Born in New York and raised mostly in Houston, P. Djèlí Clark (he/him) spent the formative years of his life in his parents' homeland, Trinidad and Tobago. He is the author of the novel A Master of Djinn and the novellas Ring Shout, The Black God’s Drums, and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. He has won the Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards and has been nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and Sturgeon Awards. His stories have appeared in online venues such as Tor.com, Daily Science Fiction, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Apex, Lightspeed, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in print anthologies, including Griots, Hidden Youth, and Clockwork Cairo. He is also a founding member of FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction and an infrequent reviewer at Strange Horizons. His new novella is The Dead Cat Tail Assassins and he recently talked with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for The Dead Cat Tail Assassins?
Good question. I think I pitched it as John Wick meets Dungeons and Dragons. But I feel like the idea just popped into my head—something absolutely absurd, down to the name, that I wanted to have fun with.
Are Eveen, Sky, or any of the other characters in the novella inspired by or based on specific individuals?
Nah. I mean, sure, who knows what my subconscious is drawing on? But, to my mind, these are individuals spun from whole cloth.
How did the novella evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters or scenes that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the published version?
I knew where I wanted this story to go when I started—how it would end, so to speak. But there were lots of bits and pieces in between that came up as I was writing. So, I probably added more than I held back. There was going to be a bit more on the "Old Man"—and a creepy seven-foot-tall half-decayed clockwork teddy bear with razor-sharp claws that followed him around and only spoke in grunts. "Hrrrrk…" But… decided the "Old Man" was creepy enough as is.
What was your inspiration for the name The Dead Cat Tail Assassins?
So, one of my best friends and I used to joke that if we had a garage band, we'd name it something like Greg Ate His Grandmother—Greg being a green toy dinosaur as our logo. Since then, we've kept up the joke and dreamt up more silly names. That story has absolutely nothing to do with the title of my novella. But I like to imagine that it gave me practice for thinking up memorable and ridiculous names.
Eveen loves pulp novels! And The Dead Cat Tail Assassins reads like one. Do you share a love of pulp novels with Eveen? Do you have any favorites (titles or authors)?
She does love her Pulp tales! So, I don't know that I was ever really into pulp fiction—especially SFF. But, I remain fascinated by the *idea* of pulp SFF during that earlier golden era, with all the gaudy covers and over-the-top scenarios. I think I liked the idea of someone like Eveen (whose life is basically pulp fiction) equally being into pulp, in her case, comic books.
Is Aeril based on a deity from an existing belief system, or is she your own creation?
My own creation. Love me some god punk! My inspiration for her was like Illyria from the Buffyverse meets Grace Jones as Strangé (Boomerang) meets Jamaican dancehall queens. A heady mashup!
Have you ever had the chance to create something made of blown glass? If so, what did you make? If not, is it something you would like to try?
No… but I am fascinated by the process! Try it? Sure… maybe start simple with some blown glass cup or something.
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins would make a marvelous film or television series! If it were to be adapted, who would your dream cast be?
Oh wow! Whew. I mean I dunno? Maybe for Eveen, Kiki Layne? Or Jodi Turner-Smith? There are so many good actresses out there, but I don't know their names!
The ending of The Dead Cat Tail Assassins seems open to readers being able to follow Eveen on another job? Do you have any plans to revisit her and her world?
Possibly. Like to keep my doors open. Readers might be interested to know this isn't the first story I have in this world. There are three others, already published, that follow different characters in different locales… but if you pay close attention, the clues are there that they live in the very same world.
What's currently on your nightstand?
My Iphone, AirPods, House of X trade paperback, and Rebecca Roanhorse's Mirrored Heavens.
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
AppleTV’s Dark Matter. Just a mind-bending show that did not go the way I thought!
What are you working on now?
Another novella, of course. Tentatively titled The Amazing Angelique. Like Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Captain America but set mostly during Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia in the 1930s. Dieselpunk, a heroine with metallic arms, and lots of fascists getting punched in the face.
Like Clark’s earlier works, The Dead Cat Tail Assassins doesn’t neatly fit into a single genre. It involves undead assassins, each with their own unique identity and who are beholden to a vengeful god, science, magic, questions about identity, memory, and the paradox of doing something that seems right while clearly also breaking established rules. It is also an adventure filled with fight scenes, chases, and nearly cataclysmic confrontations. The novel’s protagonist, Eveen, is obsessed with the pulp novels of her world, something that seems clear she shares with Clark. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is, in essence, a pulp novel where Clark has taken elements of adventure, horror, sci-fi, and fantasy pulp stories and expertly mixed them into a rousing tale. Eveen could easily stand in for The Shadow from the 1930s if The Shadow was an undead woman of color who fancied knives over guns. And she faces a cavalcade of opponents, members of her own assassin’s guild, who are as varied and fascinating as any of Dick Tracy’s or Batman’s rogues' galleries.
In The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, multiple award-winning author P. Djèlí Clark again illustrates why he is one of the most compelling and fascinating fantasy writers working today. His worlds are carefully crafted and filled with marvels and wonders. His characters are smart, brash, and almost fearless (they know when to back up when they are about to cross the line). The dialogue is whip-smart, and there is an impish sense of humor that runs throughout the novella. It seems clear that Clark is having as much fun writing as his readers will have reading his work. This makes The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, on top of everything else, fun! It is a great read for readers looking for fun, adventure, and a wicked sense of humor.