Hello, readers! I belong to a Facebook group called "Indie Writers Unite!" and this interview is a sort of tradition of ours to find out more about our fellow authors. With me today is Jack Wallen, the author of the "Fringe Killer" series and "I Zombie I". Please enjoy this interview and, as his is the sick and depraved mind of a thriller writer, please keep all sharp objects hidden and stay to the right side of the hallway.
CT: Hello, Jack, and thank you for visiting with us today. as I pre-warned you in setting up this interview, mine is not going to be your typical "So do you prefer a pen or #2 pencil to write?"-style interview, but rather a peek behind the curtain at the mind of a thriller writer, taking my readers on a delightful tour of the morgues and crime scenes inside your head.
With that, shall we begin your questioning?
When it comes to your 'thrills', which method do you prefer to present them and why? Are you an unseen and barely heard 'whispers under the bed' kind of guy, or do you prefer a more visual 'growing pool of blood coming out from under the bed' approach?
JW: I like it both ways to be honest. But if I had to choose one or the other - I'd have to say I like a more visual method. I think of the two forms of dread, the subtle works for a more suspenseful story whereas the less-than-subtle is best suited for more visceral works. My novels tend to be more visceral...I want the readers to feel something and let the dread and fear derive from that. The movies I love tend to be more visceral as well. Give me a Rob Zombie film over a Hitchcock film any day.
CT: As for your antagonists, as with the 'monster under the bed' question above, what is your favored 'monster' to write for? Someone who, like Freddy Krueger or Darth Vader, you could pick out of a lineup practically blindfolded due to their description and mannerisms, or do you prefer the 'Steve Buscimi in Con Air' and Hannibal Lecter approach where the reader is looking for the obvious Freddy or Darth, unaware that it was the pretty and petite babysitter all along?
JW: Well, that's a tough one -- obviously I love zombies and you can certainly pick them out of a line up. In my other books (A Blade Away and Gothica) the killers COULD possibly pass as every day citizens, but their inner issues simply won't let them. Truly disturbed people have a rough go at blending in and those are the types of bad guys I like to deal with. Quirks make us all interesting. Blending in is for the 9-5 crowd. Buffalo Bill (from Silence of the Lambs) would never have blended in. And although Hannibal Lecter could just blend in, he still allowed his genius to draw attention to himself.
CT: When it comes to the bloodier parts of the book, do you prefer to fade to black, leaving some of the details up to the reader to imagine, or do you prefer a more Clockwork Orange-esque pinning open of the eyelids "You will watch everything" approach? And why?
JW: I guess that depends upon the book. I prefer to write the “You will watch everything” type of book, because that forces me to get heavily involved in the experience as much as it does the writer. I want to write books that are cathartic. I want readers to see some of my scenes as car wrecks that they want to look away from, but can't. That is something that Edward Lee does very well. You don't want to read, but you can't help but do so. Those are the books I enjoy writing.
CT: When it comes to the thriller genre, are you a sadist or masochist? Did the scene you dreamed up scare you so much (masochist) that you had to share that scare with others to help you deal with it, or did the scene 'romance' you in a dark way to the point where you became the bogieman (sadist) at the keyboard, cackling evilly as you pictured your reader putting the book on the nightstand for a moment to turn the bedroom light back on because the shadows caused by the nightstand lamp were only making your words spookier?
JW: When I was writing “My Zombie My” (Due out August 4th, 2011) I wrote a scene that actually gave me nightmares. When I woke up the next morning I'm sure I had the biggest grin on my face. One of the reasons I enjoy writing horror and thrillers so much is diving deep into the mind of the monster – seeing how broken the human psyche can be. It's a sick past time, but there is something so fulfilling about unveiling how depraved the human condition can actually get, while doing the unveiling from a safe distance. It's like a disturbed peep show.
CT: I know that one of my personal practices is to write in the physical description of people who have crossed me as victims in my books, allowing me to take that cathartic plunge into madness by putting the road rage visions of my 'repeatedly jabbing a screwdriver into the temple of someone texting while driving' onto paper, knowing that I would never do such an act in real life. Likewise, friends and relatives have often requested to be written into the stories. Do you ever write real people into your stories, either with or without their knowledge, or do you prefer to torture definitively fictional people?
JW: I do. All the time. Even if it's just using names. I have had “be in my book” contests before and people eat that up. One of my favorites was a character in
Gothica who had a rather sexual death scene. I received permission from a friend to use their “alternative name” in the book and they loved it! I was thrilled when they squealed with delight at their death.
I'm also using my step-daughter (in name only) in the second book of my “I Zombie” trilogy. She was so excited, and even excited to find out how much of a bad ass her alter ego was.
