As we all know, Death has lived a long and rewarding life. When not performing their duties as The Grim Reaper, they’ve taken a trip down the Nile, made a number of wishes of varying degrees of quality, and even gone on holiday.
But in Marc Watson’s comedic fantasy novella Death At A Wedding (paperback, Kindle) — the sequel to his 2017 novella Death Dresses Poorly — the embodiment of life always ending has to navigate an awkward social situation: being a guest at a loved one’s wedding.
In the following email interview, Watson talks about what inspired and influenced this urban fantasy / dark romantic comedy novella.
For people who didn’t read Death Dresses Poorly, what was that novella about and when and where was it set?
Death Dresses Poorly is about a sarcastic young man named Ethan, who has just broken free from his emotionally abusive, drug addict mother. When he’s returning from her funeral (which isn’t spoiling anything, it happens in the first chapter), he is in a tragic accident where he’s the only survivor, and he meets an enigmatic man in black who claims to be Death. Death wants to recruit him to be the new Death (in this world Death is cyclical, and passes from being to being), and Ethan just wants to finally live his own life.
So, since Ethan unexpectedly survived, and doesn’t want anything to do with what the man is trying to sell him, Death needs to try a new tactic he not comfortable with: interpersonal relationships.
The story takes place in our modern times, and through the fantastical places Death takes Ethan in order to convince him to take the roll.
And then what is Death At A Wedding about, and when and where does it take place in relation to Death Dresses Poorly?
In Death At A Wedding, Death has been in the roll of death for two years, and is invited to a wedding by a loved one. He must navigate awkward social situations, and deal with the fact that he has just met a woman who he could very much see a future with, while still being The Grim Reaper, trying to act like a normal person, and try to fix the strange, reality-crashing rips in space and time that have begun to tear the universe apart.
When in relation to writing Death Dresses Poorly did you get the idea for Death At A Wedding, and what inspired it?
The simple answer is I didn’t. When writing Death Dresses Poorly, I fully intended to have it be a one-off, stand-alone story. The character arcs were complete. I thought the ending was satisfying. Story over.
However, years later, I had inspiration from another real-life situation I experienced. The first chapter of Death Dresses Poorly is an actual interaction I had with a strange man in black in Chicago. Very little from that meeting and what I wrote was changed. For Death At A Wedding, it was another strange, heartbreaking event that played out similarly to the first chapter of this book. That moment stuck with me, and made me realize there was another Death story to be told. If Death’s first story was about breaking free from childhood, logically the next major event would be discovering the possibility of love.
Death At A Wedding sounds like it’s a comedic fantasy story…
I think that’s pretty close. I call it an urban fantasy / dark romantic comedy. There are elements of each of those genres mashed in here.
So, is the humor in Death At A Wedding jokey like in Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, or is more situational, like in one of John Scalzi’s relatively more serious novels?
It’s funny you ask that question. I’ve had Death Dresses Poorly described as very Douglas Adams before, and have used that to compare it to for people. I don’t believe I’m quite as absurd as Adams is, though. The comedy here is more character-related, as opposed to situational, but I still don’t mind the comparison. It’s about dialogue and reaction to the strangeness going on around the characters. The events are absurd, but the reactions to them, and the comedy that comes from it, is very human and understandable.
Who then do you feel had the biggest influence on the humor in Death At A Wedding?
I believe the comedy, and my sense of humor in general, was formed by my grandmother introducing me to Britcoms at a young age. That dry British wit was something I could relate to, despite not being British and never having been there.
I’d also put some Cohen Brothers in there as well, for more recent influences. Fantastical dark comedy like O Brother, or the humor in the face of death like Fargo (and even the Fargo TV show) can be found in Wedding in no small amounts.
That is coupled with my personal experiences with death. I have never been to a funeral I couldn’t tell a joke at. Human and death go hand-in-hand to me. It’s how I deal with dark subjects, and I wanted that to show through.
Aside from the people you just mentioned, what other writers do you feel had a big influence on both what you wrote in Death At A Wedding as well as how you wrote it?
Ah…you know, a few months ago this was a question I was happy to answer. These days it’s much more complicated, but the answer itself remains the same: Neil Gaiman. I was a huge Gaiman fan. His mixing of the fantastical with the very human, and often comedic, was something I wanted to emulate. His sense of humor and mine, and how he dealt with very dark subjects, are all over my two Death books.
Of course, now that comparison is fraught with all kinds of terrible things. However, there’s nothing I can do about that. Yes, Gaiman was a massive influence for me. He’s also been outed as a horrible garbage person. That’s my burden, but it is what it is. I have to focus on the art, not the artist.
And is there anyone who was a big influence on Death At A Wedding but not Death Dresses Poorly?
An excellent question, with an unconventional answer. The influence wasn’t so much another author, as much as it was my wife. I met my wife very young, and there is a lot of that “early days of a relationship” that we shared that is in this book. I’m not saying the love interest is based on her, but that feeling of getting to know each other, for better or worse, and how she handled it with an odd duck like me, is absolutely the impetus for Death At A Wedding.
What about non-literary influences? Was Death At A Wedding influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games? Because having a humorous version of Death makes me think of all the times he was on Family Guy.
Ha! A very apt connection. There is a lot of Family Guy‘s Death in these books.
