So, as my regular victims readers know, I’m doing at least one new thing every week in March. This week’s new thing: I scored my first on-blog interview with an author. Woo-hoo! I could not be more excited to post my interview with Al Riske, author of Precarious, Stories of Love, Sex and Misunderstandings.
I have hypnotized persuaded him to stop by at some point today to comment on your comments and answer any questions you might have. (Note: I had to be somewhat professional. You don’t. Asking him about the square root of love, or his favorite pizza, or daydream, or bad habit, or his dog Bodie’s best trick, all seem like really good ideas to me… Go ahead. Be my hero.)
And now, without further ado…
—————————————————————————
Al Riske was born in Shelton, Washington, and earned a degree in communications from Linfield College in Oregon. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, copywriter, and ghostwriter. His short stories have appeared in the Beloit Fiction Journal, Hobart, Pindeldyboz, Switchback, Word Riot, Blue Mesa Review, and 34th Parallel. He now lives in California with his wife, Joanne, and their dog, Bodie. He is working on a novel.
J: I loved Precarious. Tell me how the book came to be.
Riske: Precarious is a sort of retrospective of all the fiction I’ve written over the past 30 years or so. The first story, “Sleeping with Smiley,” was originally a screenplay, then a short novel (a screenplay, a novel, a screenplay) and finally just a story, which is how it works best, I think. Then there’s “Don’t Stop Now” — the the Reader’s Digest version of my first failed novel. A 342-page manuscript condensed to just 6 pages. “What She Said” is what happened when I took an old story of mine and stripped away everything but the dialogue — because that was all that really appealed to me in the end. You get the idea.
J: In the title story, and throughout the book, there is a definite sense of precariousness, a sense that, at any moment, the scales may tip for these characters, the course of their lives altered by a single decision. Do you know what the moment of truth will be going into a story, or do you find it as you go? I guess I’m wondering how stories come to you – is it usually a character, a dilemma, a setting, something else?
Riske: I almost never know where I’m going with a story. In fact, most of the time, I’m not even conscious of why I’m writing it. With “Taken,” for example, I was inspired by a picture I saw in a magazine of a girl in a backless dress walking up a flight of stairs. That and the song “Laid” by James. You know the one: “I found you sleeping next to me/ I thought I was alone/You’re driving me crazy/When are you coming home?”
So, could be an image, a song, a line of dialogue overheard in a coffeehouse … and then the question “What if?” To me, writing often serves as a way of exploring the path not taken in life.
J: Specifically, one of my favorite stories in the collection is “Dance Naked.” How did that story come to you? It is told from multiple points of view by characters who ultimately converge in a small-town bar on a Friday night. The tension and sense of danger in that story is palpable. Without giving too much away, did the characters come to you first, their interactions at the bar, the final scene?
Riske: “Dance Naked” was “inspired by a true story” — a phrase that belongs in quotes and should always be regarded with suspicion because you have no idea how much is true. In this case, very little. But years ago, as a newspaper reporter, I did have the opportunity to cover a murder trial and that’s where I got the idea for “Dance Naked” — two guys fighting over one woman and how ugly that can become. But it’s a much different story than the one I covered. I made up 99.9 percent of it. And it doesn’t end the way I thought it would.
J: All the stories in Precarious are about men and women and how we relate to each other – or don’t. Why do you write about that, and does writing about it help you understand it any better in real life?
Riske: Women are fascinating creatures. Add men into the mix and you have what every story needs — conflict. Writing about it helps, I think, because the writer has to play both parts. You’re like an actor always asking, “What’s my motivation?”
J: I love how the men and women in your stories try bravely to be platonic, sometimes successfully, but with all this underlying sexual tension. I was reminded of the central question in When Harry Met Sally – can men and women be friends? In case you’ve never seen the movie, Harry says no, because men are pretty much always hoping for sex, and Sally says that’s ridiculous; of course men and women can be friends. Who do you think is right, Billy Crystal, or Meg Ryan, and who would you rather have lunch with?
