Issue Four: Coming October 1
by Glenn Guimond
Victor Gischler, author of such crime novels as ‘Gun Monkeys’, ‘Pistol Poets’ and 'Shotgun Opera', has also earned a doctorate in English/Creative Writing and taught writing at the college level. His first novel, ‘Gun Monkeys’, was nominated for an Edgar Award despite being an initial small press printing. Dr. Gischler spoke to contributor Glenn Guimond about writing, webzines and the benefits of 145 years of college.JAKE Magazine: Your first column on Plots With Guns details how you came to be involved with the zine. Would you mind giving us a little background for our readers?
Victor Gischler: Some background: I attended the University of Southern Mississpippi where I earned my Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing. That's also where I met Anthony Neil Smith the brains behind PLOTS WITH GUNS. Since graduating, I took a job at Rogers State University to teach creative writing, but I left that position to write full time. Ilive with my wife and 2-year-old son in Skiatook, Oklahoma. I'd like to get back into university teaching if I could find the right gig.
JM: How did being published on 'Plots With Guns' help you? Was it more important to get your work out there, or to meet other writers who were in the same boat you were?
VG: I submitted my first story to PLOTS WITH GUNS simply because I knew the editor Anthony Neil Smith. He wanted to get a webzine going but didn't have any fiction, so I was happy to give him a story called "Headless Roll" which later became the first chapter of GUN MONKEYS my first novel. I wasn't really expecting anything from the publication, but I was later surprosed that being published on the web was a good, cheap, easy way to reach a number of readers.
JM: How do you think web publications are changing the way people write and read fiction? Or are they too small to make a noticeable impact?
VG: I think the vast majority of readers are still the ones who grab a familiar author in Barnes & Noble or the airport book store. But a smaller group of passionate readers who really want to sink their teeth into something newer (edgier?) are finding what they need with smaller presses, the web, etc. For example, lots of people like to read mystery and crime short fiction, but PLOTS WITH GUNS offered something they just could not get in Ellery Queen's or Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Those magazines are great, but they're also rated PG-13, and many readers want something tougher.
JM: What other venues did you try out when you were first getting started? Were you active in a local literary scene, or other web-based fiction sites?
VG: I submitted any place I could. There used to be a great on-line magazine called BLUE MURDER. I sold two stories to them and would have submitted more, but they folded. There were also poetry/fiction readings during grad school which I went to as often as possible.
JM: So-called 'genre fiction' is gaining more and more attention for having some of the best character development around. Do you agree with that, and if so why do you think that is?
VG: Yes and no. I think a lot of mystery fiction is just the same old thing. Focus on the mystery or the "puzzle" but not so much on the characters. But then there's the other stuff which is just wonderful. Also, in crime fiction, you have to give us the character stuff while still keeping the story moving. Readers should have a clear picture of who the characters are, what they want, their fears and loves, but without bogging down the story. It's a hell of a balancing act.
JM: In a previous issue we spoke with Michael J. Koryta, who talked about his work with a private investigations firm as a resource for his novels. What's your approach to research and fact-checking?
VG: My approach is not to worry about it very much. Honestly, if I wanted a lot of research and fact checking, I'd go back to grad school. That's not to say I don't value accuracy. I just haven't thus far written the sort of novels that need a lot of research.
JM: From what I understand you started out writing science fiction. Why the change to crime fiction?
VG: I started out writing science fiction. fantasy and horror ... nobody wanted it. I made a few sales, but it's not like my career took off. My first published crime story was reprinted in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 1999. I took the hint and continued with crime fiction. But I'm actually writing a pulpy science fiction novel on the side. So I haven't totally given up on other genres.
JM: It's been said, and I agree, that the opening line in ‘Gun Monkeys’ (“I was driving down the Florida Turnpike with Rollo Kramer's headless body in the trunk, and all the time I'm thinking "I shoulda put down plastic”.) may be the best opening line ever written by a first time novelist. Where did that come from? Were you sitting around, like Crumley, for years after writing it wondering what to do next?
VG: I went to college for 145 years and took about a million writing workshops. They all agreed you had to have a good opening. Also, like I tell my writing pals, I have a garage band mentality when it comes to writing: “If you can't be good, be loud.” So I figured I'd write something loud. Once the first line spilled out, the rest of the story followed pretty quickly. Seems like I wrote GUN MONKEYS in some kind of fever, never stopping to worry if it were good or not. I just kept thinking "BE LOUD."
JM: Were you surprised when Gun Monkeys was nominated for an Edgar?
VG: Hell yes. First time novelist on a small press. When Tom Fassbender from UglyTown called, I thought he was drunk or pulling a practical joke on me. It was an honor.
JM: Has there been any interest by Hollywood on turning any of your novels into movies?
VG: Everyone says GUN MONKEYS is ready to be a movie and that someone will option it sooner or later. So far it hasn't happened. But if I had a buck for everyone who says GUN MONKEYS would be a good movie, I could buy a Mercedes. PISTOL POETS, my 2nd novel, was optioned by a producer in Hollywood, but the option has since run out, so it's back to the drawing board on that one too. My editor at Bantam Dell says the novel I just turned in SHOTGUN OPERA would be a great film. Maybe things will fall into place at some point, but so far it's been mostly talk.
JM: Cheese steak and a beer or tofu and a mineral water? Why?
VG: Well, I don't like cheese, but steak and a beer sounds good. I could eat the tofu and drink the mineral water, but I'd still be hungry so I might as well go for the steak.
JM: How would you explain your novels and writing style to the uninitiated?
VG: When somebody asks what my novels are like, I usually say 300 pages of vulgar language and violence. They either walk away or buy the book. I consider myself a storyteller more than a wordsmith. I think more about scenes than sentences.
JM: A lot of writers say that they see a little bit of themselves in the characters that they write about. As a matter of fact George Pelecanos says that his character Nick Stefanos is in fact him. Do you see yourself in any of the characters you've written about?
VG: Not in full, but sometimes I'll take bits and pieces of me and put them into the characters. But I can't point to a single character in a novel and say, "That's me." The character would just be too damn boring if I did that.
JM: The only thing that I hate about reading your novels is knowing that once I'm finished I'm going to have to wait another year for your next novel. How about picking up the pace?
VG: Actually, I'd love to write 2 novels a year instead of 1. But the process of getting edits back and getting a synopsis approved, etc. seems to drag. Also, my wife is in school full time and we have a 2 year old son, so it sometimes seems impossible to write that book a year. But if I could get organized, I'd pick up the pace a bit.
JM: Since it doesn't look like that's going to happen who would you suggest I read to fill the time between your novels?
VG: Scott Phillips, Ken Harvill, James Crumley.
JM: Any music to go along with that?
VG: Warren Zevon, Abba, Jethro Tull.
JM: Almost everyone who writes hopes to one day make it a full time career. Are you to that point? What else do you do?
VG: I do write full time, but I'm looking to get back into university teaching if I can find the right situation. First, I just enjoy the campus setting. I like having colleagues and being part of a faculty. But also, one never knows when the gravy train will crash. Publishing can be a tough business.
JM: Are lemurs really that scary?
VG: No, not really.
JM: How do we get you to come here to Indianapolis for a book-signing and reading?
VG: Free stuff. And dancing girls. Some sort of media frenzy.
JM: What's next for Dr. Victor Gischler?
VG: Well, I'm in the middle of edits for SHOTGUN OPERA. Things are up in the air after that. As I mentioned, I'm working on a sci-fi novel, but that's sort of a sideline with no firm date to finish. Looks like I'm gonna play it by ear.