AUTHOR INTERVIEW: RICK R. REED

A Visit with Horror Master Rick R. Reed Part Two
Author Interview by A.J. Llewellyn

1. I just ran your name through Who Would Be Your Celebrity Cell Mate and Guess Who you got?



Yep, it’s Pee Wee Herman!!! In one paragraph, please tell me what you would do if Pee Wee begged you to let him suck your toes behind bars.

I love Pee Wee Herman. His show was some of the best TV in forever. I would happily let him suck anything he wanted and would even reciprocate. Anyone as creative and funny as he is would be fun to suck toes with.

2. Geez Rick, that one didn’t even phase you! Lemme just sit in the corner quietly like a good boy while I think up something naughty to ask you and in the meantime…please, do a little shameless self promotion. Give us an excerpt of Dead End Street. BTW, please tell me that house is not real. It is a total creep fest. Where did your cover artist find it?

You’d have to ask the cover artist (Trace Edward Zaber). But isn’t it a great house? It completely lived up to what I imagined. I’m sure it’s a real house somewhere.

Here’s an excerpt from Dead End Street, which is now available from Amazon and directly from the publisher:

Even if all the horrible things that had happened there had never occurred, the house would still look scary. There were solid things one could point to and say: "that's what makes this house look forbidding:" things like the dirty white paint, most of which had cracked and fallen away, revealing the gray and rotting wood beneath.

The windows were empty eye sockets, glimpsing the darkness within, the glass panes long ago succumbing to the wiles of vandals. Pine and Maple trees grew riotously around the house, closing in on it. The steps leading up to the front porch sagged and looked as if the slightest pressure would send them crumbling.

The house's placement, where the woods met the end of Acton Road, gave it a feeling of separateness. Almost as if the house were waiting, there at the entrance to the woods, to suck in the innocent, to make them disappear into its darkness.

Not many people went near the house on Acton Road. Most, in the Ohio River town of Summitville, Pennsylvania, had forgotten what had occurred in the house fifteen years ago. The murders had caused a sensation at the time, but the crimes faded into obscurity, much as the house, once neatly kept and inhabited, faded into rot and disrepair.
***
Not everyone in Summitville had forgotten the house. Over the years, groups of teenagers had tested their mettle by entering the house, searching for bloody handprints on the walls or the chalk outline of a body. There were always one or two who were brave enough—or foolhardy enough—to wander inside, to test the creaking floorboards. These brave souls would often run outside, screaming and laughing, and report back to those less brave, outside and waiting in the shadows, that they had heard a voice telling them to get out, or that they saw a shadow pass along a wall, or simply felt a presence there, watching.

Peter, Marlene, David, Roy and Erin had more of a mission than to merely cross the threshold of the house to see what was inside. The group of five, all eighth graders at East Junior High School, had known each other since they were just little kids, having grown up in the same neighborhood on the hillside not far from the infamous Tuttle house. They too had heard the stories of weird lights flickering on and off in a house that had long ago seen the exit of electricity, or the tales of people who had gone inside, only never to return.

3.That’s a scary little tale, honey! Which leads me to my next question…do you spook yourself writing the stuff you come up with?

Not really. I’m too much like the magician: I’m way too aware of what goes into the trick. But I can make myself laugh and especially cry with certain other parts of my writing.

4. Who is the best, creepy-good horror villain: Jame Gumb, Jigsaw or Chucky and why?

Jaime Gumb…from Silence of the Lambs. He’s scariest because he’s the most real.

5. How do you keep up that relentless pressure in your stories? I mean, it’s difficult to breathe reading them…is it the same when you’re writing it? How do you manage to crank up the heat that way? This leads me to ask, do you do a lot of revision or are you a one-shot guy?

As I said above, that kind of stuff is like a magician’s bag of tricks. If you think I’m gonna sit here and give away my secrets, think again, sweetheart. I do a lot of revising as I write, then again, when the work is finished. But I am not someone who writes the same book over and over again. I think a lot of the organization, plotting, and so on goes on inside my head…or comes from instinct, which I’ve learned very much to trust.

6. I am curious about your writing routine…do you plan things out or are you a panster?

I’m not sure what a panster is. Does it have something to do with Pan, of myth? Then yes, maybe. I plot things out in a very general way. My characters usually end up changing everything, which will make sense to other writers who are reading this. Those who don’t write will likely scratch their heads.

