5 bizarre things you didn’t know about Everett De Morier, author of Thirty-Three Cecils
Oh, what fun I had Wednesday afternoon in the kitchen of the Dover Art League interviewing author Everett De Morier about how weird he is. I’m not sure he even knows the depths of his weirdness, but I thought I would do him a solid and excavate some bizarre tidbits for you.
But first, just in case you need a little background, Everett has written 2 non-fiction books, appeared on CNN, NPR, and ABC. His novel Thirty-Three Cecils won the top fiction award at the London Book Festival in 2015. It was also named book of the year by Heroic Magazine. If that wasn’t cool enough, Hornpin Media bought the rights to make it a film. And if that’s not even cool enough, Hornpin Media is hijacking our WAM Café event on January 14th to make a teaser reel for the movie project, and we will be celebrating Everett’s awesomeness.
Ok, now you’re up to speed. So on with the list of oddities.
1. Everett loves to write as badly as possible- and he’s REALLY good at it!
A little out of the box? Yep, but he believes it’s the only way to become a good writer. You have to give yourself permission to write badly and get a bunch of stuff down on the page. Otherwise, you’ll just sit there trying to be perfect. When you get a bunch of stuff down, then you can go back and shape it into something good (and he’s really good at that, too).
2. He believes awkward nuggets must be framed.
You’re probably imagining some weirdly misshapen chicken McNugget in a fancy baroque frame hanging above his writing desk. Sadly, you would be wrong. Everett believes that sometimes there’s an idea that just doesn’t fit into a story. No matter how hard you try to make it fit, it will always feel awkward. Don’t “kill your darlings,” in this case, wait for the perfect time to frame it in the perfect story. Just file that little nugget away for safe keeping (hopefully it doesn’t get moldy or start to smell).
3. Mr. De Morier dabbles in ritualistic behavior.
Gasp! I imagine all kinds of dark scenes here…human sacrifice? bloodletting? Nope, just some obsessive saving of files. Everett lost an important manuscript back when computers had names like 286, 386, and 486. Ever since that devastating event he saves his work, “like every ten seconds- fanatically”. It’s his only writing ritual.
4. Everett has two daughters no one knows about.
I mean, they’re actually only the personalities of his two sons transplanted into Walker’s two daughters in Thirty-Three Cecils. Liz is based on his son Nick, and Abby is based on his son Alex. Many of the villains Walker makes up when he tells them stories are actual villains Everett created during story time with his sons. So, everyone can relax, there’s no scandal here…just a super-cool fact that you probably didn’t know.
5. He was blind when Hornpin Media offered to buy the film rights to Thirty-Three Cecils.
Not literally, it was more a metaphorical blindness. When it happened, Everett said, “You guys are crazy. I don’t see it as a film.” Luckily, even though he was momentarily blind, the people at Hornpin helped him see the amazing possibilities. Now, as he’s working on the screenplay, he’s regained his sight and is very excited (also, I got a peek, and it’s a pretty cool adaptation).
There’s so much more about Everett De Morier than I could ever blog about. He is more concerned with writing good stories than being part of the mainstream “Matrix” that churns out so many cookie-cutter books these days. As an aspiring novelist, I covet his advice and appreciate what he feels is his duty: “to make it worthy of the reader”. And if you haven’t read Thirty-Three Cecils, put it at the top of your TBR list immediately.
So, thanks for sharing my dream of pretending Everett is as weird as I am (He’s not, but he’s a really good sport). If you’re in the area, come to The Dover Art League on Saturday (1/14) from 5:00-8:00. We have great poets (Jim Bourey and Sherry Chappelle), musicians (The Inbetweeners), and live artist (Sidney Moore) as well as an open mic and open jam. A film crew will be there for Hornpin Media, and you might just get to be in the teaser reel for the Thirty-Three Cecils movie! Either way, you can get your art fusion on.