Interview with Richard Kadrey On Writing - More2Read Interviews
 

Interview with Richard Kadrey On Writing


Photo by Tristan Crane

 

Richard Kadrey is the New York Times-bestselling author of fifteen novels, including the Sandman Slim supernatural noir series. Sandman Slim was included in Amazon’s “100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime.” Some of Kadrey’s other books include The Grand Dark, Hollywood Dead, The Everything Box, and Butcher Bird. In comics, he’s written for Heavy Metal, Lucifer, and Hellblazer. He’s also been immortalized as an action figure.

https://www.richardkadrey.com

 

The Interview with Richard Kadrey

 

 

Lou Pendergrast

Welcome, congratulations on your newest novel The Grand Dark.
It was part of my best books of 2019.
What was the seed and inspiration behind the Grand Dark?

 

Richard Kadrey

I’ve been interested in the Weimar period for a long time, but I didn’t know exactly how I would use it in fiction until my character Largo Moorden appeared one day. It took a while to get his character down, but he was what made the book viable.

 

Lou Pendergrast

Do you think you will be visiting that kind of world again in another tale?

 

Richard Kadrey

I hope so but, honestly, it all has to do with business. The Grand Dark has to sell well enough for my publisher to want another book in that world.

 

 

Lou Pendergrast

What was seed and inspiration behind the creation of James “Sandman Slim” Stark?

 

Richard Kadrey

Stark came out of two unrelated scribbles in my notebooks. One was “hitman from Hell.” The other was “character name: Sandman Slim.” I’d had both notes for years, but one day they came together in my head and I started trying to figure out who he was and what kind of world he’d live in.

 

 

LP

Whist we are mentioning James Stark, you have a new Sandman Slim novel out August 25th 2020, Ballistic Kiss (Sandman Slim Book 11). What can we expect with this tale? 

 

Richard Kadrey

Stark is changing a lot in these final books. This novel is more of a classic noir murder case than he’s dealt with for a while. Also, there are more complex emotional issues for him to struggle with than ever before. Some people will hate it.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

 

 

LP

You have set up a Patreon account.

Are the books not bringing enough cash in?

 

Richard Kadrey

Writers always need more sources of income. I can go months without a check. That’s why I’m also doing more game work and teaching. Keeping a steady source of income is vital if you’re not going to obsess about money all the time. Those kinds of worries can really impact your ability to write.

 

 

LP

You show a liking of book cover art on social media with a certain touch up of your own doing, any favorite Kadrey remakes to share?

 

Richard Kadrey

 

 

 

LP

When, where, and with what do you write?

 

Richard Kadrey

I usually write in the afternoons and evenings, mostly in my home office. I’ll write on an iMac or, sometimes, yellow legal pads or a notebook with a grid layout. I like grids more than lines. They help me keep thoughts and words in neat order.

 

 

LP

Music, if any, what gets you through writing and inspires through mind to pen, to writing?

 

 

Richard Kadrey

It depends on what I’m writing and when, however there are a few things that are standards. Krautrock bands such as Can and Tangerine Dream’s work through ’76. Also, Lustmord and the music he introduced me to: doom jazz. The best band in that genre is Bohren and Der Club of Gore. Another band I’ll listen to in the evening is Heroin and Your Veins. I have a few Spotify playlists under the user name saintgomi.

 

 

LP

What key advice on writing would you share?

 

 

Richard Kadrey

When you finish and send out one project, jump into something new. Don’t wait for feedback because it can take a while. Keep your mind active and alive. But you don’t have to write every day. Sometimes you need to stop and think about your work, but try to keep a regular work schedule.

 

 

LP

Which books are your recommended reads?

 

Richard Kadrey

An old favorite I always come back to is Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Some more recent books I’m reading right now are The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay and Under the Poppy by Kathe Koja. For work, I’m reading The Rural Gothic in American Popular Culture by Bernice M. Murphy.

 

LP

Thanks for this insightful chat and all the best with your works.

 

Richard Kadrey

Thanks!

 

 

Personal: www.RichardKadrey.com
Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/Richard_Kadrey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richard.kadrey
Instagram: http://instagram.com/rkadrey/
Online store: https://www.richardkadrey.com/store

 

Reviewed by Lou Pendergrast on 05 March 2020