STALKING R. NARVAEZ

VISIT R. NARVAEZ WEBSITE HERE http://richienarvaez.com/

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/