Riske: I agree with Meg, and I’ll have what she’s having at lunch.
J: Precarious has a number of befuddled men uncertain about how to handle sexually forward women. Are they plucked entirely from your imagination, or do you follow the age-old advice and write what you know? ;-)
Riske: I was a teenager during the height of the Women’s Liberation Movement, so I was befuddled a lot during my formative years. All the rules were changing, which turned out to be a good thing, but it was very confusing at the time. “Don’t Stop Now” is a direct result of that confusion, and I guess it spills over into the other stories as well.
J: Do you prefer writing novels or short stories, and what are you working on now?
Riske: That’s actually a really tough question. Short stories are faster and freer — you can experiment and if the experiment fails, no big deal. You just move on. A novel is a much bigger investment, so failure is harder to take. Creatively, it’s really the same process, though, so both are enjoyable.
Lately I’ve been working on a short novel with a long title: The Boy Who Broke Sabrina’s Window. The boy is 17 and he accidentally breaks the window of a woman nearly twice his age, Sabrina. They become friends, share confidences, intercede in each other’s romances, go on a date that scandalizes the town … There are a bunch of other colorful characters as well, but events unfold through the eyes of Sabrina and the boy.
J: I am a tiny bit obsessed by book covers. I have to resist the urge to judge a book by its cover, and it bugs me when a really good book has a really bad cover. That said, I love the cover of Precarious – the font, and the photos. Did you get a say?
Riske: I love the cover, too — and I love the woman who designed it and shot the photos. I’ve loved her for more than 30 years. She’s my wife, Joanne. When my publisher, Luminis Books, asked if I had any thoughts about what the cover should look like, I said, “No, but my wife is a great photographer. I bet she could come up with something.” And she did. Not just images, but full designs — nine or ten of them, all very different, all beautiful. It was hard to narrow it down. We even asked friends to vote, but there was no consensus. Finally, we narrowed it down to two that we all liked. That is, Joanne and I and the publisher. Then I got to pick. From what I hear that’s really unusual. Often the author is asked but overruled, so I feel very lucky to be with Luminis. And lucky to be married to Joanne.
J: What do you like to read, and what are you reading now?
Riske: I’ve been reading Moon Deluxe, by Frederick Barthelme, a collection of stories my publisher thought I might like. They’re all about women and men — what could be better?
————————————————————————
Precarious, is available from Amazon, Borders, and Barnes & Noble.
Al Riske will be reading March 13, 2010, 1-2 pm, at Barnes & Noble in San Jose, CA.
What a great conversation to wake up to this morning!
This book has just gone to the top of my list of things to buy –
– Question for Al: You’ve been married for 30 years (wow, awesome!), does writing about the potential conflict in your characters relationships have any affect on your marriage: for example, are you able to write it all out and that help regulate your own relationship?
Also: What’s your dogs best trick?
Thanks for sharing this great read and interview j.
Great interview – loved the Harry/Sally question.
Al – Who was your writing style most influenced by when you started writing and have other writers influenced you along the way ?
Becky, Yes! Let’s not let him sidestep the Bodie question. Inquiring minds want to know.
Swampy, Thank you! (It’s his answer that makes the Harry/Sally question.)
I’m supposed to be working right now, but I’ve got a minute, so …
Great question, Becky. Writing definitely helps me sort through how I feel and what I think, in retrospect. It’s not a big help in the moment, though. Bodie’s best trick is standing outside our back door and barking because he knows we will call him in and give him a treat to keep him from disturbing the neighbors. He has us well trained.
swampynomo: The first book that I really loved was A Separate Peace, by John Knowles. It was also the first book that I read twice, which turns out to be one of the best things a young writer can do. First time through is for the story. Second time is to see who the writer did it. Lots of other influences along the way: Elizabeth Tallent, Tobias Wolff, Raymond Carver … I could go on but I should get back to work.
I especially loved the “inspired by a true story” idea.
