Scott Stein

What’s your superhero costume?
My superhero costume would prepare me for anything.

It would have a utility belt, which would be very useful and allow me to utilize whatever needs to be used in any situation. Even shark repellent.

It would have two capes. The second cape would be hidden, so if Edna Mode yelled “No Capes!” at me and ripped my cape right off my costume, as soon as she left, I’d take out the second cape and still look dashing.

It would have a helmet. Not enough superheroes wear helmets, and the head is one of the most important body parts that needs protecting. If you should wear a helmet to ride a bike, you should wear one to fight Galactus.

It would have webshooters, but I wouldn’t have to bend my fingers back like Spider-Man to shoot webs—I’m just not that flexible these days. A simple trigger would be better. And instead of webs, it would shoot coffee, in honor of the superhero narrator of my novels, Arjay. I wouldn’t spray villains with coffee, though—much too wasteful and disrespectful given the quality coffee that Arjay brews. Instead, I would shoot coffee into coffee mugs that would then be given to villains, who would be unable to resist drinking due to the enticing aroma. And that’s when I’d have complete control over them.

If you were a mythological or fantasy creature, what would you be?
Maybe I’d be a minotaur. Walking around a labyrinth is good exercise. It would also give me a reason to make a-maze-ingly bad puns. Would I have to devour people? I don’t think I’d prefer that part of the job. So much paperwork.

What inspired you to become a writer?
The voices in my head, the constant daydreaming when I was a kid, the love of sentences and words, the vague belief that I could write something no one else could write, the joy reading always gave me.

What is your favorite literary genre?
I like lots of genres. Mostly, I don’t love the idea of genre, the artificiality of fiction being categorized as one thing or another. I guess my favorite genre is the one that doesn’t respect genre boundaries, that draws on whatever works for the story being told. Unless spectacular sentences can be considered a genre—maybe that’s my favorite.

Which novel made you fall in love with literature?
There are so many. When I was a kid, one that stands out is The Black Stallion. I probably read the whole series a dozen times.

Scott Stein is author of the novels The Great American Deception, Mean Martin Manning, and Lost. He has published short satire and fiction in The Oxford University Press Humor Reader, McSweeney’s, National Review, Art Times, Liberty, The G.W. Review, and Shale. His MFA and BA are from the University of Miami and his MA is from New York University. Scott grew up in Bayside, Queens and now lives outside Philadelphia. He is a professor of English at Drexel University.

Website: scottsteinonline.com

Twitter: @sstein

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