ManiWolf likes his friend AnnieCat, because she is rebellious, irreverent, provocative, independent, and has a fresh look at life.

ManiWolf: Good to see you AnnieCat. You look as young and beautiful as ever.

AnnieCat: Thank you ManiWolf. To tell you the truth, I am a bit tired of compliments. Let’s dive right in. Why are your stories so short?

ManiWolf: Well, I like to come in, make my point, and leave.

AnnieCat: Don’t you think readers would like more “meat” sometimes, more development, after all this is fiction and you want to take them on a journey.

ManiWolf: You are right, that is one approach, but lots of elaboration is not my approach most of the time. These are short stories not novels. I must admit that friends of mine have said that they feel unsatisfied, that the stories don’t seem to be finished. This is actually what I want. I want people to walk away after having read the story asking themselves unsettling questions, trying to figure out what was, is or will be going on, working things through with their instincts and feelings. After all, my idea is not to give the answers, but to evoke an emotional process in the audience.

AnnieCat: At other times I notice that you use extremely long sentences, like in San Francisco and The Sister. What’s the idea of interspersing long with short sentences?

ManiWolf: This is very simple. Like a photographer I zoom in on certain intense scenes, so that’s when the sentences tend to become long, colorful, dramatic….whereas they become shorter and simpler when the action tapers off,

AnnieCat: I have the impression that nobody will have the patience to read those long sentences.

ManiWolf: Well, I can’t make everybody happy. My stories may not be suited for persons with a short attention span / attention deficit syndrome. I am not here to compete with action movies. On the other hand, I hope that by the time those feverish, convoluted sentences appear, the readers may already be drawn into the story, so that they feel those sentences give more power to the story.

AnnieCat: At times I find your stories depressing, sad. Couldn’t you write something more uplifting?

ManiWolf: This is a big subject. It’s a bit hard to explain. First of all, my stories have to do with my own life. I believe any writer’s work should reflect their own lives, and, if they want it or not, it actually does, sometimes in an open, other times in a veiled way. So my life has not been easy, to say the least. Now, I know that most people don’t have an easy life, physically, emotionally, economically. That’s why I believe that ultimately humans can relate to sad stories. Large portions of our population are actually tired of the compulsive feel-good pressure that’s forced on them by omnipresent sales scenarios. They may find it encouraging when there comes a real human voice that expresses their own, unspeakable pains in words. Also, I know, when we are able to put our sorrows in words, we may get a handle on resolving them. In other words, facing the trials and tribulations of our lives may have a healing effect.

AnnieCat: But you don’t show them how to resolve them! You leave them dangling there alone!

ManiWolf: I am not a psychotherapist and don’t provide any tools or techniques. I am a literary animal, even though I do have a psychotherapeutic background and for me, the two fields blend into each other. I do hope that by stimulating instincts and feelings in some readers, my stories may trigger a personal growth process. That can start with looking at their own inner landscapes, facing their childhood scenes, following their day and night dreams and fantasies, talking to lovers, partners, family and friends, seeing counselors and therapists and focusing on their real needs.

AnnieCat: I heard somebody say that you and your stories come across as nihilistic.

ManiWolf: On the one hand, I have indeed done away with belief systems, starting as a teenager and continuing throughout my life. I do understand that this may be seen as emptiness, as nihilism by some people, because they may need beliefs. They often do work for them. I respect that.

On the other hand, nihilism is also a belief system, so no, I don’t subscribe to that. I am trying to fill my stories and my life with real stuff, real meaning. My instincts and feelings are real for me, they open up a whole colorful, exciting world of magic reality. I see our human reality as miraculous, definitely more powerful than any belief scenarios.

AnnieCat: Other people say your stories are simplistic, a bit corny. Always about feelings and human issues, nothing really exciting.

ManiWolf: Haha, those are the gents who need to read them….or otherwise get an annual pass for Disneyland. It’s okay. You can’t write for everybody. Or if you do, the outcome will be flat. Again, my deep conviction is that there is nothing more fascinating than our human nature, our real inner dynamics, our real life experiences. I find them mind-boggling!

AnnieCat: Not everybody has had such an adventurous life as you have.

Maniwolf: I doubt that! Every life is adventurous. We are all walking miracles. Yes, often we are blind, so it’s important to open our eyes to our fantastic existence. Also, I have read stories about so-called boring creatures which I found unbelievably stimulating.

ManiWolf: AnnieCat. I asked you to interview me, because I like your lively personality, your challenging questions. Is there anything positive you would want to ask or say?

AnnieCat: I find your stories uniquely human. But I am not sure if anybody will read them.

Maniwolf: I am not sure either. ¡Pues a ver qué pasa!

AnnieCat interviewed ManiWolf in August 2025

© Maniwolf