ALLIGATOR MAN ~ BILL
CRIDER
This is another interview where full
disclosure is required. Bill Crider and I have been friends since our early
days of mystery fandom and fanzines. We both broke into professional fiction
writing in the mid-eighties, both in (different) men’s adventure series
paperbacks published under pseudonyms. Since those days, we’ve continued our
friendship through years of publishing successes under our own names, mystery
conventions, tales of recreational running, and shared collecting obsessions...
********
If Bill Crider was on
the FBI’s Most Wanted list, what biographical details would accompany the fuzzy
photo of you?
That fuzzy
photo would probably have been taken in April 1970 when the student body at The
University of Texas at Austin learned about the invasion of Cambodia. There was
a huge rally on campus, and I was caught up in the middle of it because the
English building was right next to the mall where a giant demonstration was
held. I was outside the English building and headed for the mall to see what
was going on, when every cop in Austin marched up in full riot gear. I heard
later that snipers were stationed on state buildings on the street to the
capitol in case students started marching in that direction with intent to
riot. Helicopters chattered overhead. Good times, good times. As for the
biographical details, “Born: Mexia (that’s Muh-HAY-uh), Texas, long ago.
Nearsighted. Can read and write a little. Scrawny, but game.”
We’ve been friends for
a long time, but I’ve never know the origin of the connection between Bill
Crider and alligators, so now is the time to spill. How did it all start?
It all began
with an article about books about alligators in the sewers I wrote for a
fanzine—Andy Jaysnovitch’s, The Not-So Private-Eye. People liked the
article, I guess, so they started sending me alligators and giving them to me
at conventions. I have dozens of them now, the latest having just arrived from
Cap’n Bob Napier only last week. It never ends.
Before we dig into your
writing career, let’s talk about book collecting. What makes books important to
you?
I first loved
books because I loved reading, which somehow led me to loving books as physical
objects. I didn’t want to let go of the ones I loved, so I didn’t. What I have
is more of an accumulation, and it’s a lot of books. A lot.
How long have you been
collecting?
Things started
getting bad around 1966, when I decided I wanted all the first printings of
John D. MacDonald’s paperback originals. They were easy enough to find in those
days, and they led me to decide maybe I needed to collect crime and mystery
paperback originals. Which led to, well...you know.
How many genres do you
collect?
Mystery and
crime, and SF to a lesser extent. And some sleaze. And some books just because
of the covers. It’s a sickness, or as Nicholas Basbanes put it, a gentle madness.
What is the heart of
your collection?
I’d have to
say my Harry Whittington set. I have just about every paperback he ever wrote,
and I’m looking for the other two or three. They absolutely never turn
up. I got many of the ones I own because Harry himself sent them to me many a
year ago. He was a great guy.
How do you store and
preserve the books?
They’re on my
shelves, with no special care except a few are in bags. There’s not really much
you can do to save paperbacks, which are slowly oxidizing themselves into
oblivion. I’m just going to enjoy them now and let others worry about what
happens to them after I’m gone.
What do you look for in
a current book before adding it to your collection?
I do have a
few current books, but mostly I buy them, read them, and send them on their
way. Except for books by people I know, and that’s a lot of people. I even have
hardbacks by people I know. Did I mention it’s a sickness?
Are there books you
pass on to Friends of the Library or other sources, or all the books in your
collection permanent additions?
I do pass on
books to the local Friends for their ongoing book sale. I get a lot of review
copies, and many of these go to the Friends after I’ve read them or at least
looked them over. I occasionally pass on a book to someone I think I will enjoy
it. That’s about it.
Your history with the
men’s adventure genre began with one of the most iconic characters in the
genre. How did the situation come about?
The husband of
a wife in a little writing group I was in said he thought we could write a Nick
Carter book. He managed the local Allied Van Lines, and he said all the truck
drivers were reading Nick Carter, which he described as James Bond for truck drivers. To make a very long story short, we
did write one of the books and somehow managed to sell it. The editor loved it
and wanted more, but by the time we’d done a couple of outlines, that editor
was gone. The new editor wasn’t impressed and hired a several people (Bob
Randisi was one of them, I think, and probably Bob Vardeman) to do a good many
of the books around that time.
How did it influence
your career?
Probably not
much, other than letting me know I could write fiction an editor would buy. That’s
important.
What were the lessons
learned from your debut novel?
From the Nick
Carter novel, not much. It was a thrill to see it in print, and I learned I
loved the feeling of holding a book I’d written. I also learned editors don’t
always stick around for long and a new editor might not like what a previous
one liked. It’s as true now as it was then.
