STALKING CHET WILLIAMSON

Chet Williamson's first short stories appeared in 1981, and since then he has published over two dozen novels and over a hundred short stories in such magazines as The New Yorker, Playboy, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Twilight Zone and many others. He has won the International Horror Guild Award and his work has been shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award, The MWA Edgar, and the Stoker. His out of print books are available as Crossroad Press ebooks, and he has narrated over two dozen audiobooks, including work by Joe Lansdale, Michael Moorcock, Tom Piccirilli, Skipp and Spector, Neal Barrett, and many others, as well as several of his own novels.

      B.O.C.

 I WAS READING YOUR BIO ON WIKIPEDIA, YOU WERE AN ACTOR AND SCHOOL TEACHER BEFORE BEING PUBLISHED. WHAT MADE YOU SWITCH TO WRITING?

CHET

Believe me, after teaching junior high for a year, I'd have switched to digging ditches, but acting seemed more welcoming. It was through acting that I got into writing, first writing song parodies and then full shows to entertain people at business conventions. Since I was writing, I decided to try writing the kind of fiction that I enjoyed most, which was horror.

B.O.C.

 WHO OR WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BE A WRITER?

CHET

I loved classic horror fiction, such as Poe and Lovecraft, and around the time I started writing, Stephen King had had a number of novels of published. I started out with short stories, and I think my style was probably closest to Robert Bloch's in those early tales -- very straightforward, constructed backwards from the ending. It got me into the habit of outlining, which continues to this day. In the 70s and early 80s it was possible to read nearly all the horror that came out, and I did. But I also read all the classics as well. Darkness appealed to me -- it still does.

B.O.C.

 TELL EVERYONE ABOUT YOUR NEW PROJECTS OR BOOK COMING OUT.

CHET

I'm currently putting together a new short story collection for a publisher in the UK. I haven't done a collection since 2002's FIGURES IN RAIN, which won the International Horror Guild award, so I'm really enjoying getting this new one together. I'm also revising a new novel called SHIFT, which is 50s noir with a taste of the supernatural. My two most recent novels are DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH, available as a trade paperback and an ebook from Crossroad Press, and HUNTERS, a new ebook.  These are both horror/suspense novels.

B.O.C.

 YOUR STORY MUSIC OF THE DARK TIME HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF MY FAVORITES, WHICH WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN TWILIGHT ZONE MAGAZINE. DO YOU MISS THOSE OUTLETS FOR SHORT STORIES?

CHET

There are still short story markets, though not nearly as many as there used to be, and they don't pay as well as the old TZ. I still sell stories occasionally to THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, but usually I only write short stories when an anthology editor commissions one.

B.O.C.

 IF YOU HAD THE POWER TO RESSERUCT A DEAD CELEBRITY, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT USE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR THEM?

CHET

I'd want to sit down and have a talk with Howard Lovecraft. His presence has haunted me for decades. I have a large collection of his works and books about him, and Courtney Skinner's portrait of HPL is one of the last things I see when I go to bed at night. To sit with him (my cat on his lap) and hear his voice and see him right there would be wonderful.

B.O.C.

 YOU HAVE SUCH A GREAT VOICE, IT’S ONLY LOGICAL THAT YOU USE IT TO NARRATE AUDIOBOOKS. HAVE YOU EVER STARTED NARRATING SOMETHING AND THINK “GEEZ, THIS SUCKS!”

CHET

There are audiobooks that I've enjoyed more than others, but with every book you have to think that it's worth doing and put yourself in that mindset so you do the best possible job. I consider it a privilege that a writer would entrust his or her book to me and let me cast all the characters and direct it as well.

B.O.C.

HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN EDITOR SEND A STORY BACK WITH A NOTE ON IT WHAT THE FUCK?

CHET

Sometimes with novels. My former agents would receive rejections and when I'd read them there would be aspects of the book that one editor would like and things about it they'd dislike. And another editor have had the totally opposite reaction. This would just tell us that the book had not yet reached the right editor. Once, early on, when I was looking for an agent, one agent who dealt primarily with mainstream works told me that she liked ASH WEDNESDAY, "all except for that ghost stuff." Since that was the point of the book, I figured she wasn't the agent for me.

B.O.C.

HOW HAS THE INTERNET AFFECTED YOU PERSONALLY ON HOW YOU GET YOUR WORK OUT TO THE PUBLIC?

It's completely changed the paradigm. I could write an entire essay about it, but won't. I've found that my Facebook page provides me with a better news delivery system than my actual website, which is woefully out of date. I'll go on a binge and update it, but when I find that the comments are from people selling propecia, I turn my attention back to Facebook.

B.O.C.

 OK, YOU’RE A TIME TRAVELER, IT’S 1964, TWO CONCERTS ARE HAPPENING, THE BEATLES AND FRANKIE AVALON, WHO WOULD YOU GO SEE?

CHET

Are you kidding? Even the President of the Frankie Avalon Fan Club wouldn't pass up the chance to see the Beatles.

 B.O.C.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE A WRITER STARTING OUT?

CHET

Pay more attention to writing than to self-promotion. True,  self-promotion is more important than ever, but there are a lot of writers out there who sell comparatively well because they spend most of their time promoting themselves rather than polishing their craft. And as a result readers are slowly becoming more tolerant of really bad writing. It's the kind of poisoned atmosphere that leads to the success of such rank shit as the Fifty Shades series.

B.O.C.

 FINALLY CHET, GOD HAS SPOKEN TO ME AND HE REALLY WANTS TO KNOW: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE JERRY LEWIS MOVIE?

CHET

Solo films: The Bellboy. Martin and Lewis: Scared Stiff.  Though I would pay a great deal to see the unreleased The Day the Clown Cried...

LISTEN TO CHET NARRATE HIS STORY MUSIC OF THE DARK TIME ON DARK DREAMS PODCAST http://darkdreamspodcast.blogspot.com/

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/