Keith Rawson interview: The Chaos We Know

The Chaos We Know by Keith Rawson

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Keith Rawson is a little-known pulp writer who lives in the alkaline desert waste of southern Arizona with his wife and very energetic daughter. His stories, poems, interviews, reviews, and essays have appeared in such publications as Plots with Guns, Needle Magazine, Out of the Gutter, the Lineup, CrimeWav.com, Powder Burn Flash, A Twist of Noir, Beat to a Pulp and many others. He is a staff writer for Spinetingler and publisher of Crimefactory magazine.

Can you sum up The Choas We Know in no more than 25 words?

Nasty, trangressive pieces of hard-boiled dirt

What was your motivation for writing it?

I just write. I can’t stop myself anymore. Seriously, I’ve tried to kill it but it won’t go away.

How long did it take you to write?

Well, since The Choas We Know is a short story collection, it’s about a quarter of my output for the past 4 years. It’s a combination reprint/out of print/never before published collection. There’s a ton of new material slated for upcoming anthologies and online/print magazines that I wanted to include, but I figured the editors I’m working with on those projects would most likely kick my ass if I did.

How much difference does an editor make?

A HUGE difference. A good editor makes you see things in a different light even if you initially don’t like the changes they want you to make. Believe it or not, probably my most effective editor has been my friend Kieran Shea (co-editor of the upcoming anthology, D*CKED, and all around talented mother fucker.) Shea is such a perfectionist with his own work that he demands the same from the people who are writing for him.

Sure, I wanted to kick his ass a little (just a little) when he came back with the edits for my story in D*CKED, but in the long run it made the story so much better.

Brian Lindenmuth is also a HUGE asshole of an editor, but he’s one of the few guys who I know won’t blow smoke up my ass about a story.

Who designed your cover?

Mr. Ben Springer ( @pokerben on the Twitters, you should follow him)

How much difference does a good cover make?

On a personal level, not all that much. Of course, I buy a ton of books and the book description and premise mean much more to me than the cover. But for most book buyers, I guess a solid cover makes a difference. But, seriously, who the fuck buys a book solely for the cover and without reading the premise first? (and this is by no means a shot at cover designers like Boden Steiner, Ben or John Hornor Jacobs, all of these guys are doing some important work)

What's the best piece of craft advice you've been given?

Write one thing at a time. This was advice I was given a long time ago and I heeded it near religiously up until this past year. I don’t know if it had to do with some big life changes I was going through or if I was just bored with what I was writing? But for the first six months of the year I was juggling three lengthy projects, plus taking on more than a few short stories.

Finally I just had to give myself a break from writing before I permanently burnt myself out. Now I’m back to being focused on a single project with a short story or two thrown in there keep the voice fresh.

What's your favourite part of the writing process?

I love plotting. I love coming up with what motivates a character or group of characters. I love coming up with the meat of a story and putting it down on paper. I hate endings, though. When I’m plotting I can see the entire picture except for the end. I don’t know if this is because I like to keep it a surprise when I’m writing it or if it’s my creative blindspot.

What aspects of marketing your book do you enjoy?

Pretty much all of it.

A few years ago I discovered I was adept at the marketing side of publishing. I love being able to spot trends and then learn how to exploit them. I love coming up with strategies to help push sales and interest. I don’t really know if anyone is paying attention to what I have to say, or cares, but much like my writing, you can take it or leave it, because I’m going to write what I want and market it the way I want.

As a reader, how would you describe your taste in crime fiction?

I like my crime fiction much like my women and coffee: Dirty, violent, funny. How can a cup of coffee be funny? Well, your woman can dump it in your lap, break your nose with the mug, and then laugh hysterically while you hop around the kitchen with your crotch on fire and trying to stanch the flow of blood gushing from your nose.

Ah, my 5th wedding anniversary, I remember it like it was yesterday.

What was the last good eBook you read?

I’m reading Harvest of Ruins by Sandra Ruttan right now and like Sandra’s past novels, I’m really enjoying the hell out of it. She has a gift when it comes to writing a procedural.

What crime book are you most looking forward to reading?

Uuuummm, all of them.

