Author Interview - Rob Thurman

Novels:
Nightlife
Moonshine
Madhouse

Website: www.robthurman.net/

> Pitch your latest novel or the first novel of your series.

That's a difficult choice. The first book, Nightlife, is a rollercoaster from beginning to end with the added kick of seeing how a villain thinks from a first person point of view. And villains aren't always brooding and dark as they torment their enemies. Some villains have one helluva good time doing it. In that way I think Nightlife is a rare opportunity to see evil from the inside and find out it tends to enjoy its work much more than the rest of us. My latest novel in the series, Madhouse, is a mixture of urban fantasy and horror (with the requisite snark and sarcasm.) So, in a way, you get two genres in one--and as horror seems to be disappearing as a separate genre and being gobbled up by general fiction, it was a great chance to showcase one very seriously insane monster and yet keep the other elements of urban fantasy combined with it.

> What are your favourite books?

The Stand is and always will be the greatest book ever written. As for the others, I'm going to have to go with series: The Jhereg series by Stephen Brust, the Tiger and Del series by Jennifer Robeson, the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais, and I'll have to finish up old school: The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.

> In the books you've written, who is you favourite character and why?

Truthfully, I don't have a favorite between the three: Cal, Niko, and Robin Goodfellow. However, Niko is pure wish fulfillment. I always wanted a brother who'd have your back no matter what, kick the ass of anyone who messed with you, was unwavering in his loyalty and yet had a sarcastic give and take that kept you on your toes. Of course, in reality, if I had a brother, it would've been nothing but atomic wedgies and purple nurples until one of us buried the other in the backyard. Reality...who needs it?

> If you could, would you change places with any of your characters?

Are you kidding? Even my characters wouldn't change places with themselves. They live in a deadly and dangerous world. It's nothing but kill, angst, snark, kill, angst, snark, kill, angst, snark...you get the picture. If they could get hold of me, they'd make me pay for what I've inflicted on them and it would not be a pretty picture.

> What was the first novel (published or unpublished) that you wrote and how long did it take to write it?

Casanova...a mystery. Unpublished and it took a year. Nightlife was my second novel and it took about nine months.


> Share an interesting fan story.

A fan wanting her book signed plopped an enormous amount of cleavage on the table in front of me and wouldn't leave once I signed her book. As the minutes dragged on, I rather feared she wanted me to sign the twins, so to speak. It was a bit of an awkward moment.

> What was the most fun book signing, convention, etc. you've attended and why?

San Diego Comic Con...because I can be a fan there along with everyone else. They have it all. Movies, television, comics, video games and gaming. Over a 100,000 fans all gathered together to share in mass geekiness. I saw so many Sci-Fi actors I lost count. I even saw Clive Owen.

> What's the worst thing about writing?

The starvation.

> What is something you didn't know about the publishing industry before you had your fist book published?

I didn't know anything about the publishing industry. Not a fact, not a clue. If I had known how the publishing/agency business worked before trying to sell a book, I never would've even made the attempt. Sometimes ignorance is definitely bliss.

> How many rejection letters did you get for your fist novel or story?

Too many to count. It was quite literally rejected by every agent and/or publishing house in the country. It was only on the second time around it was picked up by an editor who wasn't afraid to try something a little different from the norm (as in 'no women in leather pants slaying vampires--although only the unsexy vampires naturally.') In fact, the agent I have now also rejected Nightlife. Yet now she's the agent for the series. It's a bizarre field, boys and girls.