Mr. Wilson
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed Dia so much! That for me
is what it's all about, someone enjoying a book like
that.
Now let me answer your questions. Here they are
again:
What became of the writing you were doing before DARK
RIDE? Do those novels remain unpublished, or were they worked
into the subsequent efforts?
It's sitting in a drawer. Probably exactly where it
belongs too.
(How planned out were the others -- obviously DIA works
within a strict framework timewise, and there was a hell of a
lot to squeeze in. BOYS seems more off the cuff, as does
JUNGLE.)
Dia was a bear at first. I really learned something about
writing novels as I struggled with that book. It was my great
teacher.
I'd always wanted to write a novel that takes place in one
day, and I almost did it! Dia takes place in two -- If I
recall. But what was interesting to me was that the more I
worked on it, the more I came to realize that time in the
novel is your friend. What I mean by that is that time can be
very plastic and malleable; you can keep collapsing it. (Here
is the critical ability that the novel form does so very
well, and the movies can't do as well: play with time like
that.)
The other books had their own problems. In American boys I
wanted a character driven thriller. That's harder to do than
it sounds believe me when you have as much interest in
showing all the pins and wheels of a character-- as in any
good drama-- and at the same time not allowing the tension to
lapse. The thriller demands you don't let up on the gas;
that's a fair demand I think. I tried to do that in Red
Jungle too. I want to keep doing those kinds of
character
driven thrillers. I love them.
Finally, perhaps you can explain your Guatemalan
connection?
My mother was Guatemalan.
kent
Stewart Wilson <
stewart@stewartwilson.com> wrote:
Kent Harrington wrote:
> I was told to put "Dia De Los Muertos" in a drawer
and forget about it. I've never forgotten that.
DIA was a fantastic book, cover to cover. It was the first
book of yours that I read, based on the superlative reviews
and remarks on this Rara-Avis. I was astonished that it
hadn't become a massive bestseller. Here is what I wrote one
friend in an email as soon as I finished it " It was so good,
I didn't want to rush on while reading it; like a good meal
-- I had to savour each morsel. You must acquire and read
this book!" I then walked the book down the street to another
friend and insisted he read it right away -- he told me a
couple of days later it was the closest he's ever seen to the
perfect crime novel. I am so glad that you didn't put it in a
drawer. Last week, we had houseguests, and after a discussion
of crime novels (he had only read Elroy, and was in the
middle of the new Cormac McCarthy book), I described and
recommended DIA knowing, unforetunately, that he wouldn't be
able to find a copy easily. I gave him a copy of Crumley's
LAST GOOD KISS as a consolation because I can always find
copies of it, and wasn't about to lend my only DIA to a new
aquaintance.
After first reading DIA, I followed up immediately with DARK
RIDE. When RED JUNGLE was published, I phoned Dennis
Macmillan to buy a copy, and finally, read AMERICAN BOYS last
month. I've still not found a copy of THE TATTOOED MUSE, but
I'm sure one will turn up eventually.
Sorry about the rambling -- now some questions.
> I had not read much crime fiction and never heard of
Jim Thompson...
> I was writing novels but was unpublished. I had been
so influenced
> by Hemingway's voice and others, Lawrence, a lot of
the Brits they were
> seminal to my style and still are. ...
What became of the writing you were doing before DARK RIDE?
Do those novels remain unpublished, or were they worked into
the subsequent efforts?
> I didn't plan the book. I just sat down and wrote
it.
How planned out were the others -- obviously DIA works within
a strict framework timewise, and there was a hell of a lot to
squeeze in. BOYS seems more off the cuff, as does
JUNGLE.
Finally, perhaps you can explain your Guatemalan connection
-- In DIA, two Guatemalans get a $9.50 ride, on their way to
San Fransisco. The central BOYS character seems to have the
same relationship to Guatemala that Russell in JUNGLE has,
but parentally reversed.
"Guatemalans are tough people," Calhoun said, looking into
the mirror, enjoying it. "Look at them ... look at the kids.
They're beautiful,"
Cheers,
--Stewart
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