Inasmuch as this blog deals primarily with books and movies
in the Western and Mystery genres, the name Robert J. Randisi should be quite
familiar to most people reading this. Bob is the author of over 600 books,
countless short stories, and more than 30 anthologies, mostly in these same
genres.
In addition to this amazingly prolific writing output, Bob
also founded the Private Eye Writers of America, co-founded (with Ed Gorman) Mystery
Scene Magazine, and more recently was one of the founders of the Western
Fictioneers.
Bob's current novel (which means right now – because if
you wait very long he'll have something new out) is a crime thriller
introducing hit man Sangster, titled UPON MY SOUL. (My 5-star review is up on
Amazon now.) We chose this occasion to do a Q&A interview that I think you
will find interesting. It is as follows:
WD: Many moons ago
--- Summer/1985 to be exact --- we did a phone interview from which I wrote an
article titled "Randisi, Private Eye Writer of America" that appeared
in the debut issue of my small press magazine, Hardboiled. Needless to
say, much water has passed under the bridge since then. Heck, at that time you
were practically a fledgling who only had about eighty novels and a couple
dozen short stories published. You were in your early thirties and, in addition
to your writing, the PWA (the Private Eye Writers of America), which you
founded and were working your butt off to establish as a widely recognized
organization, was barely four years old. Thinking back on those times now, what
are your recollections? Fondness? Chaos? Exhaustion, from all the effort you
were pouring into such a workload?
RJR: What I remember is being extremely gung ho
about what I was doing—having, of course, no idea what I was getting myself
into. I do recall it fondly, both the writing I was doing, and the organizing.
I probably should have concentrated on one or other, but I’d be hard pressed to
go back now and give one up. Certainly, I’d rather write, but given what PWA
and the Shamus have become, I couldn’t give them up.
WD: Fast forward to
present day. Your published output is now at 600-plus books, countless short
stories, and editor of over 30 anthologies --- including the latest, LIVIN' ON
JACKS AND QUEENS, a collection of stories about gambling in the Old West. Back
in the '80s you told me your writing creativity seemed to suffer in the daytime
and that you preferred to write from about 8 PM to 4 or 5 in the morning. Does
that still hold true? Please tell us some other details about your approach to
writing --- schedule, research, revisions, etc.
RJR: I still do most of my work late at night. I
don’t have a set schedule except to say that I write every day, both during the
day and at night. Usually, I’m working
on two books at once, a Western and a
Mystery. I work on one during the day, then eat dinner, take a nap, and start
on the other one. The break allows me to distance myself. That pretty much
means that I’m writing most of the time between 2 p.m. and 5 a.m. I try to do
at least 20 pages a day on each project, but if I’m approaching a deadline I
put myself on an hourly limit of 5-7 pages. Back in those “old days” we talked
about I was doing 10 pages an hour. I do research on the spot, while I’m
writing, using both a research library I’ve amassed over the years, as well as
some websites. On days when we have
errands to run—bank, post office, grocery store, etc.—I get less done during
the day.
WD: Something I
still can’t quite wrap my head around is your relocation from Brooklyn to small
town, Missouri. Can you tell us some details on how that came about and what
the transition was like for you? Hard? Easy? Are you fully acclimated now? Any
likelihood of you ever returning to live again in a big city --- Brooklyn, New
York, St. Louis?
RJR: The simple explanation is that I moved from
Brooklyn to St. Louis to be with a woman. We are still together. She’s also a
writer. About 8 years ago we moved from St. Louis to a small town (440 people)
on the Mississippi. We live on a hill with a panoramic view of the river. We
plan to move soon to Las Vegas, but I don’t see going back to St. Louis, or New
York, anytime soon. That would be going back, and we prefer to look ahead.
The transition from NY to St. Louis was
not hard. Although smaller, St. Louis is still a major city, and offered most
of what NY offered on a smaller scale.
The transition from St. Louis to Clarksville, Mo was more of an
adjustment. Living in a town of 440 people, with the closest supermarket 11
miles away, and the closest mall 50 miles, takes getting used to. We love the house we live in, and the view,
but still wish we had better access to some things.
WD: Although you've
established yourself very solidly in the Western genre --- especially with your
long-running GUNSMITH series, as by J.R. Roberts, as well as numerous other
titles under other bylines and also your own name --- is it safe to say that
your first love remains the private eye genre? Your series PI characters, Miles
Jacoby, Henry Po, and Nick Delvecchio have recently seen resurgence via eBooks,
with the last Delvecchio (THE END OF BROOKLYN) published in 2011. And your
hugely popular "Rat Pack" series ( the newest – THE WAY YOU DIE
TONIGHT – due out in February), despite the star appearances in each by Sinatra
and his crew, at their core are really crime mysteries featuring the character
of casino "fixer" Eddie Gianelli functioning as a PI. And then
there's the recently published HONKY TONK BIG HOSS BOOGIE, featuring
"session man" Auggie Velez, who is available to play guitar for any
group in need of a fill-in and who also doubles as a PI … Please offer some
personal reflection on each of these characters and what the future might hold
for each of them (recognizing that Eddie and Auggie are sure to be seen again).
RJR: Yes, the plans
are for Eddie and Auggie to keep appearing. I’m pleased that Jacoby, Delvecchio
and—to a much lesser extent—Po have reappeared, and was very happy to have the
third and final Delvecchio book published to a starred review from Booklist.
