Interview with Victor Gischler (March 2005)
Author of Suicide Squeeze (2005)
March 30, 2005
Victor Gischler is the author of three hardboiled mysteries, including Suicide Squeeze, just out from Delacorte. His first book, Gun Monkeys, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
Interview by David J. Montgomery
Q. Your latest book is called Suicide Squeeze, but nobody kills themselves in it, and there’s hardly any squeezing. What gives? I kept expecting Mr. Whipple to commit seppuku.
A: Wait. I’m writing this down. Whipple … seppuku … finally the premise for my breakout novel. Do you think people even remember, Mr. Whipple? I was feeling old, but I did a radio interview today, and the guy asked me how old I was in the summer of love. My reply: zero. So I’m feeling a bit younger today.
Q. Mystery-solving cat or rabid lemur – which is worse?
A: Is there a way we could get those two in a room together? At least it’s obvious the lemur needs to be put down. (Seriously, I don’t care either way about cozy cats so save the nasty e-mails.)
Q. Gun Monkeys was such a great book; one of the best mystery debuts of the past decade. Do you feel a lot of pressure to top yourself with subsequent books?
A: Yes and no (and thanks for the compliment). I found out after The Pistol Poets came out that some folks (not all, but a few) were disappointed I hadn’t rehashed Gun Monkeys. It made me think about my “responsibility” as an author. Am I supposed to give the folks what they want or do something new or what? Finally, I just figure I need to follow my gut and damn the torpedoes. I might get back to Charlie Swift someday, and I actually do have a loose synopsis for a novel called Gun Monkeys Reprise. But I have a hundred other ideas too, so only God knows what I’m gonna write next.
Q. Have you ever been asked by a fan to sign anything strange? (And if you don’t mind, I’m saving a spot on my left cheek just for you!)
A: Nope. Never. Although I’m fairly willing if anyone out there has any bright ideas. When I used to work at a campus radio station, I saw Mojo Nixon sign a bra. I guess rock stars get that kind of thing more than authors.
Q. Suicide Squeeze has a couple of scenes set in one of the coolest locations I’ve ever read about: a mobster’s warehouse filled to the rafters with all the merchandise that ever fell off the back of a truck, everything ranging from guns to tuxedos to God knows what else. I like to call it “The Costco of Swag.” Where can I find that place? I need a new DVD player.
A: It’s actually this great place called Target. Maybe you have one in your town. Here’s how it works. Fill up a sack and walk out the front door looking all casual. An alarm will sound. That’s the signal for you to run like hell. It’s hard to get way with things like lawn mowers and BBQ grills. It’d start with a pack of M&Ms for practice. Free stuff and good exercise.
Q. OOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!! What do you think of that?
A: I think it’s great. I was telling my wife “Oooga Booga Booga” just the other day. She didn’t get it. She said, “What about wuppa wuppa patoing?” Women.
Q. Have you ever eaten anything larger than your head?
A: There is nothing larger than my head.
Q. What’s the worst review you ever got?
A: Mostly they’ve been good. And I don’t mind if somebody posts something to their personal website that says they thought the book was dumb or whatever. Their opinion. If you think you’re going to please every last reader in this business, then please tell me what the view is like from fairy land. So I very much appreciate the readers who send nice e-mails and say how much they like my work.
Having said that, there is this one jerkoff who reviews for a Buffalo newspaper who speculated that since I was a university professor at the time I wrote The Pistol Poets, I probably typed the thing while sitting in the student union leering at coeds. Dude, stop spying on me!
Q. You recently posted a list on your blog of some of your favorite films, including such classics as Blade Runner, Casablanca and Pulp Fiction. That’s all fine, but tell us what you’re really watching. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, perhaps?
A: Actually, and this is true, I somehow end up watching Miss Congeniality EVERY time it comes on TV. For some reason, my wife Jackie likes that movie and I can’t get the remote control away from her. It’s well known that I am a week and feeble person, so she just pushes me down and tells me to hush up. I should also admit I sort of liked Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Another silly (but great) film is Anchorman. Will Ferrell makes me wet myself. Sooooo warm….
Q. What’s the last book you read?
A: Nathan Walpow’s The Manipulated. I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy. It’ll be another cool UglyTown book coming out soon.
[I read that one, too. Very good book. –DJM]
Q. What can we expect next from Victor Gischler?
A: I’m working on a novel called Shotgun Opera. It’s about bad people who shoot at one another with guns. Yes, I know, quite departure, isn’t it? Or more immediately, I’ll get up from the computer after I finish typing this sentence to make some macaroni & cheese for my kid.
Mmmmmmmmm.
Don't miss Victor Gischler's Overnight Success story.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink
Comments
David,
An excellent rip-off, ah, oh, I mean Woorst Interview. You make us all proud. As for Dr. Gischler, hell have you noticed the number of Ph.D.'s among us writing crime fiction these days, is among my favorite. In fact I think Vic owes me a beer in LA next month.
Posted by: Aldo | Mar 30, 2005 7:00:06 PM