CT: In "A Blade Away", your primary antagonist (and you, by proxy) target transgendered men. From the blurb alone, i am guessing that this is not done as a thinly-veiled personal statement against the transgendered and I could certainly see through the killer's eyes as to why what the killer is doing is "right' from their perspective, but my question is about your target audience. Did you write this story with transgendered readers or potential critiques from the LBGT community in mind, or did you 'just write it', changing nothing in the original vision to try to pander to any specific type of reader?
JW: I know a lot of transgendered people. In fact, it was that community that made me want to write the Fringe Killer series. They are so often seen as freaks, side shows, and rarely given the respect and gentle grace they deserve. So I set about to write a story that would work to show they were just people like you and me who were being victimized and terrorized by a man who was born of hatred, bigotry, and racism. That series also stars a gay man as one of the on-going protagonists. Yes, I allow his “queen” to come out at times, but he mostly serves as a pillar of strength and sanity for the main character.
CT: In "Gothica", the killer targets a club which caters to the Goth lifestyle - for obvious reasons according to the blurb - and again, I have to wonder why that specific subculture was chosen. The series is called 'fringe' Killer for a reason, of course, and so there will always be a subculture targeted, but my question is directed at the author's point of view on this one. Did it seem fitting for the killer to want to target that subculture, or was it more of a helpful cover in hiding a dark shadowy figure among his own kind, when needed?
JW: I spent a good deal of time in that culture myself, so I know well how misunderstood it can be. But at the same time there are those that live within that subculture that turn the face of mockery around on itself. I chose that particular setting and crowd because I wanted/needed a group that could get angsty, but could also sort of feed on the same fear that was feeding the ghost of the past to break the boundaries of time and escape into the present. I have been a fan of the Goth culture for some time. The music, the attire...but I do draw the line at the self-inflicted sorrow and depression.
CT: Aside from throwing glitter on them (and no, that was not a request) or making them dance en masse to 80's synthpop, things seem to remain fairly straightforward with zombie canon. Half-rotted bodies, living dead, eating brains, and so on. In "I Zombie I", for those who have not read it, did you stick to canon to satisfy the purist majority or did you attempt to shake things up a bit by introducing any twists to the monsters? Please, no spoilers, of course.
JW: Well, the whole take on the zombie canon has been set asunder because the first in the trilogy is told from the point of view of a journalist who has been infected and decides to chronicle his dark spiral into the zombie abyss. Add to that the fact that I attempt to explain why zombies act the way they do and I think I've given the genre a bit of a fresh voice. One of the first reviews of
I Zombie I said: “Now…as for “I Zombie I,” it’s completely ridiculous, BUT (and that is a really big but so pay attention) in a completely wonderful way. Incorporating the sarcastic humor of say… “Sean of the Dead” and the desperation of “28 Days Later” Wallen managed to blaze a path that felt both original, and undeniably refreshing.”
CT: Why did you choose zombies? Have you been a zombie fan all along, or was it a test to see if you could write a good monster story and the zombie seemed like the best choice?
JW: I was on a mountain bike ride one day and the question popped into my head “What would it feel like to turn into a zombie?” I knew, as soon as the question came into mental focus, that I had to answer it. But, yeah, I've always been a zombie fan. Hell, I'm just a horror fan in general...but the zombie has always had a special place in my heart and soul.
CT: In order to limit the jealousy of the inanimate, we'll keep this answer secret from the other books - which one is your personal favorite and what makes it stand out from the others?
JW: My favorite book I have written so far is probably the second book in the “I Zombie” trilogy – My Zombie My. The reason? I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to keep the story unique as I had with the first. But fortunately I managed to bring yet more freshness to the zombie genre and...to be honest...I just had a lot of fun writing it. Coming in second to that would be my next book (due out early July) Shero. Shero is a super hero satire that stars a transgendered super hero and a sassy narrator. It was the first book I wrote that I spent as much time laughing as I did writing.
CT: On a personal note, if you haven't seen it, might I recommend the movie "Dee Schnider's Strangeland"? Yes, that is the Dee Schnider of 'Twisted Sister' fame, and the movie is much like your fringe killer series. Not trying to insult you or your work with the recommendation by the way...I tend to like movies that are a lot like my books myself and thought that you might enjoy the same.
JW: Believe it or not, I have seen Strangland and I really enjoyed it. I love all sorts of horror and twisted movies. Sometimes the stranger the better. I could probably watch horror every time I sat down in front of the TV or in a cinema. I have been like that since I was a child. And it's always nice when you see even the smallest of elements of one of your books show up on the screen. And, if your drawing ideas from some of the best – no blood, no foul right?
CT: You make a pretty good point there. Thank you for the interview, Jack, and if you readers want to get a good dose of both blood and foul, here are the links for you to drink your fill. Thanks for reading and if you have a comment for Jack or myself, please feel free to comment.
