact tremors, ala Jurassic Park. Imagine a T-Rex with a martini glass between its two fingers. I mean, c’mon. Adorable.
If you went back in time and told the dinosaurs what was about to happen, do you think they’d believe you or cast you out like a conspiracy theorist?
I think they’d have been delighted to have found an easy meal. I am not a runner. The only extinction event would be my own. But all things considered it’s a really cool way to go.
How many times has this story been rejected by other markets?
Zero! I hadn’t really submitted it until I saw your call for dinosaur-themed stories. It just seemed like the perfect fit*.* I’m so glad it found a home with Foofaraw.
What’s a great short story you’ve read recently?
I’m a big horror fan. It’s the main genre I write. I recently reread Joyce Carol Oates’s “Family.” It’s a freaky little tale about the world’s most dysfunctional family. I have never been more terrified of babies than after reading that story. I highly recommend it. She’s an incredible writer. Every time I read her work I think “wow, I’ve got a lot of growing to do as a writer.”
What book are you reading right now?
“The Reformatory,” by Tananarive Due. It’s a historical fiction horror story about the Jim Crow south. It’s captivating, haunting, and really well-written, but, more importantly, it is a stark reminder that the scariest thing in the world can be the way that one human treats another.
Do you have anything else you’d like to share?
Thanks to anyone who took the time out of their day to read my story!