I present to you my interview with Moina Arcee (Mark Fellows). And he too answered inappropriate questions.

Writing-related questions:

Q: What writing topic gets you fired up the most? What niche(s) do you cover best?

A: I have a wide range of interests. All sorts of topics interest me enough to research and write about. I gravitate to history and religion. I have several niches: professional wrestling, science, boxing personalities, boat wrecks, rock bands and entertainers, legends and conspiracies, and so on.

Q: How did you end up on InfoBarrel?

A: By accident. I signed up a couple years ago, but didn’t write anything for months. I forgot I was even a member. Then I remembered and started writing regularly, and here I am now.

Q: What is the most entertaining comment you ever received on one of your articles?

A: Vic Dillinger‘s harangues are always fun. Once I mentioned the Grateful Dead in passing in an article, and Vic lost it, started bitching about hippies and deadbeats. It was great.

Q: If you could change one thing about the online world (Internet), what would it be?

A: Make it easier to make money writing. [Nods. Good one.]

Personal and highly inappropriate questions (entirely voluntary):

Q: I notice you have a rubber dinghy around you, do you spend a lot of time in water? But more importantly, I want to know if you’ve ever “done it” in water?

A: Not touching this one. [I agree, it sounds like a good idea. But in reality . . .]

Q: If you were a musical instrument, what would you be (and why)?

A: A piano, because it is a beautiful and versatile instrument.

Q: What pisses you off the most about other writers on the Internet?

A: Nothing really. I’m live and let live. I admire good writing and I wince at bad writing, but it is not personal. [Ah, come on Mark. Doesn’t anything get under your skin?]

Q: Who was your first “famous person” crush?

A: Huh? I don’t think that’s happened yet. [Look around here at the mansion, I’m sure you’ll fall in love at first sight – plenty of times.]

Back to you and your work:

Q: What are three articles of yours that you wish everyone would read?

A: I’d like people to read all my articles, because each one is a labor of love. I’d like everyone to read about Floyd Patterson because he was an extraordinary, humble man. And an article I wrote about my favorite musician, Tim Story. And an article I wrote about musician Warren Zevon. Part of the fun in writing is finding out so much about individual people, their lives, their passions, their failings.

[I read all of these and I must say you seem to connect with the struggles of each of these men and their music brings you back to a special time in your life. It’s touching how you portrayed each of these men.]

Q: Where can readers find you?

A: Facebook (Mark Fellows) and InfoBarrel (Moina Arcee). I don’t have my own website right now.

Q: According to your InfoBarrel profile page, Moina Arcee is the pen name of a writer who has had two books and dozens of articles published on the same topics you write about (history, religion, culture, movie and book reviews, profiles of historical figures, entertainers and sports figures, and topics like addiction and mental health).

You also mention that “Moina” was the pen name of poet priest Abram Ryan. Moina is also the name of a genus of crustaceans known for their ability to survive in difficult situations.

It’s self-explanatory why you chose this pen name, is there anything else to know about it?

A: Let me add something about my last name, “Arcee”. Arcee = RC = Roman Catholic, but I am not Catholic in an exclusive way. I am Catholic (which means universal) in an inclusive way, in that God has infinite love for every creature. [Well it’s a good thing I told you the interview would be at Wally’s Water World. Do you think I’m going to h*ll now?]

Q: Why do you write?

A: I write because I have to. It is a form of expression I love, I love shaping articles, blending together all the twists and turns in a story, and doing it in a concise, professional, readable way. I take great care with everything I write. I go over every sentence, cutting out every unnecessary word, kind of like pulling weeds. And I try to keep my tone professional but also genuine. [Nods. You come across professional and genuine (and somewhat poetic).]

As a writer, I stay out of the way and let the story speak for itself. I’ve been writing all my life and I can’t imagine not writing, really. It is nothing I’d ever make a living at. It reminds me of a joke: