Interview with an Author - Dustin Reade
#6 In our INTERVIEW WITH AN AUTHOR series is Dustin Reade!
Now, it's no secret that we're huge Reade readers, so here's a little more Reade to read!
What’s your background, what compelled you to start writing?
I was a weird kid, and my interests skewed heavily in a darker direction than my friends, so I followed most of my interests alone. Also, I was a big reader, so the extra time to myself was spent reading whatever I could find in the local library that seemed left of center. Nonfiction books on vampires and monsters. Cryptids and paranormal stuff. Lots of horror films. Early circus sideshow stuff. It all sort of bubbles around in my brain until it became something I thought should be written down.
I'm still not sure how good of an idea that was...
What’s are your top three books? Bizarro, or otherwise.
I don't know that I have three favorite books, as such. What I CAN tell you is I have a series of favorite authors, whose work as a whole can be viewed as one long, beautiful line.
William S. Burroughs, for example. Terry Pratchett. Vonnegut. Mary Roach.
But if I were to make the attempt, I think "In Watermelon Sugar," by Richard Brautigan might be at the top of the heap.
Nonfiction-wise, it would have to be "Topsy," by Michael Daly. It's a fantastic book about the elephant that was electrocuted by Edison back in the good old days.
The best and most wonderful bizarro book I ever read was probably, "The Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island," by Cameron Pierce. It's one I could (and have) read again and again.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Don't worry so much about what other people think. Who cares if it's too weird, or written in an unusual style? Just fucking do it already.
What sparked the idea for your latest book?
All of my books are a sort of exorcism of ideas. There's a stew of half-baked stuff all swirling around in there, and sometimes the most innocuous thing can light a spark and make it all come together. Maybe it's a song, or a billboard.
So, in short, I have no fucking idea.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Keen readers will notice all of my books exist in the same shared universe. A pink house appears. A snitch walks amongst us.
And so on.
What’s brewing? What projects are you working on?
Currently, I am gathering notes and ideas for a sequel to Bad Hotel, one of my previous books. People seemed to like it, so I figured I'd shove more of it in their faces.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot?
Probably a Giant Sloth, because they're super cool and they poop avocados.
And, lastly;
What advice would you give for any aspiring bizarro authors?
The same advice I give anyone who asks: "If you're asking me for advice, it's already too late."
