Ask the Author: Richard Thomas
Answered Questions (12)
Richard Thomas
Sorry, just seeing this now. Probably adults, so I'd say 18+. There are a few stories of mine that are okay for kids, my own are 15 and have read quite a few, but the novels, probably not, no. LOL. But thanks for asking. Drop me a note to richardgthomasiii@gmail.com if you'd like a list of stories that are more Rated-PG.
Richard Thomas
Maybe my path to becoming a writer. I started later in life, at the age of 40. I woke up one day unhappy with my advertising career and decided to take a class, with author Craig Clevenger, after seeing the movie Fight Club (the book written by Chuck Palahiuk). In that class I wrote a story, "Stillness," that Craig encourage me to send out, which ended up in Shivers VI (Cemetery Dance) alongside Stephen King and Peter Straub, amongst others. Later, I would edit an anthology with Chuck, Burnt Tongues, that would be nominated for a Bram Stoker award.
Richard Thomas
Great question. Sometimes it crosses over, and has elements of some or all three genres (or more). I think certain genres have classic expectations—with horror you expect to be scared, by monsters typically, or some force; with crime there is obviously a crime, with mystery a mystery to be solved; with suspense/thrillers there should be tension and page-turning action. I think part of the reason I'm so excited for the present state (and future) of dark fiction is that the BEST writing seems to incorporate elements from MANY genres. Call it neo-noir or hybrid or genre-bending or slipstream, there is a lot of dark, weird, surreal contemporary fiction (as well as television and film) going on right now. While classic publications such as Ellery Queen may still have a certain voice, many other places (Cemetery Dance, Shock Totem, Nightmare, Tor.com, etc.) take on a wide range of fiction. It's what I'm trying to do with my upcoming magazine, Gamut, Kickstarted in February of this year (2016).
Richard Thomas
Transubstantiate is out of print, yes. The press closed, so it's hard to find. There are print copies bouncing around on Ebay and Amazon. I'm trying to get it back in print and digitial. Thanks for asking!
Richard Thomas
thanks for the great questions. 1. Definitely songs by The Smiths and The Cure, Radiohead. I just did something at Largehearted Boy that might be my soundtrack: http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/a... 2. Well, aside from places like The Paris Review and The New Yorker, I've always wanted to get into Playboy and Esquire. Also, F&SF and Clarkesworld. For a long time Cemetery Dance was the one I really wanted, but just got a story, "Chasing Ghosts" in there, out this October. Smaller places like Shock Totem and Black Static, Black Clock, really, there are so many.
Richard Thomas
My agent is shopping it around. I should drop her a note, thanks for reminding me. I'd love to see it find a new home as a YA title, but I'd also like to see TRANSUBSTANTIATE back in print, too.
Richard Thomas
Write something else. Think on it more. Go do something physical—shoot hoops, ride a bike, have sex, go for a run, etc. See a film or watch a great tv show. Break out of your head for a bit. When it's time, the story will flow out of you.
Richard Thomas
Getting your audience to feel something powerful. Telling a story that you hope will be around forever.
Richard Thomas
Read. ALL THE TIME. Read every major author in the genre you write, read NYT Best Sellers, read MFA program lists, read other genres you're thinking of writing, read the authors you love, everything they've ever written. Over time you'll absorb it, see what genius is, it will seep into your work. You'll learn from horror, crime, romance, F/SF, literary, etc. They all have something to teach you.
Richard Thomas
The Random House Alibi deal was for two books. DISINTEGRATION is done, just need minor edits, but I had to sell them the second book. I did. It's called THE BREAKER and is about an intimidating man and a neighbor girl, and how you break the cycle of abuse, how a monster is made. Bits of THE GREEN MILE, OF MICE AND MEN and LEON THE PROFESSIONAL creep in.
Richard Thomas
Usually it's an idea, or it can be a prompt that I find exciting, or a deadline. Depends. They just want to spill out, and when they're ready, they do.
Richard Thomas
I took a class with Jack Ketchum and he talked about writing down your greatest fears. That became DISINTEGRATION (Random House Alibi, 2015) a story of a man that sees his family die in a car accident and then falls apart, disintegrates. He ends up becoming a hired killer, kind of DEXTER meets FALLING DOWN. Dark story—at the end, when I finished writing, I cried, thought I might throw up. Was tough being that guy for two years.
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