7. I have asked you before about your problem with happy endings. I know you swear you don’t have one but I need to disagree. I just finished reading Riding the El…so I know of whence I speak, my friend. My real question here is about Orientation. A book I loved and not to spoil things for those who haven’t read it, but might we be seeing a sequel some time soon in which Robert finds true love? I’m worried about him…I know he’s fictional…but you know…he’s nice.

Well, many of my stories do have happy endings; that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

AJ: [Laughs himself silly] No, no, go on. I’m listening.

I don’t know if I’ll ever write a sequel to Orientation. I never envisioned it as a series. But we never know where inspiration might lead us… I encourage you to think up your own happy ending for Robert (or to decide if he actually found it…with Jess, his young lesbian friend).

AJ: How can they? She found a potential love interest at the end…with someone else, although I must say I would have been thrilled if she and Robert got together at the end. I’m a hopeless romantic, Rick.
How can they have a happy ending? Well, I think love comes in all forms, shapes and sizes and maybe the most fulfilling love isn’t necessarily one rooted in sexuality.


8. It is for me…maybe I’m not very well adjusted, lol…You recently wrote a very controversial blog about women writing M/M fiction. I know a lot of people had comments but in my opinion you seemed to weight on the side of being against it. How do you feel about that blog now and did you hesitate before posting it?

I don’t think I came down against it at all. My thoughts were that if someone can write a good story, the human elements that link us all are all that’s needed to make it convincing, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. My blog about was just speaking to my curiosity about this trend of straight women writing about male-to-male relationships.

Questioning something doesn’t necessarily equate to being against it. I have written books from a woman’s point of view, a lesbian’s point of view, and beyond, and think I succeeded because I concentrated more on the human bonds that bring us all together, rather than what separates us.

No, I didn’t hesitate before posting it. If I can provoke some thought or emotion with my writing, then I’m doing my job.

9. You provocateur, you! I am not sure if you read my interview with Victor J. Banis, but he said some very interesting things on the subject. I was intrigued when he said that Brokeback Mountain moved him to tears and that a man could never have written it. How do you feel about that?

Victor is a man I consider a friend and I admire him very much. I don’t know that I agree that a man could NEVER have written Brokeback Mountain, although I can understand how someone might posit that a man would never have the sensitivity to write a story like that. But I think some men do have the awareness and sensitivity to write a comparable tale, just as I think some women would not.

10.Do you really think Proposition 8 will get the chop in California?

I hope not. It will be a sad day for a country that prides itself supposedly on freedom and equality if it does.

11.What was your favorite TV show growing up?

That’s easy and probably not too surprising: Dark Shadows. I was crazy about it. I lived between Pittsburgh, PA and Youngstown, OH and could get TV stations from both areas, which allowed me to watch it twice a day every day. I had a DS scrapbook and my bedroom was covered with posters of people like Barnabas, Quentin, and Angelique.

12. Since it's Halloween week, I have to ask, who is the sexiest to you: Elvira, Yvonne de Carlo or Jocelyn Wildenstein and why?

They’re all women. And I don’t even know who the last one is.

AJ: She’s the woman who’s had plastic surgery to make her look like a cat.

I suppose I would say Yvonne DeCarlo, if pressed (in the right place).

13.What is the funniest sex scene you ever wrote? Please give us a snippet.

Okay. Here goes:
Her fucking nails were bitten to the cuticle. She could barely swallow. Her eyes wouldn’t stay still. She was ready to scream. One more cold shower and her nipples would burst.

Christ, she needed it! And needed it bad!

All week long all Amelia could think of was sex. Commercials on TV reminded her of it. Her cat, Sprinkles, cleaning herself brought on thoughts of oral ecstasy. Her mother, Helen, grating cheese filled the kitchen with the aroma of sex. Amelia could not imagine why. A shaken bottle of Pepsi overflowing practically caused an orgasm with its suggestiveness of the male climax.

But Helen…damn her! wouldn’t give her a moment’s peace. Mother was having her bedroom painted (pewter gray with maroon trim) and was “bunking” with her daughter. The paint job had lasted longer than anticipated and Amelia needed her privacy.

Needed it desperately.

Now, as Helen left to do some grocery shopping, Amelia was practically shaking with her need. She went to the kitchen, got a bottle of Pepsi and poured its contents down the drain. She held the bottle high. “My darling,” she said, “I love you. Take me…now.”

