Collin O’Daurc follows a sarcastic hairstylist who, after suffering a stroke, awakens in a bizarre dreamworld where eccentric companions, impossible adventures, and inner demons challenge everything he knows. How did the idea of sending an ordinary hairstylist into such an extraordinary fantasy world first develop?

Collin was a real hairstylist in the 1970s, in the beauty parlor my mother visited every Friday. I always found his arguing on the phone with his girlfriends while he styled someone’s hair amusing, but the bulk of the Collin-story came from a dream, where I saw in a photo-realistic freeze-frame a young man and woman lost at sea, the lifeboat they were in drifting on stormy seas at night with a fishnet bundled over its rail. I also saw the book’s title, which was, of course, Collin’s name, and its rather peculiar spelling. Why I connected this artwork-type scenario with the real Collin, I have no idea.

How does Collin’s understanding of himself change as he develops relationships with people whose personalities challenge his own?

I think Collin’s most dramatic challenge and change is learning to think outside the “confines” of his head, so to speak —and to realize that even thoughts can have physical consequences in his “bounce existence”. We often conjure fantasies of what should be the “reaping process” resulting from others’ actions, events, and so on; it’s quite another thing to see that tasteless idiot who lives next door and acts like a warthog actually be one when you next run into him at the post office. Collin learns, in a roundabout way, that even his thoughts can have physical repercussions, which requires a dramatic adjustment in his assessment of the true motives behind people’s actions. And that sometimes the best course isn’t trying to change or even understand those whose philosophies differ from his, but simply roll with them and do his best to get along…without falling into the trap of judging by appearances.

What interested you about exploring faith, karma, and the possibility that Collin’s experiences have a purpose beyond his immediate understanding?

Sowing and then reaping the consequences of various actions is a part of nearly every religion and philosophy; but that even thoughts can dramatically affect his reality is a major revelation for Collin, whose past has hardly been introspective. Snap judgments and reactions can cause a world of hurt and set in motion sometimes long-drawn-out ordeals as a result. Collin’s impulsive thought-life had better give way to a more disciplined way of thinking, or he and his exotic buddies may truly be in for it…at least, when the next “bounce” is triggered!

How has writing Collin O’Daurc influenced your understanding of the relationship between visual art, storytelling, and the imagination?

If anything, it’s inspired me to be more aware of the necessary balance between creativity that’s spontaneous and the creative process, which is quite another thing. I’m an instructor and curriculum designer who’s taught everything from floral design and silversmithing to electrical theory, publishing, and 3D CAD, and understanding the components involved in the process is the core base in any subject. Once those components are identified, what one does with them can either be wildly spontaneous or a structured progression, depending on the subject. That’s the way it is with storytelling, and the mental-then-manifested and recorded elements that comprise it.

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