In the first book, Death was very much inspired by Peter Stormare’s performance as Lucifer in the movie Constantine. I loved how he was this famous dark character, but he was light, and charming, and funny, while also being the most menacing presence on the screen in the brief time he was there.
In Death At A Wedding, Death more associated with something like Edward Scissorhands. A strange, dark character and an oblivious and gentle love interest. There’s that, and there’s the push / pull dynamic of a movie (and book) like High Fidelity, which is one of my all time (top five) moves and books ever. It tells the heart swell and then heartbreak from the man’s perspective, doesn’t gloss over the fact that the man is by no means innocent in regards to his problems, and how everyone deals with it…but this time Rob is the Dark Stranger.
As we’ve been discussing, Death At A Wedding is the sequel to Death Dresses Poorly. But do people need to have read Poorly to understand and enjoy Wedding?
Because I made Death Dresses Poorly so self-contained, with no intention of there being a sequel, it actually forced Death At A Wedding to be the same. Would it help getting into the character’s heads if you read the first one? Yes, no doubt. However, is it 100% required reading? No, not at all. I believe you get a proper sense of everything and everyone pretty well.
However, if you want to buy both of my books instead of just one, I won’t argue. Then buy some of my other ones while you’re at it.
So then, what will someone get out of Death At A Wedding if they’ve already read Death Dresses Poorly that they wouldn’t otherwise?
The biggest takeaway will be how well you understand the motivations of the main characters. The journey they go through there is a very deeply personal one. It’s alluded to in this one, and as I said: it’s not a requirement, but the main character is in a lot of pain. Reading Death Dresses Poorly will give you the whole picture as to why that is.
Also, is your thinking you’re going to put him into other awkward situations? Like, Death Gets A Switch 2, Death Goes To Coachella, or Death Takes A Holiday? Because director Mitchell Leisen might have a problem with that last one.
Well, he may have a problem with it, but he’s been dead for over 50 years, so his corpse can take it up with the court of public opinion. Because I’m pretty sure that opinion will be “AAAAAA! A corpse!”
The walking dead aside, I’m on record in the past of saying the first book was it. There were no more stories. End-of. And I lied. I even lied to myself about it. I wasn’t open to the idea the time, but clearly I came around. So, is there potential for more trips with Death to unique situations? Yes. I have no idea what they are, and am not planning any at the moment, but there’s potential there.
The thing about these stories is, they very much pull from moments in my life, either specific ones (like I mentioned about the first chapters), or broader ones (like moving out at a young age and finding myself, or meeting my future-wife and navigating young love). Life is full of moments like those, so we just need to wait and see what happens next.
Speaking of director Mitchell Leisen, earlier I asked if Death At A Wedding had been influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip things around, do you think Death At A Wedding — and, of course, Death Dresses Poorly — could work as a movie, TV show, or game?
Not to shill myself to all the potential producers out there too much, but I absolutely think both would make a fantastic movie. I don’t believe there’s enough meat on the bones of either book to draw it out over the course of a TV season (which is intentional; I never wanted these to be large, epic adventures…I have another series of books for that), but they are full enough, and punchy enough to make a 2-hour runtime enjoyable for sure.
And if someone wanted to make a movie or TV show based on Death Dresses Poorly and Death At A Wedding, who would you want them to cast as Death and the other main cast members?
For the longest time, Death in Death Dresses Poorly was Peter Stormare, however I believe he aged out a bit. Not that he wouldn’t kill it (Death joke!) but I’d be looking for someone more in their 50s right now, with a wicked wit and menacing presence when they want to bring one, so I’m going with Ewen McGregor. He has that playfulness, but when he wants to bring harsh intensity, I can see him playing the older Death perfectly.
For Ethan, I honestly tried to make the character as vague and relatable as possible. I use very little descriptors for him. Yeah, he’s more or less based on me when I was his age, but he could really be anyone. And if I’m being completely honest, there is practically nothing about the character that even demands he be male. I really feel the crux of the character is being that 20-ish age and feeling the burden of what he’s been through and facing the world at that age. So for young men in Hollywood right now, I can see someone like Caleb McLaughlin [Stranger Thins], [The Whale‘s] Ty Simpkins, or Jack Dylan Grazer [It]. If you wanted to pivot, Elle Fanning [Maleficent] would be sensational.
Finally, if someone enjoys Death At A Wedding, and they’ve already read Death Dresses Poorly, what humorous fantasy novel or novella of someone else’s would you suggest they read next?
Man, this question was easier to answer a few months ago, wasn’t it! Ok, Ok, I can do this…
I’d look to authors like Douglas Adams (as you mentioned) and Chuck Pahalniuk (the author of Fight Club) for some similar vibes.
If you are fine with setting the author aside from the art, Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean At The End Of The Lane was the strongest kick starter for me wanting to make a short, character-driven urban fantasy…but maybe find a used copy somewhere or borrow it from the library. I don’t want my recommendation being a reason for Gaiman to get more money if I can avoid it.
And, I’m just putting it out there: this version of Death may make an appearance in one of the stories in my multi-genre short story collection Between Conversations: Tales From The World Of Ryuujin, and that story could possibly add even more important lore to the rich tapestry that is the character. Just sayin’.