Amelia hurried into the bedroom, dropping clothes as she went. Flinging herself dramatically on the bed, she lay back, legs spread, bent at the knees. She was already so wet she feared leaving a puddle on the chenille bedspread.

Hugging the Pepsi bottle and then kissing it, she whispered, “Make love to me.” She stuck her tongue in the opening at the top of the bottle and thrust it in and out. She lay the bottle tenderly beside her and took time to run her hands over her naked body, stopping to knead her breasts, twist her tortured nipples until she was sure they would be ripped from her body.

She arched her back with the pleasure of it all, moaning and crying out, “The pause that refreshes.” She flipped over on her stomach and with one hand, squished her pendulous breasts together, wishing they were filled with milk so she could pop them like two red-nosed pimples. With her other hand, she reached back and caressed her buttocks. She slapped her ass, pinched it and inserted her finger deep inside, wiggling it around, deeper and deeper until she felt a soft bowel movement, high up and waiting to emerge. The smell almost made her gag.

At last, she lifted the Pepsi bottle and traced an outline down her body with it. When she reached her sex, she paused for a moment, sexual tension humming in the air like an electric current, then plunged the Pepsi bottle deep inside her. She encountered no resistance, having been wet for days. In fact, the bottle went in all the way and slid immediately from Amelia’s grasp.

She tensed, hearing the door open. “Amelia?” Helen called. “For Christ’s sake, what are your clothes doing all over the living room?”

Amelia reached deep inside her love canal…and felt nothing. The bottle was gone. “And I didn’t even come!” Amelia moaned, frustrated.

Helen poked her head in the door, grinning. “Whaaaat?”

14.If you could be Britney Spears for one hour, what would you do?

Fuck Kevin Federline.

15.ROFL! What books are you working on now and what is coming out soon?

I am working on a new novel that gets back to my gay horror roots: it combines leather, a ghost, a horrific murder, and the redemptive power of love. In the next couple of months, I will have a couple short ebooks coming out from Amber Allure, the GLBT division of Amber Quill Press: VGL Male Seeks Same and Through the Closet Door.

On behalf of the Dark Diva Reviews, I’d like to thank RICK R. REED for coming by again and talking about Halloween which for me will never be the same again! Please check out Rick’s Purchase links:

Dead End Street
e-book: http://amberquill.com/DeadEndStreet.html
Amazon (print): http://www.amazon.com/Dead-End-Street-Rick-Reed/dp/1602729174/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224538461&sr=8-3

How I Became Sexually Irresistible
e-book: http://amberquill.com/AmberHeat/SexuallyIrresistible.html

Fugue:
e-book: http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Fugue.html

Orientation:
e-book: http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Orientation.html
Amazon (print): http://www.amazon.com/Orientation-Rick-R-Reed/dp/1602729379/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224538643&sr=1-4

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: VICTOR J. BANIS Pt. 2

Victor J. Banis is a Writer - Author Interview by A.J. Llewellyn

Photo: Victor J. Banis with author Lori L. Lake at their recent book signing

1. Where do you stand on this growing dissent from some gay authors about women writing gay erotic fiction? If it was okay for men to write as women, is it okay for women to write as men? And can you tell the difference personally in the well-written stories?

Oh, that's such a complex subject, I know there's a lot of argument back and forth. Personally, I don't give a hoot about the gender of the author, I'm interested in the quality of the writing. Brokeback Mountain gets mentioned a lot, the short story, and it was written by a woman, and, frankly, there are damn few men who could write anything that real and true to the gay experience. I knew those guys, in my own life.
When I read it, I was totally shattered, all I could do was sit with my mouth hanging open. Okay, we can't always write at that exalted level, I know I can't, but the truth is, there are lots of very good women writers in the field today and, yes, some lousy ones, and the same with the men. So, for me, again, it's how well you do the job. But, to answer the other part of the story, yes, I can generally tell the difference, as to whether something was written by a man or a woman, but not always. But, if the writing is right, I never even think of that.

2. You are such a prolific, multi-awarded author in so many genres with over 150 books published, is it fair to ask you which genre you prefer?

