An Interview with Daniel Freeman

Freeman Smith, aka Dan Freeman, is an artist and writer born in the United States. He has lived in various cities including Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, and New York City. Over the years, he has published novels under different pseudonyms and has discreetly placed many of his stories in various books at numerous libraries nationwide. His last publication, Society, Suspicious (2023), is a critically acclaimed novel exploring QAnon and the attempted self-coup d’état on January 6, 2021, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

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Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Choosing the title was difficult at first, and then all of a sudden, it came to me. I was thinking of a title and spending some time with it. I sent it out to a couple of places, including Atmosphere, and at some point, the word Nasparnival auto-populated a form and I said, “Good enough,” rubbed my hands together in victory like a cartoon character, and had a cognac like a real literary operator.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

My name is Dan Freeman. I have used the name Freeman Smith or Freeman Smith, aka Dan Freeman for my last two books. I have no strong idea about why I did that. I do like the name Freeman Smith. It sounds like the name of a former ABA basketball player who scored 32.7 points a game without playing much defense. A guy who is chucking it the moment he enters the gym. A guy who quotes Voltaire, loves disco, believes in UFOs, cocaine, and disco. It sounded like a Harlem Globetrotter or the leader of a minor revolution. My books are more like watching the Globetrotters than, say, Duke. There is a lot of dunking, behind the back and no-look passes, shit talking, the entire menu. Kirkus Reviews claim my book is a joke a minute, but that is not true. The book is hilarious, yes, but has incredible depth. I’ve been told I should slow down and let the reader breath, but that is not my aim. My aim is to make you laugh until you cannot breathe and then you pass out. It seems harsh, but it’s fun. You laugh and laugh until you’re lightheaded, which is like a spiritual thing, and then wham! You’re down for a few. Good times. It’s safer than sniffing glue. Probably.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

I wrote this book entirely alone without any assistance – including AI – of any kind. I did not use or consult AI for research or grammar. Not one line can be attributed to AI whatsoever. I wrote it, reviewed it, made final changes, and sent it out. I will figure it all out on my own. When it got to Atmosphere, the editing began. The suggestions and editing done by Atmosphere was incredible, but I wanted it to move faster with less grammar and less stops. I wanted it to fly. Ultimately, the final editing, with Atmosphere’s help, was the right way to go. It’s a big book. I love reading and writing big books. It’s difficult to spend time alone inside your own head, whether reading or writing. Reading time consuming passages or listening to complicated music compositions is never easy, but it is always rewarding. Jazz and classical music takes your mind to places pop music or country music will never take you. It’s the same with long pieces of literature. Your mind will travel and wander and think. I separate my book into four parts. Maybe I could have written three volumes instead of one book, but I don’t have time for that. Look at it this way: You’re buying three books in one. That’s value right there. Sixty dollars easily. I stand by this book one hundred percent. It’s unique, it’s smart, it’s funny, it’s literary.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

So, my book is chock full of music and musical references to bands and albums throughout, both real and fictional. I made up the band Blunt Force Karma and it’s Colt Cortez and his tribe’s house band, so to speak. Real aggressive stuff, you know, with in-your-face lyrics. But the soundtrack would definitely need to include both Subdivisions by Rush and Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins) by Father John Misty. When you read the book, you will understand. It’s malpractice to leave those out. In the background, like the soundtrack, a loop of the album On the Corner by Miles Davis would be playing to keep the beat. Eternal Life by Jeff Buckley for Kyle; Tie Dye on the Highway by Robert Plant for my drug guys; Poison Arrow by ABC as irony in the shooting chapter; I would have to put in The Ballad of Sexual Obsession from the opera The Threepenny Opera; and If the World by Guns N’ Roses is the perfect mix of aggressive rhythm and winding tempo to end with. The theater would go wild.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

My perfect readers are people who love words, weirdos, and constant action. People who love to wander and be carried away to a fantasy world and laugh and float and look at life through a kaleidoscope. So basically, people who are on mushrooms. Kidding. My perfect readers are people who understand how comedy and satire work in conjunction with a reality that is harsh, complicated, and confusing. This is for readers who like writers that swing for the fence in every sentence. This is not small ball; this is coming up to the plate and swinging away. There are only so many calories available, so my philosophy is to put it all in. Like a 60,000-character tweet. I like novels that remind the reader you are reading a novel. The ending is one familiar in tone to people who enjoy noir films. The noir angle forces the reader to understand that a significant tying up is going to happen. An ending where the reader thinks, “I didn’t see that coming at all, but I should have.” Or “I knew it was going this way and that is the way it needed to go.” Those, to me, are the best endings. I’m sick of loose, paint-by-number literary devices that leave things hanging. I complain when things don’t go far enough. Like this type of ending: “Carl looks down at his coffee, still warm, thinking of the Oldsmobile he owned in college. Was it rust or the future that done her in? The End.” Yeah, and then what? My book is satire dancing the tango with both irony and comedy. Not a love triangle, but a menage a trois all stewing in the same juices. My readers will form a club and behave like family and get tattoos and give each other random blood transfusions no matter the blood type. A cult.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

I would and do recommend Atmosphere Press. I owe so much to the company for everything they do. I buy Atmosphere Press–published books and am proud to be one of their authors. Atmosphere writers are brilliant.

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