Joe: I never get sick of talking about something I enjoy so much.
Blake: All time favorite book....don't think, just say it.
Joe:The Judas Goat by Robert B. Parker. Awesome ending.
Blake: What's the best writing experience you've ever had?
Joe: Writing Serial with you remains a high point. That was too much fun, and it's probably why we've continued to collaborate on so many other projects: Draculas (with F. Paul Wilson and Jeff Strand), Serial Uncut, Killers Uncut, Stirred...
Blake: Do you ever think of turning off "A Newbie's Guide to Publishing" so you can write more?
Joe: I've pretty much stopped doing all self-promotion. I once was maniacal about visiting bookstores and libraries, and going to conventions. Now I'm a homebody. Blogging takes up very little time compared to travelling to 40 states and signing books in 1200 stores.
Blake: Do you regret taking Endurance and Trapped back from your former publisher?
Joe: Not at all. They wanted me to cut stuff I didn't want to cut, and integrity won out. Luckily, I've made more money, and will ultimately reach a wider audience, than I would have with Grand Central. It blows my mind, by the way, that a writer can achieve this outside of the traditional publishing world.
Blake: At heart, are you a horror writer, a thriller writer, a sci-fi guy, a crime novelist, or what?
Joe: At heart, I'm a storyteller. My goal is to entertain, and I'm lucky that I have enough diverse tastes that I can hop around in different genres.
Blake: So you’d consider writing romance, erotica, or straight historical? Would you ever write something that didn’t contain suspense?
Joe: I'd try erotica, but I'd need another pen name and I don't know if I'm allowed to have any more. Romance might be fun, if they were zombies or serial killers.
Blake: Is there a book in the back of your mind you've been dying to write but haven't for some reason?
Joe: I have six books in my head right now that I haven't slated time for. Yet. I'll get to them, eventually.
Blake: In all seriousness, you've achieved a helluva lot. Are you satisfied? What's the dream writing scenario for you?
Joe: The secret to success is to never be satisfied. But right now I'm living the dream writing scenario, and I'm pretty happy about it. Luckily, there's still a lot I want to accomplish.
Blake: You've always pushed as hard at marketing yourself, decoding new platforms, etc., as you have at writing, but in a perfect world, wouldn't you love to just write and let corporate machines bring your work to the masses?
Joe: Of course. In a perfect world, corporate machines would run smoothly and make good decisions.
Blake: When I visited you in Chicago last month, we watched The Man From Earth. I think it's the best film of the last five years. Am I wrong?
Joe: You are wrong. The best film of the last five years is Black Dynamite.
Blake: Strange. I feel like we watched that movie, too, and yet I have so little memory of it.
Joe: We'd been drinking. Watch it again clearheaded.
Blake: You have the best innate sense of story and character arc of anyone I know (I'm not blowing smoke, and I'm not the only person who thinks this). You've helped me out of the woods on numerous projects. But having written several books with you, I happen to know you don't outline. So what's your process for working out stories, character arcs, etc.? Is it subconscious? Do stories come fully formed or what? It's uncanny.
Joe: Thanks. You know how there are those weirdo savants who can multiply by fractions or recall what day of the week May 10, 1934 was?
Blake: It was a Tuesday, but go ahead…
Joe: It's kinda the same thing. I see story arcs in my head automatically, because I know what they're supposed to do. It's a lot like filling in the blanks, but in a way that allows for some variation. So the stories don't come fully formed, but they do make themselves obvious and pretty much write themselves. I'll often talk to writers who are stuck on a scene, and I'll explain they aren't actually stuck, all the elements are in place, and all they need to do is tie them together by doing X.
Blake: So are you ever surprised by a story you’re writing, if you already know what’s supposed to happen?
Joe: I always know. It's still fun, like watching a movie unfold in my head.
Blake: Best piece of writing advice you got (and don't say "read a lot" - that's true but lame).
Joe: Learn what works, and why. That applies to life as well. What do you like most about writing?
Blake: I love when you have an idea of how the story plays out, but then characters surprise you and it goes in a completely new direction which was really where you should’ve been going all along. I guess what I’m saying is…I love the thrill of telling yourself a story that’s working and surprising you.
Joe: What do you dislike most about writing?
Blake: The difficult days when it’s like pulling teeth to get words on the page, and your sentences aren’t flowing like you want and your characters don’t want to talk to you (or anybody).
Joe: Do Blake Crouch stories have a unifying, underlying theme?
Blake: I think so, and it’s the idea of pushing regular people to their breaking point and beyond and watching how they respond. I’ve realized in the past year that I’m just not interested in writing about characters who aren’t at the end of their rope. And the rope is on fire.
Joe: You got hosed by your publisher, and their many mistakes have hampered your career. Besides bad covers, poor distribution, lack of support, and the failure to release your last two books in paperback, there was also a long gap between your second and third books. What happened?
Blake: Yeah, and sadly my experience is not unique. The gap between my 2nd and 3rd books was partly my fault. I was originally going to write Snowbound after Locked Doors. I started it but stopped when Abandon came calling. I submitted Abandon instead, and man were they pissed. So I wrote Snowbound, and they were still pissed. I changed editors, but stayed at the same publishing company, and my new editor loved both Abandon and Snowbound, but decided to publish Abandon first. All the interim bullshit took about two years and delayed the publication of my third novel.
Joe: Where do you feel the publishing industry is headed?
Blake: I don’t know. Adaptation is my hope. There are a lot of very smart people in publishing who I’m sure are making efforts to stay afloat. The problem is, when a royalty rate like Amazon’s comes along (70%) and a writer can make the same royalty on a $2.99 ebook as a $26 hardcover, it becomes a little less enticing to sign your rights away forever to a publisher who isn’t offering a large sum of money.
Joe: What book has disturbed you the most? What movie?
Blake: Book: Red Dragon. Movie: It’s not a movie, but the last 60 seconds of Episode 8 of Twin Peaks. I saw it when I saw 12, and it left me physically quaking. I’ve never recovered.
Joe: Your books have some pretty intense scenes in them, and you don't shy away from putting violence on the page. Have you ever censored yourself?