The best answer to that is I love whatever I'm working on at the moment. I truly loved writing those romantic suspense novels in the 70s, but, honestly, I never wanted to be limited to any one genre. Mostly, an idea for a story or a book comes to me, and the genre is set, and I just go ahead and write it. And I'm never altogether comfortable with the labels, either. My short story, If Love Were All (it's in MLR's Hard Working Men anthology) is an example.
To me, it's about two damaged people trying to make a connection, and that's kind of universal, isn't it? But, the two happen to be guys, so it is considered a gay story—meaning, there are lots of folks who won't read it, who might enjoy it and get something out of it, and I think that's unfortunate. And, sometimes something comes along that I haven't done before, and then I ask myself, why not, and I sit down and write it.
I'm still trying to stretch myself as a writer.
When the idea for Lola Dances (MLR again) I thought, well, gee, that's a great idea, but I'm not the one to write it. I mean, it's about a cross dresser, and except for one amusing story (you'll have to read my memoirs to find it) I've never been in a dress – although, really, I had great legs. But, the idea wouldn't go away, and finally I said, Oh, Victor, don’t' be a wuss, it's just a novel, and I wrote it, and I think it's very good, and lots of folks have said so as well. And, I ended up loving my little Lola, as I love all my characters, all of whom come to live with me for a while, and end up staying forever.
Now, here is something interesting, I'll leave it up to you to think what it means: in all those years and with all that writing, I have never been given a single award. I was nominated for a Silver Spur once, which I kind of thought might have had something to do with some fantasies I wrote about Roy Rogers, and just this last year, I was actually short-listed for a Goldie; otherwise, not even close.
The NYC pink Mafia has always preferred to pretend that I don't exist, I guess because of the colorful paperback background. But, readers still like me, I get fan mail all the time, from around the world, in fact – just recently New Zealand, where it seems I'm a big hit. And those are the people I write for, so as long as I make them happy, I'm happy.

3. Wait, you didn’t win any awards? Are you sure? I think I am in shock. But um…new Zealanders love you? Aussies do too! I’m Australian! And your work makes ME happy! So let me ask you. If you could pick ONE book that wins an award, which one would it be and why?

Holey Moley, one book? I loved Longhorns, and I loved Lola Dances, and wait till you read Angel Land…no, I can't do it. They're like my children. It's the characters in the books I love. I mean, did you read Longhorns, I was totally in love with Buck, and Les too, and Red – oh, hell's belles, all those cowboys. Same with little Terry in Lola, he was so vulnerable and sweet; and, Harvey and Aram, that's Angel Land. Oh, and Mar, in Kenny's Back, and… well, you see my problem.
I could go on forever. Plus, not to mention Jackie, and if I get him sore at me, think of what trouble I'd be in. No, I'm going to take a pass on this question.

4. I know you’ve said that gay stories are not the only ones you’ve written but that in the last few years, you’ve made a return to your roots. With some of your early titles being re-released, how will the gay novels of the current period differ from the earlier ones?

Not much, I think. I like to think I've gotten better at it, with all that practice. But, if you read my Longhorns, which I wrote in 2007, and then read Kenny's Back, which I wrote in the 60s and which I thought was one of the best things I did then, I think you'd find them pretty akin.
Well, I venture into different realms: Lola, as I said, was about a cross dresser, and Longhorns the macho gay-male fantasy cowboys, and the upcoming Deadly Nightshade is a cop/partners story, which I hadn't done before, and a departure for me because I'm really not a detective story kind of writer; which is to say, when those things are done well, it's a lot about the complicated plot structure, and that's not my strong suit; I'm more about character and style. Really, I'm a storyteller more than a novelist.

The main difference in what I do today is, I think, that most of it I do now on automatic pilot. When I sit down to write, the inner writer, the muse, my subconscious, whatever you want to call it, takes over, and my job is just keeping me out of the way. I do very little thinking about the mechanics. But that's the privilege you get for hanging around so long (I suspect some think, too long).

5. You’re fond of saying “Victor J. Banis is a writer.” So can you tell me something about your writing routine? Since your characters come up and tell you their stories, I am assuming they don’t keep office hours. Do they arrive at inopportune times, say like in the middle of a hot date?

Hot date? Gosh, I had to think about that. Yes, now I remember those. You take hold of this big hard thing, and you throw it…oh, wait, that's bowling. I get things confused.
Because in my early career, I treated writing as a job, I trained myself from the beginning to writing discipline. I write every morning, after coffee and the crossword puzzle. In the old days, it was all day. Now, I'm a little easier on myself, but it's still seven days a week, including Christmas and New Years. A day when I don't write is like a day when you forget to brush your teeth, you just don't feel right the whole day.

