I do prefer my animals alive...

...but a taxidermist makes for an interesting character!

I've been working on this pair of stories for quite a while now. It started with a visit to a local state park where the ranger station has several dioramas of taxidermied local species. I find stuffed dead animals morbidly fascinating because they never look quite right. And if they are lifelike, they're actually all the creepier. Since the ranger didn't seem too busy I asked her a bunch of questions about the animals--in particular how...