Chat with Joe R. Lansdale

Chat w/ Joe R. Lansdale – 5/28/2009

Erik Williams: Joe R. Lansdale has been writing since time began. Well, maybe not that long but it seems that way when you look over his bibliography. Prolific, to say the least. And genre spanning. Ranging from horror to science fiction to western to humor, he’s covered it all in his true Mojo-storytelling way. Not to mention he’s edited a few anthologies. The awards back him up. Seven Stoker’s, a British Fantasy Award, and an Edgar Award just to name a few. Joe kicks ass. Literally. He founded Shen Chuan Martial Science, holds belts in a plethora of forms, and has been inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Twice. So be nice. His new novel, VANILLA RIDE continues the adventures of Hap and Leonard and hits the street June 30th. Welcome, Joe.

Joe R. Lansdale: I look forward to the new Hap and Leonard novel hitting the stands. I’m excited to be back with the boys

Erik Williams: So am I. First question: Although you write in several different genre’s, your voice is consistent across the spectrum and is often praised for its grit and honesty. Can you talk a little about what a writer’s voice means to writing? Was it something you had to work hard on or did it just come naturally?

Joe R. Lansdale: The voice was there, but I didn’t know it. I had to get through a lot of other people’s voices, I had to run a lot of writing through the typewriter (we used those in the cave man days) and for me, what matters the most in fiction, is style, or the voice of the writer. What’s important is finding an honest voice, and not just a style to have one.

Kurt Dinan: How did you know when you’d found that voice. Was there a “damn, there it is!” moment? How did you find the voice to begin with?

Joe R. Lansdale: There was a kind of damn there it is moment. I had sensed it in a few stories before I wrote the one where I felt it had arrived. It was in others, but NIGHT THEY MISSED THE HORROR SHOW was the one, and the book was THE MAGIC WAGON. They’re different, but there’s a certain something about the two that’s the same

Kurt Dinan: I remember reading “Horror Show” around 1992 and thinking, “Holy shit, what is this?” Unbelievable story… (Not to kiss ass and all).

Joe R. Lansdale: I found it through constantly writing, listening to the people around me, and trying to get in touch with what really drove me. A lot of the stories I wrote originally weren’t as close to me as I had hoped. That still happens occasionally, but I keep trying for the honest voice. Glad you like the story. I still do, I must admit

Erik Williams: Like I said, your voice is pretty honest and often brutal. Do you ever find yourself saying, “Maybe I’m pushing to far”? Especially with the theme of racism?

Joe R. Lansdale: I only feel sometimes that I can only take so much. I think my stories have a lot of humor, or most do, to balance that. Racism is something I hate, and my stories are so anti-racism, or so many of them are about that, that I don’t feel I push to far. I’ve seen some pretty horrible racist things. People my age have. I do find my work is shifting again, though, as it always does. Maybe it’s because things are better in that area now than they were just a few years ago

Petra Miller: When you find one of those stories that aren’t as close as you hoped, does it get shelved, never to be thought of again? Or do you keep it in the back of your mind for when it’s ‘cooked’ so to speak and you think of a different angle? Or the right voice, I should say.

Joe R. Lansdale: Glad to answer the question, but it’s a really detailed question. I often don’t know a story didn’t work until I turn it in, or it comes out. Some I didn’t think worked, Bubba Hotep, Tight Little Stitches, novels like the Drive in, turned out to be among my best and more original stories

Petra Miller: I’m asking because I generally find that same problem out before I’ve finished it.

Joe R. Lansdale: Good. I’m a professional writer so I give it plenty of exercise, and I like to experiment. Usually I know if it’s working or not, but sometimes I don’t. And sometimes it works well in some spots, less in others.

Sam W. Anderson: Endings – both in general and specific. I’m having a bitch of a time with my novel…do you know the ending when you start? And, do you write your specific endings first? Because I reviewed the Epilogue of Nightrunners and the end of Drive-In II tonight, and the prose was mind-blowingly good

Joe R. Lansdale: Sometimes I do, or I have a kind of compass approach, head in that direction. More and more I don’t know, or have only a general idea, and then it’ll change on me. In the old days I knew the ending and wrote to it, but not lately, not in the last ten to twelve years. I sure didn’t know the end of the The Drive In, and I sort of arrived at the end of The Nightrunners, surprised. Endings are sort of a surprise to me, but I do have a general direction, but seldom stick to it.

Kurt Dinan: So you decide it’s time to write a new Hap and Leonard novel. Now what? Do you just start pounding away and see what happens? Do you ruminate until your head hurts, take notes, picture it all in your head, then get it down? What process has worked for you and how did you learn how to write a novel?

Joe R. Lansdale: I just start typing and see what happens. I often have some sort of initiating scene in mind, or a scene I’m writing toward, and that initiates the rest of it. The main thing that has worked for me is consistency. I work regularly. I create inspiration, I don’t wait for it.