Everything I experience eventually makes it into my writing somewhere. Fiction that has even a grain of truth seems to make itself more emotionally accessible to the reader, and I’ve always felt that the connection becomes more powerful when the writer actually believes the truth that he’s basing his character’s actions around.
You sound like my kind of writer. I’m glad that Judy brought you onto my radar screen.
Great interview guys! Thanks for sharing.
And Al? I really need to know …. what did you have for breakfast? Judy forgot to ask that [probably due to time constraints] and as we all know…breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Karen :0)
I liked the When Harry Met Sally response but the “What if?” was the one that really hit home for me. That’s where my short stories usually come from and where my novel is coming from.
karenfrommentor: I agree. You have to believe what you’re writing is true, even if it never happened (to borrow a phrase from Ken Kesey).
I’m not sure I really believe in the importance of breakfast, though. Don’t get me wrong, I love breakfast. It’s just that I’d rather stay in bed just a little longer.
I love breakfast too. I’ve been known to have it at dinnertime. (On account of that liking to sleep a little longer thing.)
Loved the review and the interview – especially learning how the stories in your book evolved from various other formats to short stories. I’m always relieved to hear that other people start off in one direction with a project only to have it result in something completely different – and it’s still successful! :-)
My questions for Al:
1) What is your favorite story in the “Precarious” collection and why?
2) What kind of dog is Brodie? And what trick is he teaching you next? :-)
Thank you!
Thanks, jb. My favorite? That’s hard because I’ve become deeply attached to my characters and I really love them all, despite their many flaws. But if you make me pick one story, I’ll say “Precarious.” Oddly enough the collection was called Precarious before I wrote that one. I basically wrote it to fill the need for a title story. Weird, huh?
Bodie has been trying to teach me how to type with one hand. He does this by curling up in my lap whenever I sit at the computer.
I loved this interview! Just the right amount of substance and humor. My favorite question/comment was about the cover. Unexpected and truthy.
(Great job, j! Who would guess this was your first?)
Al, you had me at “And it doesn’t end the way I thought it would.”
I am eager to read Precarious. Placing order now.
J- The breadth of knowledge you have about literature just amazes me. Great interview. I love that the author, Mr. Al Riske, has the word risk in his last name. It went perfectly with your March theme of trying new things.
Mr. Riske, I wish you tremendous success with your book.
FABulous interview technique, J! Loved it!
Mr. Riske (in my mind, sounds like risque. sorry) ~ What advice would you give to a beginning writer? Thanks.
Dani H: Never throw anything away. You just might have the makings of something really good, but you can’t quite see it yet. Judy’s favorite story in my collection, “Dance Naked,” languished for years because I thought it was supposed to be a novel with a long way to go. Then I picked it up again and realized it was a short story that was almost done. The only things I have thrown away I wish I still had.
Thank you!
jb: Forgot to tell you what kind of dog Bodie is. He’s the kind of dog who likes to speak for himself and he recently gave an interview of his own:
http://coffeecanine.blogspot.com/2010/02/al-riske-bodie.html
Aww!
Karen, Breakfast! D’oh! How did I forget breakfast?
Joy, Nano lives on! :-)
Hippiechick, Thank you! I hope I get more opportunities.
Joanne, You are kind (and awesome). Thanks!
Dani, Excellent question. (And Al, excellent answer.)
J,
Well now I have to create yet another Goddess category for you: Interview Goddess.
Fantastic job, great questions.
And Al, thanks for the insightful and honest responses.
This is me, headed over to Amazon.
Cheers
George
Thanks, George. Thank you all! This has been a lot of fun.
Lovely conversation Judy, good job! You’re a good reporter too :)
Well I definitely found out a lot about Al Riske, and questions I wanted to ask have been answered, so good sub-reporters too ;)
Estrella, Thank you!
Al, It was fun. Thank you so much for doing this with us. You’ve been a great sport, and I’m so looking forward to meeting you in person this weekend! (I’ll be the one in the zebra print tutu.)
Judy, I’m glad you told me about the zebra print tutu. It just wouldn’t do for both of us to show up
Saturday in the same thing.