True Fiction Project — "Pinocchio's Guide to the End of the World"

Podcast: True Fiction Project
Host: Reenita Hora
Guest: Eva Moon (author, songwriter, playwright, performer)
Episode: S7 Ep 5
Date: January 13, 2026

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, host Reenita Hora interviews the multifaceted Eva Moon to discuss her debut novel, Pinocchio's Guide to the End of the World. The conversation moves fluidly through Eva’s creative journey—her evolution from songwriter to playwright to novelist—and the personal experiences that inspired her works, especially her battle with a genetic mutation, her acclaimed one-woman musical Mutant Diaries: Unzipping My Genes, and the deeply felt themes behind her novel. The episode beautifully illustrates how rich fiction can be forged from the crucible of lived experience, trauma, and transformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Eva Moon’s Artistic Evolution

• Beginnings in Songwriting

  • Started songwriting during a hiatus from music performances ([00:30])
  • Transitioned to blending songs with storytelling, ultimately leading to full-fledged one-woman shows.
  • Quote: “I started focusing more on the stories and less on the songs.” ([00:51])

• Diverse Creative Output

  • Has worked as author, songwriter, playwright, screenwriter, performer, and blogger.
  • Sees “story” as the core, with different mediums as vehicles: “Songs are stories, plays are stories, screenplays are stories, books are stories. The story kind of tells me what format it wants to be in.” ([02:51])

• Patter & Audience Interaction

  • Clarifies "patter" as informal story-sharing between songs, which helped develop her narrative craft. ([05:02])

Mutant Diaries: Unzipping My Genes

• Origin Story and Personal Trauma

  • Sparked by Eva’s discovery of a genetic mutation increasing her cancer risk, alongside her mother’s illness.
  • Eva underwent a preventive double mastectomy and hysterectomy while caring for her terminally ill mother.
  • Quote: “At the time, my mother was dying of cancer from the same mutation. So at that point, I thought I would never write a word again... I thought, I'm done. I can't deal with this.” ([06:01])

• Healing Through Comedy & Performance

  • The musical became her method for processing trauma and reaching others facing upheaval.
  • Tone is comedic, not somber, despite weighty subject matter: “It's not a downer, it's a comedy... but it's kind of how I processed everything.” ([06:01])

• Self-Publishing & Distribution

  • Eva self-produced and distributed the show as a live recording through Amazon.
  • She equates it to self-publishing a book or selling a product: “It’s like selling a book on Amazon or selling a tea set on Amazon. You know, you can be a vendor…” ([07:40])
  • Flexible streaming means “people don’t have to pay for shipping...they can watch it anytime for just a couple of bucks.” ([08:15])

Pinocchio’s Guide to the End of the World

• Genesis of the Novel

  • Inspired by her earlier play, Geppetto’s Funeral, about midlife Pinocchio questioning his humanity.
  • The novel investigates post-transformation identity and authenticity, paralleling Eva’s own journey after major physical and emotional changes.
  • “There was this disconnect between how I felt on the inside and the outside." ([09:18])
  • Pinocchio as metaphor for imposter syndrome and coping with being “different” beneath the surface.

• Themes: Internal vs. External Self

  • Eva contemplates how external change (wooden to human, surgery recovery) can create persistent internal alienation.
  • “He had to have had some feeling of imposter syndrome...he’s walking in the world wearing this human body, but inside he knows that he still feels like that same wooden boy... What did it take for him to finally integrate into one authentic self?” ([10:46])

• Fantasy as a Route to Deeper Truth

  • Eva and Reenita discuss how fantasy can probe truths too complex for straightforward realism.
  • “Sometimes through fantasy, you can get at truths that are harder to get to if you're just trying to be completely realistic.” ([11:24])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Storytelling in Multiple Mediums

  • “I'm a storyteller and it just takes different forms...the story kind of tells me what format it wants to be in.” – Eva Moon ([02:51])

• On Processing Trauma with Humor

  • “It's not a downer, it's a comedy...but it's kind of how I processed everything that happened to me during that time.” – Eva Moon ([06:01])

• On Identity and Transformation

  • “There was this disconnect between how I felt on the inside and the outside.” – Eva Moon ([09:18])
  • “I had been given a human body, but inside I...I still felt the same as before.” – Excerpt from Pinocchio’s Guide to the End of the World ([15:44])

Read-Aloud: Excerpt from Pinocchio’s Guide to the End of the World

• Eva Moon reads from her novel in the voice of Pinocchio ([12:37–15:47]):
  • Pinocchio reflects on the day the Blue Fairy made him a real boy, wrestling with questions of age, origin, and belonging.
  • Struggles with “being different,” internal alienation, and his relationship to his creator (Geppetto).
  • Quote: “My nose hadn’t grown more than a pimple since I was changed. But even if I thought about lying, it itched like hell...No magic could erase the fact that I was more closely related to the chair you’re sitting on than my own papa.” ([15:44])

Where to Find Eva’s Work

• Website: evamoon.net
• Pinocchio’s Guide to the End of the World is available on Amazon, as both print and audiobook.
• Quote: “The audiobook is a really—I’m very happy with the audiobook. The man who read it did just a fabulous job...it was [named] best independent novel of 2023 in Washington state last year.” ([15:57–16:38])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Eva’s creative beginnings and storytelling philosophy (00:30–03:15)
• Mutant Diaries: life story to musical and coping with trauma (05:31–07:06)
• Getting work on Amazon as an independent creator (07:40–08:24)
• Origins and themes of Pinocchio’s Guide (08:38–11:46)
• Live reading: excerpt from the novel (12:37–15:47)
• Where to find Eva’s work/closing thoughts (15:57–16:44)

Tone and Atmosphere

The episode balances warmth, humor, and vulnerability. Eva is candid, quick-witted, and openly reflective about her journey through adversity, while Reenita’s admiration and curiosity foster a relaxed, supportive dialogue.

Conclusion

This episode exemplifies the True Fiction Project’s mission: revealing how raw, often painful real-life experiences, transformed through creative alchemy, become resonant works of fiction. Eva Moon’s story—both lived and written—reminds listeners that storytelling is not just a means of expression, but also one of survival, healing, and authenticity.