Hi Robert, first of all,
could you tell us a bit about yourself.
Thanks so much for
interviewing me, Patrick. About me: I have a fairly useless journalism/philosophy
degree and neither of those things pay anymore. I’m the author of Self-help for Stoners and several short
story collections and now the crime novel Bigger
Than Jesus. Everything I write falls under the umbrella of suspense. I’ve
won awards for my writing, mostly of little significance, but I cling to that,
somewhat pathetically, to make me feel better about myself.
What do you think makes your
genre special?
I like William Goldman’s
books very much and emulate his style in that he takes readers to the point
where they think they know what’s going to happen next. That’s when the sucker
punch comes. I’m a big fan of unexpected, yet logical, plot twists. Notice that
Stephen King always refers to what he does as suspense (as opposed to horror).
I think suspense is a more inclusive genre. I also inject a lot of humor amid
very trying situations. I had to undergo surgery once and I realized that I was
never funnier as when I was terrified. I was cracking up the orderly and when I
got into the OR, the nurses asked how I knew him. Crazy circumstances are ripe
for fun so I always put my characters through the roaster.
What do you think makes a
great story?
I love it when I’m writing a
story and I discover something about the character or find a new plot twist I
didn’t envision when I began. I value plot as well as characterization, so,
though sensitive moments occur, the emotion is derived from the story and
action follows of a consequence of that emotion. It’s economical in that
nothing is wasted or superfluous. I need dynamic events to happen to people I
care about. Too often I read books that err too far on either side of that
distinction.
What is your latest book
called and could you explain to us in 20 words what it is about?
Bigger Than Jesus is
the foundation book for a series of crime thrillers. Twenty words or less?
Jesus Diaz is a luckless hit man who wants to escape with his girlfriend and a
stolen mafia fortune. That’s nineteen words. Laughs. That’s twenty.
Which kind of reader do you
think will enjoy your book?
It’s tempting to say anyone
who breathes and has a brain, isn’t it? Claude Bouchard described Bigger Than Jesus as “Wickedly real and
violently funny” so I guess if you like Coen brothers’ movies, there’s
something to that. I find a lot of comedy amongst the crime and hijinx. The
comedy makes for some of the most real moments, like when my hit man and the
mob under-boss have an argument about Star Wars trivia. That may sound strange
– okay, of course that sounds strange -- but it’s made relevant to the plot.
Is it a Standalone, or part
of the series? If it the latter, how long do you think will it go on?
The character of Jesus Diaz
started out as a hit man from a short story in Self-help for Stoners. He’s a much older and more experienced hit
man in that story, but still subject to Murphy’s Law. As soon as I started
writing The Hit Man Series, I knew I
had at least five books to come and maybe more. Eventually, I’d like a bunch of
my characters to meet in one book, too. That’s long term. Right now I want them
to explore their own worlds, but for real fans of my books, there’s already a
lot of cross-pollination, so you get to meet certain characters again,
sometimes even in different incarnations.
What influenced or inspired
you writing it?
I watched documentaries and
read a lot about the mob. It’s all fiction, of course, but I drew on several
real life experiences with injuries and general mayhem to contribute to the
book. I’m fascinated with Dali, so he’s in there briefly. Yes, I know it’s
strange to have Salvador Dali in a crime thriller that’s not at all about art
theft, but a crucial plot point turns
on him. I also consulted friends, an ex-military buddy and a friend who trains
SWAT for a bunch of other details. It’s those sorts of technical details that
give the context you need to achieve verisimilitude. Everything that’s in my
head gets dumped in if I can use it intelligently. I’m one of those weirdos who
can get lost in a dictionary or Wikipedia for hours.
Why did you choose especially
this title? Was it your first choice?
I wanted a title that would
grab attention and when John Lennon used the phrase Bigger Than Jesus about the Beatles, it got a lot of attention. My
character is Cuban, though, so it’s pronounced “Hay-soose.” I expect at some
point a Christian will object, but I think that’s a worry for people whose
faith is already awfully shaky. It’s more likely that by using Bigger Than Jesus, the remaining Beatles
won’t do another album, which is terribly upsetting.
What was the hardest part for
you working on your book?
There wasn’t a hard part
writing it. The hard part is everything that has to do with not writing.
Procrastination. Marketing. Trying to get on the radar. I do enjoy interviews
because I get to talk about my favorite subject. I’m also a huge narcissist,
but you must have guessed that already. I think all writers must be, to think
they will write and also be read.
Was there a scene that you
didn’t add or remove in your finished work?
When I started Bigger Than Jesus, I knew the opening
scene and the last line. I basically wrote a chapter a day with a day or two
off sometimes to think. I end each chapter with a cliffhanger and when I shut
down the computer each night, I often didn’t know how I was going to dig Jesus
out of the hole I’d written for him. I use a mind technique to achieve the
hypnogogic state. Basically, I ask a question as I fall asleep and as I wake
up, I have the answer as to how to proceed. Sounds weird. Works for me.
Do you already know what to
do next?
I’m already writing the next
installment in The Hit Man Series: Higher
Than Jesus. No spoilers. Let’s just say, the answer to that question is
always, “Write the next book.”
Where can we find more about
you and your books?
My author site is
AllThatChazz.com. I’m podcasting Bigger
Than Jesus one chapter at a time, one week at a time. By the time that’s
done, I’ll be podcasting Higher Than
Jesus, I suppose. My work is always available on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/Nm6xj4. I also write about writing at ChazzWrites.com and that seems
to have taken off enough that I’m preparing a book of the best of the blog for
writers. That will be called Crack the
Indie Author Code: Aspire to Inspire. That should be out this fall in two
parts.
Any last words?
I think one of the things
that’s caught some readers’ attention is that Bigger Than Jesus is told
in second person, present tense. I loved Jay MacInerney’s Bright Lights, Big
City and thought it was time someone revisit the second-person as a viable
point of view, at least once every twenty-seven years or so, anyway.
Some writers even say no one
should ever write that way, which made me want to write like that all the more.
I’m kind of a contrarian and I thought that if I could make it work, I’d get
extra points from the doubters. Some people object to second-person point of
view as a statement of religious faith. They’re against it but I doubt they’ve
tried it out.
I wrote it that way for a
reason, however. It’s not revealed until very late in Bigger Than Jesus
why it makes sense, so readers will just have to trust me that there is a
reason and it is revealed. I play coy about it in the first book and get right
into it with the second book. Second-person present also had the benefit of
making the action immediate and brings the reader closer to the danger, so
there’s that. I’m not writing experimental fiction here. It’s a thriller and
it’s going to be a very successful series of thrillers. If I sound a bit
defiant about that, it’s because I am. I was a bit pissed when I read someone
pontificating about POV saying, “Don’t expect me to read” second-person
narrative. I’m on a mission to overcome prejudice against my chosen POV and
guys named Jesus. And hit men. They aren’t all bad, at least if you grade them
on a curve.
Bigger Than Jesus
Jesus Diaz is a hit man caught in the gears of The Machine. He craves
the simple things: to escape New York with stolen mob money and to marry
the lovely Lily. Not getting shot would be good, too. Fast-paced and
full of twists and deception, this is the crime novel that reads like a
Coen brothers' movie: the wide and easy road out of town turns deadly.
Murphy's Law will bring Jesus down long before the NYPD get a chance.
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