Jackie Fender, Weekly Volcano cohort and one of the Gritty City's art scene and literary superstars, is about to step things up a notch. She and fellow Volcano scribe Joshua Swainston are releasing the first print collection of stories and poems from their online literary destination, CreativeColloquy.com. I chose this shining moment to highlight Fender's voice from a phone interview, by which I mean I bamboozled her into writing half my blog entry this week.

CHRISTIAN CAVAJAL: So what's the big news?

JACKIE FENDER: The launch party, naturally, which is November 24th. Creative Colloquy Volume One is a super-rad collection of stories crafted by South Sound authors, a really diverse collection of shorts and poems and essays.

(Full disclosure: my own horror short, Silver, is included.)

CARV: And where can I buy this amazing anthology?

FENDER: First we're gonna have it available at the launch party, and then we'll be connecting with King's Books, Nearsighted Narwhal, all the usual retail spaces. And it is available on Amazon.

CARV: Are any of your writing efforts represented?

FENDER: They are not. I've chosen to keep my own words out of it for now. I did write an intro letter to tell people a little about the book.

CARV: Did you ever submit anything and then reject yourself?

FENDER: I've written things and thought, "Yeah, maybe this is the thing!" But then I'm like, nope. I didn't want to start CC and have it be like, "Jackie just wants a platform to share her own work."

CARV: Have you ever gotten a submission that was so bizarre you felt maybe the writer needed some professional psychiatric help?

FENDER: There are a couple of those! Whatever goes on in their brains is really messed up. Joshua is actually one of those.

CARV: On the Volcano, you're known mostly for your food reviews. Which restaurant do you eat at most often?

FENDER: Maxwell's is on my favorites list.

CARV: OK, but you have kids. Which restaurant do you really eat at most often?

FENDER: I hate to admit this. Taco Bell.

CARV: And do you feel this disqualifies you from food criticism?

FENDER: I like to pretend it doesn't exist. But having small children, you have to budge a little bit. They don't appreciate really good food, even when I cook it.

CARV: What's the worst book you love?

FENDER: How Should a Person Be?: A Novel from Life by Sheila Heti. I found myself really enjoying it, even though I don't dig Heti's style, nor do I like any of the characters. If I knew them in real life, there would be a lot of internal dialogue and disingenuous smiling.

CARV: What is your kid's favorite book?

FENDER: Right now, my kid loves Green Eggs and Ham. He also likes Sammy and the Dinosaurs.

CARV: You could do a lot worse. If you and I were going to write a story together right now, what would it be about?

FENDER: I think I'd just like to jump on your wagon and pick one word I hear at an event, then see what that sparks. (Note: that's how Silver was conceived.) Maybe superheroes?

CARV: Right now I'm leaning toward otters. I think people just like otters.

FENDER: It's true, they do! But then you hear all these awful rumors about them-

CARV: What, like prostitution rings?

FENDER: They're vicious little beasts! I don't even want to discuss it. Google it.

CARV: I don't really think of otters as vicious man-eaters.

FENDER: They're just vicious to other animals.

CARV: Maybe that's what the story should be, an exposé from the point of view of a trout.

FENDER: That would be interesting.

CARV: I'd have to go dark. I'd want the otter to have a heroin problem.

FENDER: Yeah, like two illegitimate children!

CARV: Right, like an otter posted the Fappening or something.

FENDER: It could be a dark little vortex into Otter World.

CARV: I think we've found Creative Colloquy Volume Two.

FENDER: Oddly enough, someone asked me if Volume One had a theme. We didn't go for one, but there are an abnormal number of stories about animals, I daresay almost half. Our cover is just a collection of images the artist picked from stories we knew would be included. The cover has all these animals on it. The book's not even about animals, but there are a lot of animals in the short stories.

CARV: Does anyone use the phrase "fur baby?" Because that's just weird.

FENDER: Not in any of the stories, no.

CARV: Maybe it should've been called Creative Colloquy Volume One: Troubled Loners.

FENDER: That's why we have our events at a place (B Sharp Coffee House in Opera Alley) that has libations.

CARV: Ah, to draw people out of the house!

FENDER: Yeah, there's a social lubricant there for us troubled loners.

CREATIVE COLLOQUY VOLUME ONE LAUNCH PARTY, 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 24, B Sharp Coffee House, 706 Opera Alley, Tacoma, no cover, CreativeColloquy.com