… Finnian Burnett

1. What’s the time of the day when you feel most like yourself?

3:00 AM. I've come into a bout of insomnia lately and have been awake at 3 AM. Instead of getting frustrated, I've been leaning into it, getting up to write. Some of my best writing has come out of this time of exhaustion.

2. What’s your coffee order? 

At home, I drink Murchie's flavoured coffees with no creamer or sugar. (Also half-decaf/half-caffeinated now because I'm old.) At a coffee shop, a mocha latte with oatmilk.

3. How would you describe yourself in three words?

Empathetic, funny, complex.

4. What do you think of possums?

I love them. They're so adorable and my heart hurts that they are prone to frostbite on their little bald tails in the winter.

5. Fauxmance or only one bed?

One bed, for sure. It's an old trope but it's SO GOOD!

6. What makes you smile?

That little half-snore, half-purr noise my cat makes when he's happy and sleeping. I call it snurring. (RIP Gordo -my soulmate cat.)

7. Do you believe in soulmates?

Yes, but I don't necessarily believe we only have one or one kind of soul mate.

8. What author would you switch lives with for a day? 

Maybe Neil Gaiman so I could try to understand how his brain comes up with the odd and wonderful things he does.

9. What makes you cry?

Everything. I'm so sensitive. I cry over Star Trek episodes I've seen a dozen times. I sometimes cry just thinking about a baby bird I saw fall out of the nest like a decade ago. I cry saying goodbye and hello to long distance family. I do sometimes wish I could control it better.

10. What’s your best feature?

My queer hair game might not be as on point as Tagan Shepard, but it's still pretty great.

11.  What was the best and the worst thing about high school?

I loathed high school. I was (am) a fat, nerdy, queer bookworm. I was tormented.

12. Favorite movie character? 

Maybe Aragorn. "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will."

13. In a crowded room, what makes you notice a woman?

Confidence and a genuine smile.

14. What’s one thing you wish more people did?

Vote progressive.

15. What would be the title of your autobiography?

"It Seemed the Thing to Do at the Time."

16.  If you could be reincarnated as any animal, what would you be? 

A housecat of a middle-aged lesbian couple.

17. What would you do with a million dollars?

Pay off my student loans and maybe get an extra-large coffee.

18. What’s the one thing you don’t leave home without (wallet/phone/keys don’t count)?

A notepad and a plethora of pens. My wife and I were in a situation where we desperately needed pen and paper one day and neither of us had any. I was like, "We're writers, for f*cks sake! Why don't we have any writing implements!?" Now I always make sure I have some tucked into every bag, in the car, everywhere.

19. If you could choose one song to be played every time you enter a room, what song would that be and why? 

Probably something by Duran Duran.

20. What’s the one book you wish you could read again for the first time? 

The Book Thief - it wrecked me.

Finn’s book, The Clothes Make the Man is absolutely amazing and is available here: https://mybook.to/FinnBurnett