Like most fans of crime fiction I’m omnivorous, I more or less want to read every book that comes out, but being on a limited book budget, I, of course, have to pick and choose. So if I had to narrow it down here’s a breakdown: Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill, (Yeah, I’ve already read it months ago, but I’m still going to buy it.) The Cut by Pelecanos and The Drop by Connelly (what can I say, I like my big blockbuster books) The Killer is Dying by James Sallis (reading it right now to prep for an interview with him on August 18th, but once again I’ll still buy it) The Outlaw Album by Daniel Woodrell (Same thing as Sallis, but once again I’ll buy it because, hey, I’m a sucker like that.) So that wraps up this month…

I’m also really looking forward to Duane Swierczynski’s next Charlie Hardie novel, Hell & Gone, and Charlie Stella’s next novel from Stark House… Yeah, I read way too fucking much.

What are you reading now?

My “just for fun” read is Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs. Great supernatural southern gothic, it’s a ton of fun.

If you had to re-read a crime novel right now, what would you choose?

Probably The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale. Great novel that I haven’t read in close to ten years.

Who's your favourite living writer?

That one flip flops for me on a yearly basis, but this year it’s Lansdale. I went on a binge of re-reading Lansdale after finishing off his latest Hap & Leonard novel, Devil Red. I think the most important thing about Lansdale for me is his control of the BIG voice. The natural storytelling voice that I think most writers possess but either choose to ignore or convolute due to market concerns

From an artistic rather than financial perspective, what book do you wish you had written?

The Cold Six Thousand by James Ellroy. I love all of that conspiracy stuff like a fat kid loves anything he can fit in his mouth.

What did you do before you became a writer?

Everything. I worked as a busboy, a fry cook, a bartender, a gas jockey (being a gas station attendant, believe it or not, is still the favourite of my old jobs. I worked graveyard shift, so I spent a good portion of the night doing nothing but reading.) staff at a group home, manager of a day program for the developmentally disabled, a college enrolment advisor, and now I work as a social media manager

Where do you find out about new books?

The blogs mostly. I’m a big fan of Patti Abbott’s forgotten books Friday, plus blogs and sites like Hardboiled Wonderland, Pulp Serenade, Bookgasm, etc.,

What's the best collection of short stories you've read?

I’m still a big fan of Hemingway’s Men Without Women. I also love Hubert Selby’s Song of the Silent Snow. Of course, Selby is one of my cornerstone authors, so I pretty much love everything he put down on paper,

What are your views on eBook pricing?

Nothing should be priced under $2.99 unless it’s a short story single, otherwise all you’re doing is shooting yourself in the ass. Yeah, you might gain a wider circulation (and that’s a big maybe for most writers), but when you price yourself at 99 cents you’re not only cheapening all of your hard work, but you’re making jack shit on the money end to boot.

I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong, but with all of the writing I do, I’d like to make a little money at it

What are the biggest problems facing writers these days?

Developing an audience and making money off your writing. Developing an audience isn’t hard per se, you just have to remain persistent and publish regularly, but the tough part is taking that audience and convincing them to buy what you’re selling, especially if you developed your audience online through the zines where you’ve been giving your writing away for years.

How do you feel about the ease with which anyone can publish?

I love it and hate it. I love it because you run across little gems like Josh Stallings first novel, Beautiful, Naked, & Dead or Witness to Death by Dave White. But then you get….well, quite a bit of stuff that should have never left the writer’s hard drive.

Which author should be much better known?

Shit, all of us…. But if I had to narrow it down, I think it’s about time Ray Banks got more than a little exposure. Same with Victor Gischler, Neil Smith, Scott Phillips, Stephen Graham Jones…Really, there are way too many to name.

What's the book you've recommended most to friends?

The Song is You by Megan Abbott and Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Do you enjoy writing?

When the words are really working me, I love it. But when I have to work the words, I fucking hate it with a blinding passion

Do you enjoy the editorial process?

Does anyone? Next Question!

What's the oddest question you've been asked in an interview?

It wasn’t so much odd as condescending and from an interview I abandoned after the first two questions.