You also wrote three
novels in the men’s adventure style series, The M.I.A. Hunter. What was
the experience like and have you contributed to other ‘house name’ series to
which you can contractually admit?
That was a
great experience. Steve Mertz sent me an outline for each one, and I wrote the
book based on it. Aside from that, I had all the freedom I could’ve wanted. I
always tried to write the best book I could, no matter what genre, and I’m
proud of the work I did on those. Steve may well have reworked the books, but I
didn’t read them after publication, so I don’t know. My other house name work
is all under the rose, although some
of it’s no big secret, as anyone with access to Wikipedia can discover.
You’re known as mystery
writer, but you’ve also written a number of westerns and horror novels. How did
you come to jump genres, and do you have a favorite?
When I started
writing, I told my agent I’d always wanted to write a western. She said, “What
are you waiting for?” So, I wrote several for M. Evans. Dell picked up two
others (Outrage at Blanco and Texas Vigilante), and those have
done very well in reprint from Brash Books. The horror novels came about the
same way. I told my agent I had an idea for a horror novel, and she said, “What
are you waiting for?” She sold four or five of them to Zebra, as by my Evil
Twin pseudonym, Jack MacLane. My heart’s always been with the mystery field,
though, and that’s where I’ve had the most success.
You’ve written a number
of different mystery series. How did you come to diversify?
I discovered I
had too many ideas for just one series, and I’d always wanted to write about
the small-time academic world I inhabited. “What are you waiting for?” I really
had fun writing those books. And I’d always loved private-eye novels. “What are
you waiting for?” The Truman Smith series is dear to my heart, but readers
didn’t agree, I guess. Thanks to my agent, who got me the job, I also got the
chance to write a private-eye novel with Humphrey Bogart as a featured
character. It’s one of my better books, though nobody has heard of it—We’ll
Always Have Murder is the title.
What is your process
when beginning a new book? Is it different for different books?
I just sit
down and start writing. That’s the way it’s been for just about every book. So
far it’s worked out for me.
When asked, what advice
do you share about writing and what do you think has the most impact?
I don’t know
what has any impact, but my advice is the same all the time, a variation on the
advice of the great Robert A. Heinlein: You
have to write, you have to write every day, and you have to submit what you
write. I don’t know if anybody ever listens to me.
What was a book you
loved as a child?
There are
many. Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss were big favorites because I love rhyme and
rhythm. And then there were the Bobbsey Twins, Bomba the Jungle Boy, John
Carter of Mars, the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew...There seems to be a theme here—mystery
and adventure. I haven’t changed a bit.
What were the books you
read to your children?
That was
mostly Judy’s job. I was the one who’d lie in the floor in their bedrooms after
they were put to bed and make up stories to tell them. Cubby the Bear was a big
favorite.
What book made you want
to be a writer?
Just about
everything I ever read. I really wanted to be Raymond Chandler and Ernest
Hemingway and William Faulkner, but that didn’t work out.
What is your favorite
book to movie adaptation?
Tie between The
Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep.
What book would you
like to see as a movie?
Anything I’ve
written would suit me just fine.
What imaginary place
from a book would you want to live?
Barsoom.
*If you don't know where Barsoom is look it up immediately. You've got some great reading ahead...
What genre would you
read if you were limited to one?
Probably
mysteries. Those are what I read most of, anyway.
Is there a book you’ve
returned to again and again?
Anything by
Ross Thomas and Alistair MacLean. I’ve read Catch-22 probably more times
than any other. Catcher in the Rye is right up there, along with a few
others.
What fictional
character(s) would you like to have a beer with?
Hap and
Leonard.
*Two outrageous characters created by Joe R. Lansdale...
What was the last novel
to make you laugh?
Joe R.
Lansdale’s Rusty Puppy, just a week or so ago.
What was the last novel
to make you cry?
It’s been a
while. Probably The Fault in our Stars. I’m a big John Green fan.
What are you reading
now?
The Soak by Patrick McLean.
What is currently
keeping you working at the keyboard?
I’m working on
what may well be the final Sheriff Dan Rhodes novel, working title That Old
Scoundrel Death.
********
Thx, Bill for
taking a turn in the interrogation room. I appreciate your friendship and
humor...Be sure to take care of those VBKs (Very Bad Kittens), or are they
taking care of you?
FOR MORE ON BILL CRIDER AND THE VBKs CLICK HERE
I always love hearing Bill Crider talk about the books he likes. And I remember all you guys from those mystery fanzines way back when. It was always a thrill.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interview and the space, Paul. It was a pleasure to do it.
ReplyDelete