6. Do you read as much as you appear to? Which authors do you like the most?

Honey, I don't do anything as much as I used to. I read a lot, some of it for pleasure and some for work. I'm working with my friend Nowell Briscoe right now on a zany kind of would be crime novel and I am re-reading a lot of Carl Hiaasen's novels, dissecting them, really, to see how he makes it work, the machinery of it, if you will. But, that kind of reading is work rather than pleasure. I like some of our glbt writers today – I'm going to get in trouble mentioning some and forgetting others (my memory never was what it used to be), but Dorien Grey and Rick Reed and Lori Lake pop into my mind immediately, and Neil Plakcy, and Ruth Sims.
William Maltese is a friend who goes nearly all the way back with me, and he's terrific, and I read a manuscript recently by Alan Chin, whose first novel, Island Song, has just been published, and I'm really looking forward to reading that, he is so marvelously talented. And I know I've neglected to mention some deserving names.
There are so many very talented writers around these days, and it breaks my heart that they have such a rough row to hoe. So, I try to do what I can to encourage them, which isn't much, and I so very much wish it were more. I've said often, anyone could name a hundred or so writers who write better than I; but only a few who worked harder or longer to master their craft; a mere handful who are more supportive of other writers; and none, I am firmly convinced, more committed to gay and lesbian fiction.
And, you know, it's a funny thing, and I don't mean this to sound patronizing, but I have this sense that they are all in a way my protégés. It ain't a bad feeling. I'm well along in years, and it is gratifying to be able to look back and know that you made a difference, even a small one. Trust me, you don't want to get to this stage and look over your shoulder and see nothing behind you but a trail of wasted moments. Make some of them count, at least. You'll be in much better shape when you finally face that Heavenly tribunal (and, Lord knows, I'm going to have a hard enough time of it; I need all the help I can get. There's that incident with the dress, and the time at Camp Pendleton, and that business with the priest and the snail and…oh well, never mind, I may use that one in a book)

7. What ever happened to Aday and Ortega?

That question has come up before, and I'm embarrassed to confess I don't really know. I'll have to figure how to find out. I believe they did go to prison, but I doubt that they served the 25 years.
Wait, wait, wait, you didn't ask the one thing everybody always asks me, which is what advice I have to offer young writers.

8. I never ask that question precisely because everybody asks you that question. I’m trying to make you remember me. To add to your list of exciting new authors! So, I wasn’t going to ask you The Question, but anything that keeps me near you a moment longer, Victor J, it’s groovy with me. Go on, I’m keen to hear it. I bet it’s brief and involves bowling balls, right?

Okay, are you sitting down? Want to get a cup of coffee. Here it is, big fanfare: Have fun!
That's it. Have fun. I know it doesn't sound like much, but, hey, if it's just going to be work for you, you might as well be selling shoes at Macy's. For me, it's the most fun of anything I can think of, the ultimate high. I have said repeatedly, I am constantly drunk on the magic. If that ever wears off…but it hasn't yet. It's all still just as fresh and as wonderful to me as it was at the beginning. There is still no thrill as great as opening that package from a publisher and holding a real live copy of my book in my hands.
I hope every writer shares that kind of thrill. It makes all the rest, and there's a lot of "rest," worthwhile.
Thanks for having me. I'm still not sure about that bowling thing.

10. I liked the bowling thing, Victor J. I feel like I brought out the sexy beast in you….grrr. Which leads me to my final question: You play a lot of personal details very close to the chest such as where you live etc. even on your official site, but I did notice on your MySpace page that you are single. Oh, yes, AJ did the happy dance when he read that! So, the question is, Victor J. Banis, will you marry me?

Wait, shouldn't there be champagne flowing, and soft music? You're proposing to me on top of a bowling ball? This is Aussie romance? You're just lucky I'm a crotchety old bachelor, what if I got reckless and took you up on that? Next I suppose you'll want your towel back. I'm not going to launder it, I swear it.


On Behalf of the Dark Divas, I’d like to thank Victor J. Banis for stopping by today…no Victor J. About the towel? It’s embarrassing. Please...let’s keep it our little secret.

To learn more about Victor J. Banis, please check out this link:
http:www/vjbanis.com