Quick piece of advice to writers who would like to start interviewing other authors from a guy who’s done a lot of them: Remember interviews aren’t about YOU they’re about your subject.

How do you feel about reviews?

I love ‘em, I write tons of them and enjoy reading them.

How do you feel about awards?

I’ll never win one

The Chaos We Know by Keith Rawson

£1.71/$2.99

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Zoe Sharp interview: Fox Five

FOX FIVE: a Charlie Fox short story collection by Zoë Sharp

Introductory offer price £0.86/$1.49

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Zoë Sharp opted out of mainstream education at the age of twelve and wrote her first novel at fifteen. When she isn’t writing about her ex-army bodyguard heroine, Charlie Fox, Sharp is usually hanging out of moving vehicles with a camera, or doing house construction. She is a member of the Murderati blogsite (http://www.murderati.com), and part of the Hardboiled Collective.

http://www.zoesharp.com

What was your motivation for writing Fox Five?

I realised I had four existing short stories featuring Charlie Fox that spanned her career from back when she was still teaching self-defence in a northern UK town, right up to her present career in close protection. The rapidly expanding market in eBooks gave me the chance to gather them up, together with a brand new 12,000-word story, intros and other bonus material like a Meet Charlie Fox section, with the hope both of delighting existing readers and introducing the character to new ones.

Who designed your cover?

This was done by a very talented graphic designer, Jane Hudson at NuDesign. I think she’s really caught the feel of Charlie with this. She’s also done the eBook covers for the first five early books in the series. It was great to have the opportunity to sit down and watch a real artist at work, and to develop a really strong series identity.

What’s your favourite part of the writing process?

Probably ‘having written’ rather than the actual writing, which can be a frustrating, exhausting, mind-sweat slog – at least if you care about it being right. But I do love getting it to all hang together, when the story seems to take on a life of its own and the strands weave together more tightly. I outline a lot before I begin, but this doesn’t make the story stale for me. If I know the route I can enjoy the journey rather than worry about getting lost. I plan the major events of the plot, but not the reactions of the characters to those events. They surprise me as they go, and that’s a pretty good part of it, too.

What's the best piece of craft advice you've been given?

Two pieces of advice spring to mind. The first I know came from Stephen King’s ON WRITING memoir – ‘read, read, read, write, write, write’. There’s no substitute for it. And the second – can’t remember where this came from, but I have it as my screensaver – is ‘GET ON WITH IT’.

What aspects of marketing your book do you enjoy?

Getting out there and actually talking to people – doing bookstore and library events, and festival and conventions. Which is a shame, really, because more and more the publicity side of this business is being done via the internet. Now I can do an interview slobbing around in my PJs (if I wore any) rather than having an excuse to dress up ;-] OK, TMI, I know . . .

As a writer, how would you describe your ideal reader's taste in crime fiction?

Hmm, this is a good question, because mainly I write to please myself. I wanted to read about a strong female protagonist who wasn’t a caricature, but I couldn’t find one that satisfied me, so I set about writing my own. However, I realise that there aren’t too many people exactly like me (which, let’s face it, is probably a good thing) so I’m hoping to appeal to all readers who enjoy action with a human touch. I hope fans of Lee Child’s Reacher would also enjoy Charlie Fox.

What did you do before you became a writer?

I can’t really remember a time before I was a writer. Probably just loafed, I suppose. I have always written to one degree or another, finishing my first novel at fifteen. It did the rounds and received what are known in the trade as ‘rave rejections’, but at that age one is easily discouraged. I tried my hand at non-fiction instead, working as a freelance photo-journalist. This teaches you a LOT about the craft – how to write to topic, to length, to deadline, and not to be too precious about it if a sub rips your deathless prose to bits to make it fit the page layout. The photography side of it teaches you to really LOOK at what’s around you, and to capture a flavour, an essence, in a single frame.

What makes you keep reading a book?

Voice, character, pace, story. I love books that lose me a night’s sleep because I just can’t put the damn thing down, where the story is not obvious but doesn’t present impossible puzzles with implausible solutions. And, for some reason, I’ve found since I bought a Kindle that a book has to work just that little bit harder to hold my attention. Maybe it’s because I can’t gauge the length of it as easily, and I can’t just flick forwards to see how many pages to the end of the next chapter.