Petra Miller: Wow, I’m going to use that quote “I create inspiration, I don’t wait for it.” Thats great!

Joe R. Lansdale: Inspiration needs to be your bitch, you don’t want to be its. Inspiration is like a muscle. More you use it, the better and stronger it is.

Petra Miller: With what you’ve just said, I gather you don’t edit as you go along? You just get it out, and then tackle it afterwards. Is that correct?

Joe R. Lansdale: No. I edit as I go. I do three to five pages a day, though I don’t fight it if I do more, and I do one draft and a polish. If I find it needs more, I’ll do it, but this is generally what works for me.

Kurt Dinan: Is that how you’ve always done it, or as you’ve written more and more have you gotten to that point where you are now?

Joe R. Lansdale: If you always think you can fix it later, you’re more likely to write crap.
I started doing multiple drafts, but found I was so disappointed and dreaded the repairs that I was feeling less than inspired. I started taking my time, relaxing, and doing it “right” the first time, and then doing a revision. Of course, I revise many times during a work period and read the work of the day before I start, and do any changes I think or needed. I started doing that about twenty years ago and have kept it that way. And did something similar before that

Erik Williams: Do the Hap and Leonard stories come easier since you’re so familiar with the characters now?

Joe R. Lansdale: They do come easier than most. I write about three hours a day most of the time, and in the mornings, five days a week. I make exceptions, but not many. My work habits have changed slightly lately. I started the three hours a day thing about fifteen years ago and found it perfect.

Sam W Anderson: I’ve heard other writers talk about revisiting characters as a little restrictive – they have to adhere to the previous stories…what are the advantages and disadvantages of using characters again?

Joe R. Lansdale: Disadvantages are you’ve been there before and you have to have some things the same for them to be the characters people know. The advantage is…they are the same and you know them. You have to give them different experiences and concentrate on the changes in the characters and their lives and the lives of other characters around them. I wouldn’t want to be restricted to only Hap and Leonard, much as I love them. But their could be worse fates. I write for love, money comes and I’m glad, but for me success and love are connected.

Petra Miller: You are all over the genre map (which is awe-inspiring, to say the least) so this may be a tough question to answer, but I am sure you had many writers who inspired you during your earlier days. Who do you think was the greatest influence on you, especially in the days when you were developing your own voice and style?

Joe R. Lansdale: Edgar Rice Burroughs inspired me a lot. He was a great story teller. Twain, a great storyteller, thinkiner and stylist. Robert Bloch. Funny and dark and clever. Fred Brown. Same. Ray Bradbury. Beautiful stylist. Flannery O’Conner. Her people are my people. So many others. I love writers and writing. When I was developing my voice, I think Bloch, when I found it I think Twain and O’Conner.

Joe R. Lansdale: I never dismiss my young loves. Comic books were a major influence on my thinking as a writer, for instance. ERB was a great storyteller and he is my sentimental favorite writer. A book, TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD is very important to me.

Erik Williams: I think I read in an interview Robert McCammon did with you that you wish you could just say you write Lansdale books so you wouldn’t get pigeon-holed as a writer. When did that pressure to conform finally lighten up? Or has it?

Joe R. Lansdale: I always say that. I don’t think of myself as any one genre, other than the Lansdale genre. As a writer, you shouldn’t try to sell a mystery or horror novel or western or literary book, but you’re own book.

John Mantooth: Speaking of comics, how did you break into writing them? Also, could you talk a little about the difference in writing a comic script compared to fiction?

Joe R. Lansdale: I got a phone call from D.C. asking me to write for them. They knew of the work and some artists wanted to work with me. A comic script has a definite time line, and it doesn’t have the space to be deeply internal. Not that it can’t do that, as it can do some things film can’t, but it’s limited space.

John Mantooth: Wow, so D.C. sought you out? That’s impressive.

Joe R. Lansdale: Yep. They came to me, thank goodness. Same with film, and I just wrote some animation for Warner’s.

JohnMantooth: You’ve done Conan, I know. What else?

Sam W Anderson: Are you involved in the Jonah Hex movie at all? (Aside – my best friend in junior high has Hex #1 in pristine shape)

Joe R. Lansdale: I’ve done a lot of comics. Jonah Hex, Lone Ranger, Pigeons from Hell, Fantastic Four, lots of one shots. I wrote a ten minute hex animated film for the DVD of the Hex movie.

Erik Williams: Since this is a stop on the virtual tour for VANILLA RIDE, I figured I’d ask what your feelings are on self-marketing? Anything you love/hate as far as tours, signings, conventions?