Yes, the P.I. genre is still my first
love. I do consider the Rat Pack books
to be P.I. books, but I really appreciate the reviews I’ve received that say
the books are a love letter to the Rat Pack, because that’s what they are. I
love those guys and that time, and often find myself watching Ocean’s 11 again.
It’s a much better movie than it’s been given credit for.
If I stuck my toe back into the “real”
P.I. genre with THE END OF BROOKLYN, then I plunged
back into it with BIG HOSS BOOGIE. I
was a musician in my youth, gave it up to write. So I’m combining my love of
music with my love of the P.I. Genre with the Auggie Velez “Session Man” books.
BTW, Auggie’s full name is Augusto Velez Colon, which was my grandfather’s
name. I have two more Auggie books planned, and so far a 10th Rat
Pack planned. I’d like to keep going beyond that with both characters.
WD: Now we come to
UPON MY SOUL, your current novel from Down & Out Publishing, featuring
retired hit man Sangster. First of all, the name: It immediately made me think
of a screenwriter (mostly for Hammer Films back in the 60s) and sometimes
novelist named Jimmy Sangster. Was he, by any chance, the inspiration for the
protagonist's name?
RJR: He was. I’ve read about half a dozen
Sangster novels, and when it came time to name my hit man I wanted a single
name and, for some reason, “Sangster” came to mind.
WD: UPON MY SOUL
sets up a wonderful premise whereby said protagonist, Sangster, a professional
hit man, wakes up one day to realize he has a soul and a conscience. Concerning
his profession, this presents him with quite a dilemma. … One of the lamest
questions writers face is: Where do you get your ideas from? Nevertheless, I've
got to resort to it in this case --- How did you hit upon this particular
premise?
RJR: When I edited a collection of hit man
stories called GREATES HITS several years ago, I wanted to come up with
something different, something I hadn’t done before, and maybe something nobody
had done. Of course, there have been
other characters who have been seeking some kind of redemption, but Sangster is
not even sure that’s what he wants. I wanted to present him with a dilemma. He
can’t change the things he did, but he can stop doing them as he moves
forward—if, indeed, he can ever move forward. As the book starts I think he’s
stuck, trying not to look back, but not really moving forward. He feels he has a soul, but he doesn’t know
what to do with it, or about it. Is it even a religious thing? The three books
are meant to show the process of getting himself to the point where he can move
forward with his life.
WD: UPON MY SOUL is
announced as a trilogy. What made you plan it that way? I assume you have a
pretty specific sequence of events already planned out for the three books.
What if the whole thing is wildly popular? Will you close the final book in
such a way as to leave open the possibly for more if that turns out to be the
case?
RJR: You and I are series people, Wayne. We think
that way. We know the story of how Dan Marlowe killed his “Earl Drake”
character in his first novel, and the publisher got him to change the ending so
they could continue the character. I don’t want to say I’m going to leave it
open, because that takes away from the suspense about what might happen to
Sangster.
WD: Not too far
back, I recall reading that one of your "Rat Pack" books was under
serious consideration to be made into a movie. I believe you even wrote the
screenplay, is that correct? What was the script-writing experience like as
opposed to the many books you've penned? And --- knowing that for every
book-to-film proposal that actually gets made --- where do things stand for a
"Rat Pack" movie? Is it still under consideration?
RJR: I had an option
for the first book, EVERYBODY KILLS SOMEBODY SOME TIME, and was hired to write the screenplay. I
wrote it in three weeks. It was a pleasure. My books are dialogue driven, and
screenplays are mostly dialogue. It was a match made in heaven. The man who
optioned the book and hired me to write the screenplays—Sandy Hackett, son of
Buddy Hackett—loved it. However, just as all of us have been hit by the
economy, the money withy which he was going to fund the movie disappeared. He let the option lapse, but he still owns
the screenplay. He still wants to
produce it and star as Eddie. If he comes up with the backing, he’ll have to
come back to me and option it again.
I had a second call from Hollywood, a
young actor who started his own production company was interested in making the
Rat Pack books into films or t.v. I
signed a “shopping agreement” with him.
No money changed hands, but he had the right to shop it in Hollywood and, if
and when he found somebody interested, they would make a deal with him. My deal
with him was that he would be attached as a producer. This is when I learned how things have changed in Hollywood. He
said there was some interest from some studios, but that they first wanted a
writer/showrunner attached to the project before they’d commit. He was not able to come up with anyone
during the time limit of our agreement.
So, we wait . . .
WD: Finally, your
thoughts on the whole eBook "revolution"? I believe you've stated
that you like the opportunities eBooks give writers, but for your own reading
you still a traditional book, true? It's
hard to believe with your prolific output, but are you still the
voracious reader you used to be?
RJR: Yes, I read as much as I ever did, and I
want to have a book in my hands. Yes, ebook publishing has created
opportunities for writers—maybe too many for too many writers—but I still do
not own a Kindle or Nook or any kind of ereader. I WON’T read electronic books.
Sorry. Most of my backlist is out as
ebooks, and I haven’t seen them.
WD: I really appreciate your time and attention to these questions,
Bob. Let's plan on doing it again in another thirty or so years. In the
meantime, is there anything you'd care to comment on that I may have missed
asking about? If so, feel free to include it here.
RJR: I think this has been
one of the better interviews I’ve done, Wayne, probably because we go back such
a long way. I hope we’re both still here and active in another 30 years. I*know
I certainly have no intention of EVER retiring. Thanks a lot.
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