What's the best collection of short stories you've read?

I still really like Jeffery Deaver’s TWISTED. Every story grips you and because it’s an anthology from a single author, the voice and the quality is consistent all the way through, which can sometimes be an issue with collaborative efforts. I also like single-character anthologies, like the ones done by Leslie Charteris featuring Simon Templar, The Saint. They’re little brain-snacks of your favourite character, rather than a full sit-down meal.

What's the book you've recommended most to friends?

Strangely enough, it’s a non-fiction book by motorcycle journalist Dan Walsh, called THESE ARE THE DAYS THAT MUST HAPPEN TO YOU. Walsh is a mad Mancunian, who set off to ride around Africa – way before Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman – and then down through the Americas, with no prep and very little backup. He’s a prose poet, and his stuff is compulsively, beautifully readable.

Do you have any other projects on the go?

Yes. But that, as they say, is another story . . .

Kent Harrington interview: Red Jungle

Red Jungle by Kent Harrington

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Kent Harrington was born in San Francisco. He attended San Francisco State University and received a degree in Spanish Literature. He lives in Northern California.

Can you sum up your book in no more than 25 words?

Red Jungle is about the effects of neo-colonialism on Guatemala and the effects of a murder on the life of one man and his family.

What was your motivation for writing it?

I had wanted to tell my family’s story because I thought it also said a lot about the nature of Guatemalan politics and history. We go way back there on my mother’s side having arrived as a foot soldier with Pedro Alvarado.

How long did it take you to write?

The book took about 18 months or so. I started it there in Guatemala.

How much difference does an editor make?

A lot of difference. I had one of the best in Dennis Mcmillan and still use him even though DMP is now out of business. A good editor has to be a psychiatrist.

Who designed your cover?

I designed the Red Jungle cover because I decided I didn’t like the cover that DMP was going to use. I took the photo used on the cover of the first edition with a throwaway camera no less! It’s a photo from atop a pyramid at Tikal.

How much difference does a good cover make?

It makes all the difference, I think. Or at least I used to think that. They say now with eBooks, covers don’t matter. I doubt that is true. The first impression a reader has of your work is the cover. In my opinion, the cover has to reflect your POV as an artist. And, too, the cover is part of the entertainment value of a book.

How important is a good title?

It’s the same for titles as it is for covers, only perhaps more so, because they have to speak to the reader’s subconscious. A title almost has to conjure up something in us. It has to work like a good poem works too. In other words, like a poem, a good title works via sound too. It has to sound good.

How important is a book's central character?

Good question. I think that, normally, it’s everything. I wrote a comedy called Lola Knows Best and it was a shared stage, so maybe there it wasn’t as important. But generally speaking, your protagonist – he or she or it—better be damn engaging or you’re screwed.

What's the best piece of craft advice you've been given?

I think it was from a movie writer ironically: “get into the scene late and leave early.”

What's the best piece of business advice you've been given?

Tell them to send the money! In Hollywood they always want to somehow delay payment. In the novel business there was never much money to begin with, but it’s always good to remember that as a professional you want to be paid—just like the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker.

What's your favourite part of the writing process?

I love going through at the end and adding what I call language sparkles here and there. That’s something that I enjoy because during the first and second drafts you have to worry about the big picture and not the details or you will NEVER finish a novel.

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a writer?

My strength is I let the characters tell me their story. My weakness is that I let the characters tell me their story.

What aspects of marketing your book do you enjoy?

I love to meet fans one-on-one at a book store. They are always so gracious and sweet to me. And when they tell me that I’ve given them a bit a pleasure in life, that to me is more important than any money or critical praise. When you hear praise from a fan it just means the world. I hope the bookstore never dies! Sometimes when things are going badly with work, I remember how important it is to get it perfect, because I want that fan to walk up to me and say it was good.

As a reader, how would you describe your taste in crime fiction?

I tend to enjoy the old school third person style. I find that first person narrative limiting both as a writer and a reader. If it’s a good yarn, I’ll enjoy it.

As a writer, how would you describe your ideal reader's taste in crime fiction?