Joe R. Lansdale: I hate worrying about all of it, but I think self marketing is and has always been necessary, but maybe now more than before. I’m always looking for new ways to market. I like conventions. I like meeting people and talking about books and films and comics, etc. Tours are fun as well, but I do get tired. Just got back from Italy for a month doing promotion, and I’m worn out.

Sam W Anderson: How has promotion changed since you’ve been doing it – is it easier or harder than before? Is promotion a part of writing or a distraction from it?

Joe R. Lansdale: Promotion is always a distraction, but it’s also necessary, and part of the job. Yeah, it’s all right. In fact, ahem, we have a clip, my daughter and I have to promote VANILLA RIDE.

Erik Williams: Yes, please fill us in on what we can expect in VANILLA RIDE.

Joe R. Lansdale: In this Texas-sized thriller, Hap Collins and Leonard Pine—best friends, freelance troublemakers, and tough guys with good intentions—find themselves in the crosshairs of the Dixie Mafia. Hap is an East Texas smart mouth with a weakness for southern women. Leonard is a gay, black veteran pining for a lost love. They’re not the makings of your typical dynamic duo, but never underestimate the power of a shared affinity for stirring up trouble and causing mayhem. When an old friend asks Leonard to rescue his daughter from an abusive, no-good drug dealer, he gladly agrees and, of course, invites Hap along for the fun. Even though the dealer may be lowly, he is on the bottom rung of the Dixie Mafia, and when Hap and Leonard come calling, the Mafia feels a little payback is in order. Cars crash, shotguns blast, and people die, but Hap and Leonard come out on top. Unfortunately for them, now they’re facing not only jail time but also the legendary—and lethal—Vanilla Ride, who is still out to claim the price on their heads. Full of twists and turns, gunfire and gaffes, this hilarious, rip-roaring novel will have readers turning the pages faster than a Texas tornado.

Erik Williams: This chat will launch you to the next level…or so I like to think.

Joe R. Lansdale: Damn, I hope so.

Sam W Anderson: I’m sure…if the next level is remedial

Joe R. Lansdale: That’s up for me.

Petra Miller: What was your experience like, going from writing to editing? I know you’ve edited many anthologies, and I wonder what the positives were and the negatives.

Joe R. Lansdale: I found myself an editor who appreciates, but I don’t like to rework stories. I have asked for rewriters from time to time, but mostly I buy what I like, pass on what I don’t. The negatives are it’s a lot of work for little money. But it’s fun.

Erik Williams: Speaking of anthos, Retro Pulp Tales is one of the best I’ve read in years.
Joe R. Lansdale: Thanks, there’s a new one coming I edited with my son, Keith, Son of Retro Pulp. It comes out in July.

Erik Williams: Sweet.

Joe R. Lansdale: I have an original story about the Reverend gunslinger in it from DEAD IN THE WEST.

Petra Miller: Did you offer to edit, or did they seek you out?

Joe R. Lansdale: I offer on some, and others I’m sought out. Mostly it’s my idea.

Kurt Dinan: After beginning with writing short stories, we’re all moving on to writing novels. Looking back to when you started novel writing, what do you wish you’d been told that would have helped, or what basics have you learned that have worked for you that might help guide us?

Joe R. Lansdale: I prefer short stories and think they taught me how to write novels. I think short stories are more fun, but novels give you more bang for your buck. Someone, Maughm, I think, said a novel is an easy way to write a short story. The think I would say is don’t be afraid to let a novel breathe, so don’t be afraid to digress a little. Run with the story, don’t run over it.

Sam W. Anderson: The writers who we’ve talked to before on this board that have read my work, always compare my stories to you…but I can’t sell them because they’re too weird. Did you have to build up to have crazy shit like the Drive-In novels, or is there another avenue I should be looking at?

Joe R. Lansdale: I wrote what struck me, and my stuff was weird pretty early on. I’ve had some tough times getting published here and there, but I seem to have had an easier slide than I should have had. I can’t explain it. Weird is not enough. It has to have something else going for it.

John Mantooth: Joe, I’ve only read your short stories. Which novel should I start with?

Joe R. Lansdale: I suggest THE BOTTOMS, coming back in print from VINTAGE soon, and SUNSET AND SAWDUST, and check out VANILLA RIDE to get a feel for the series. THE DRIVE IN books are if you want something really weird. They’re being re-released by Underland Press.

Kurt Dinan: The first Drive In is so much damn fun. I’ve given that to students to read and they’ve loved it.

Joe R. Lansdale: I’m glad it’s coming back into print. It’s reached a kind of cult status, thank goodness.

Petra Miller: I just want to say that your answers tonight have really done a lot for my inspiration.

Erik Williams: Really appreciate you taking the time to chat with us.

Joe R. Lansdale: I really, really enjoyed it. And wish you all luck, but luck really doesn’t help. Do the work. And with that remark, good night.