Q & A: Pie for Breakfast

An interview with author Dave Fymbo about his new book Pie for Breakfast [essays + confessions].


First of all, what is this book?

It's a collection of 30 essays that cover the first 30 years of my life. Previously, I've written a bunch of stories--many unpublished--, lots of poems and one novel. This is the first time that I've written non-fiction about my life.

What made you want to write this?

A lot of reasons. Many of my friends have said that my fiction was too dark or something that they didn't expect from me. And they encouraged me to write funny stories and even suggested that I write about my own life. I heard that and didn't do anything with it for a while. But then I gave it shot to see what the results would be.

Another factor is there were some stories that I wanted to preserve for my own memory and for my children. In case something ever happens to me, at least my kids will be able to hear about my life in my own voice.

And something that I only realized as I went along, writing this book was very cathartic. There are some essays that range from the embarrassing to the painful, some things that I haven't thought about in years, that I feel better about after getting them down on paper.

Why did you pick the topics that you did?

Mostly I was trying to be funny. Any chances to be self-deprecating I latched on to. So there's a bunch of failed romance stories and comical misunderstandings. But I also included things that wouldn't make people laugh because I wanted to include a full picture. Like "The Third Tuesday" that was something that I wanted to preserve for the future. And "Fandom" was one that I wanted my boys to have, particularly the rules section.

I tried to make them funny or interesting, knowing that some of them would only be fully appreciated by me.

So is this a complete story of your life to this point?

Nope. Some of my favorite people in this world barely get a mention. Even though there are a number of confessions listed, there were a few things that I wanted to keep to myself. And some things that were very special to me, I didn't think would be interesting to anyone else so they didn't make the cut.

When did you start writing this?

In October 2010, Brit and I went to Rio and Buenos Aires. And [spoiler alert]  I was pickpocketed in Argentina, and it really bothered me. I couldn't get it out of my head. So I wrote about it. And I felt a lot better. So "Stupid Americans" was the first essay and that was late 2010. "Nine Days" was based on a blog post that I first wrote in 2006. About five essays were written by the end of 2011. So most of the book was written in 2012.

How did you land on Pie for Breakfast as the title?

The original title during the writing process was The Bidet Incident. And then I was super close to titling the book I Can't Swallow Pills. But it just never felt quite right. I was laying on the floor getting my son ready for bed when I thought of Pie for Breakfast. Which reminded me of the Thanksgiving tradition that wasn't in the book at the time. So I added that and moved forward with the title.

Do you have a least favorite essay?

There are some where I think I probably was too factual. "Midwest Pride", "Doughy", "Between Bread" come to mind.

What about your favorites?

I really like "Prom Night." But "Fathers and Sons" is by far the longest and heaviest. I think it's probably the best one. It's the true ending. "I Can't Swallow Pills" is almost like a hidden track.

What can we expect in the future?

Well, Autopilot was finished in May 2009 but I spent a good amount of time shopping it around instead of writing new stuff. I found out I could get on Amazon in February 2011 and it launched March 1, 2011. This book launched March 1, 2013. So It would be great if I could have something come out March 1, 2015.

Both previous books I set goals of finishing by a birthday. Autopilot was supposed to be finished by my 25th birthday, but I underestimated the editing process for a novel by six months. I wanted to finish Pie by my 30th birthday, but overestimated the process this time. I'd rather keep to an every two year schedule then an every five year, but my guess is that books come out when they're ready and it's hard to predict.


If there are any additional questions, post them in the comments and I can do a follow-up.