Eclectic. I don’t want readers to like just my type of book! What kind of world would that be? No, eclectic.

What was the last good eBook you read?

I have not read any eBooks except my own to make sure there were no mistakes in the transfer. It’s only because – and especially lately – I like to get away from the computer screen when I’m reading because I use the computer so much when I’m working! It’s not a comment on eBooks. I plan on taking an eBook reader on my next trip as I can no longer carry five books around on vacation like I used to. There is a place for both.

What crime book are you most looking forward to reading?

Right now The Talented Mr. Ripley by Highsmith. I really want to read the whole Ripley series. I loved the movie and want to read it on my next vacation—really, really do.

What are you reading now?

Right now, because I’m in the middle of a novel, I read mostly non-fiction. I’m reading V.S. Naipaul’s An Area of Darkness and enjoying it. The first chapter is funny.

If you had to re-read a crime novel right now, what would you choose?

Madam Bovary without question. It’s been on my mind. I’d like to adapt it for film. That would be fun.

From an artistic rather than financial perspective, what book do you wish you had written?

The Comedians by Greene. What a book! It’s been forgotten here in the States but I re- read it and it’s a masterpiece. Truly is.

What did you do before you became a writer?

I was a day laborer. A carpenter. A teacher, and a busboy. I’ve had lots of jobs, some dangerous, and they were good for a crime writer to have had.

How old were you when you completed your first novel?

I was 25. The novel was no good. However, the discipline it took to finish it was pivotal to the direction my life was to take.

What makes you keep reading a book?

I have to care about what’s going to happen. It’s very simple, if I don’t care I put it down. There has to be a strong narrative element, as well as good characters, obviously.

What do you look for in a good book?

I want to be entertained and transported hopefully to some place or situation I’ve not experienced and that intrigues me. It’s why I like Jane Austen, precisely because I couldn’t experience that world any other way!

Where do you find out about new books?

Usually from good friends. Dennis Mcmillan is always calling me about something. I love it when he calls about books. He’s encyclopaedic about crime fiction.

What's the best collection of short stories you've read?

Ernest Hemingway’s First 40 Stories or something like that. I loved those stories and it was those stories that made me want to be a writer when I was just thirteen.

What are your views on eBook pricing?

It seems that there is a great deflation, driven by the flood of eBooks that are being released on the Amazon platform. I don’t think that will last. Prices will stabalize for eBooks ultimately. Readers will be willing to pay a fair price, say between 4 or 5 dollars, for eBooks from a good author they really enjoy.

What are the biggest problems facing writers these days?

The above issue of price. Again, I think readers are learning that just because it’s cheap doesn’t make it worth buying.

Ever tried your hand at screenwriting?

Yes. I’ve written the script for Dia De Los Muertos, which is in development with Danny Huston directing. I’ve written original screenplays too, as well as adaptations of my novels.

Do you read outside of the crime genre?

Yes, quite a bit. I love history and recently, because of the novel I’ve been working on, have had to do a lot of research, which I enjoyed a great deal. I’m a bookworm at heart.

What was your favourite book as a child?

The Cat And The Hat Comes Back. I used to read it about once a day when I was about six.

Do you enjoy writing?

I love it. There is nothing I love more than putting a sentence together.

Do you enjoy the editorial process?

No, because it makes me nervous. I get anxious unless I know the editor very well. People who don’t know you are often too quick to dismiss things that are, in fact, important about your work.

What's the oddest question you've been asked in an interview?

Had I ever screwed while riding a bicycle. Honest. It was asked at a bookstore. Funny!

How do you feel about reviews?

I don’t pay them much attention—good or bad. That’s some more good advice I got when starting out.

Huston told me that his grandfather (Walter Huston) had sunk all his money in a play that went bust. When Walter had to act the last scene of Treasure of Sierra Madre where he cries and stomps around, he just recalled his bad reviews for that play, and all the money he’d lost!

How do you feel about awards?

I’ve never gotten any, so I’ve no opinion!

Do you have any other projects on the go?

Yes a novel called .....

Red Jungle by Kent Harrington

£2.14/$2.99

Amazon UK, Amazon US