The Creeplings Interview!

SAUCER BLAST: My first question is-- how hot is it in Arizona today?
REBECCA ROKA: 101 Fahrenheit. Yesterday it was 175 in my car.

SB: Yeesh, it's supposed to get hot here in Maryland too this weekend. How did a landlocked person like yourself get the idea to create a tentacled scarf?

RR: I'm always trying new things with tentacles. I'm married to a cephalopod enthusiast who used to get in trouble at school for never shutting up about squid. He's a big influence on my work. This Fall I'll be selling tentacle arm warmers and I'm starting on a project for Szandora La Vey very soon. It's going to be amazing seeing my tentacles in pin up shots!

SB: Why is your Cyclops not for children under 4? Does he come to life at night and eat kids?
RR: I can absolutely guarantee that won't happen because Creeplings don't have mouths.
But say you somehow stepped on his head. Quite aside from any desire for vengeance, if his eye-stem or safety washer is damaged the eye could come off. And you know how little kids love to put bright, shiny things in their mouths. When I was little I accidentally swallowed my favorite rhinestone. I was very upset.

SB: Who is your model?
RR: The model in my cowl photos? That's my friend, Cherry. The thing about Cherry is, she's always happy.
If you mean role model, that would be Bender the robot. Only with less crime.

SB: Is your trivet actually useful for hypnotic induction?
RR: Yes, if you're not careful.

SB: Why did you stop writing your blog in 2009?
RR: Every time I'd sit down to work on it I'd get these weird phone calls. No one on the other end, just strange whirring sounds. Now I just do things on my Facebook page and it's less interruption. Actually, I'm lying. The phone calls had nothing to do with the blog. They happened when my husband, Erich, was reading my copy of The Mothman Prophecies. I'd read it years before and nothing strange ever happened. He reads it and suddenly we start getting calls that are just whirring and clicking on the line. And Erich starts taunting them. "Hey, Men In Black, can't you get a new act? You guys are boring me." I'm like, "You idiot, don't taunt them!" But it did stop after that.

ABOVE: I wish Rebecca made mothman dolls! Cute little bringers of death.

SB: Would you ever do a Creeplings comic strip or TV series?
RR: That would be wonderful! I love comics and cartoons.

SB: Please explain your interest in anthropomorphic rabbits.
RR: That's like asking, "Why do you like grilled cheese sandwiches?" I just do. Doesn't everybody?

SB: What are your feelings about the Pooka?
RR: I only hope they don't hatch from rhinestones.

SB: What's next for you, either with the Creeplings or “solo?”
RR: I'm going to get back to making the dolls. I got distracted for a while because of the high tentacle demand, but I really feel that more Creeplings dolls need to exist in the world. Especially Medusa. She's the one I most identify with.

SB: Why do you identify with Medusa? Do you turn people to stone with your stare? Or is your hair made of snakes?

RR: My hair's usually pretty messy. That's really all. I do like snakes but I think the rest of it would be inconvenient.

SB: How do people follow your career and buy your stuff?
RR: My Etsy store is at
http://creeplings.etsy.com
I'm also doing theme weeks on my Facebook and Twitter pages - Ocean Madness, Monsters, Glamour, Spiders, whatever seems fun - and featuring Etsy other sellers and interesting links.
http://www.facebook.com/Creeplings
http://twitter.com/creeplings