Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, R. Narvaez has had work featured in Murdaland, Long Island Noir, Indiana Country Noir, and Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery. His first collection of short fiction, Roachkiller and Other Stories, was published in 2012.
B.OC.
WHAT INFLUENCED YOU TO START WRITING?
RICHIE
My brother, who used to beat me up religiously, started writing
to get extra credit in school. I always competed with him, so I started writing
too. Then he became a sports fanatic, but I was stuck--I had caught the writing
bug and was doomed for life.
B.O.C.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR
FAVORITE WRITERS?
RICHIE
Wow, there are many. Currently: John Cheever, Andre Norton,
Chester Himes. To touch on your first question again for a moment, I think many writers are first turned on to writing by certain
dynamic writers, and I think for me, and no doubt for many others, there was
Stan Lee. And from him on to Raymond Chandler, Somerset
Maugham, Robert E. Howard.
B.O.C.
WHAT KIND OF ADVICE WOULD
YOU GIVE A WRITER THAT’S JUST STARTING OUT?
RICHIE
Go into accounting because frankly I don’t need any more
competition. Also, take up smoking and excessive drinking.
B.O.C.
DO YOU SCAN THE
NEWSPAPERS OR INTERNET SITES, OR EVEN TV FOR IDEAS?
RICHIE
Every time I read a newspaper I get an idea for a story. Newspapers
are easier because the items come to me one page at a time. The Internet can
feel too much like an ocean of ideas crashing over my head.
B.O.C.
IF YOU HAD THE POWER,
WHAT DEAD CELEBRITY WOULD YOU BRING BACK TO LIFE AND WHAT USE WOULD YOU HAVE
FOR THEM?
Elvis Presley. I’d ask him to kill and eat Justin Bieber like
livestock. Metaphorically, of course, and with a new Comeback from the Dead TV
Special.
B.O.C.
TELL EVERYBODY ABOUT YOUR
NEW BOOK.
RICHIE
My latest book is Roachkiller
and Other Stories. It's an anthology of 10 of my early genre stories.
Overall, every story has a noir quality -- in terms of emotional darkness -- and
they range from literary to crime to private eye to postmodern to one
semi-erotic one or maybe that one’s just a dirty story to sci fi to
post-apocalyptic to horror. So, there's variety! I’m very proud to say the book
was just nominated for a Spinetingler Award for Best Anthology/Short Story
Collection.
B.O.C.
IF YOU WERE STUCK AT HOME
ON A FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES AND YOUR CHOICE FOR TV WAS DUKES OF
HAZZARD OR KNIGHT RIDER. WHICH ONE WOULD YOU WATCH?
What, you mean Greatest
American Hero was preempted? Knight
Rider, but only because, as much as I lust for Daisy Duke, I couldn't stand
wading through the rest of that show to see her wiggling into the General Lee.
Honestly, in either case, I'd probably just leave the TV on in the background
and read through all my comic books again.
B.O.C.
WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE
CRIMINAL OR CRIME COMMITTED, HISTORICALLY?
RICHIE
Favorite is not the right word, but the criminal I find the most
fascinating is Richard Kuklinski, "The Iceman," who apparently killed
not only for organized crime outfits but also for his own enjoyment, for more
than 30 years! And he did all this while being a family man! There are some
haunting, disturbing videos of him on YouTube discussing his life and some of
the murders he committed. If you write about crime and want to understand
the seriousness of the subject, I think it’s important to see how dark and ugly
that world can get.
B.O.C.
WHAT’S THE BEST AND WORST
BOOK YOU’VE EVER READ AND IT’S OK TO TELL US YOU’RE GUILTY PLEASURE AS FAR AS
BOOKS OR OTHER ENTERTAINMENT.
RICHIE
So many good and bad books--how can I remember? Let’s say, for
now, I Am Thinking of My Darling, by
Vincent McHugh, which uses a lovingly detailed hard boiled type of narration with
a fantasy plot. It’s a funny, sexy book that also serves as a love letter to a
New York City that no longer exists. As far as worst, I've read plenty of
stinkers. Most recently, I tried to read Michael Crichton's Timeline. It read like a movie script fisted
into a movie. Every story is a contrivance, but you shouldn't see the seams. In
this book, you can see all the seams, the glue, the fakeness of the
contrivances. I enjoy a lot of Crichton's work, but this was a disappointment.
B.O.C
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE
JERRY LEWIS MOVIE?
RICHIE
First of all, I love Dean and I love Jerry, but I don't love
Dean and Jerry, so all those movies are out. Then, anything with a message or is
that is too cute, Delinquent Delinquent,
for example -- out. Many people love Nutty
Professor, but it seems needy and cloying in that mawkish Robin Williams
way. No, my favorite Lewis movie is probably my favorite because they showed it
so much on TV when I was growing up: Hook,
Line, and Sinker. It's probably not his best, but his mugging doesn't
dominate, and it hints at something dark and cynical in its plot. And hey I
love that last shot!
LISTEN TO RICHIE NARRATE HIS STORY OLD PENDIJO ON DARK DREAMS PODCAST http://darkdreamspodcast.blogspot.com/
LISTEN TO RICHIE NARRATE HIS STORY OLD PENDIJO ON DARK DREAMS PODCAST http://darkdreamspodcast.blogspot.com/
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