Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Author Interview: Wade Rideout

Q: How long have you been writing, and what kind of stories do you most like to write?

A: I've been writing for as long as I can remember. I like to write a mixture of fantasy and science fiction which is a conundrum I've yet to solve.

Q: What sparked the idea for your story in Unearthed? Can you remember?
 
A: I wanted to do a new take on an old story. The whole deal with the devil thing, but with a twist. I was curious to see how things would play out if the smartest, most charming being that ever existed had to compete for souls with another powerful entity. How would he handle the situation? At the end of the day, it's a business and he's been at it a long time, and so I thought "What would he do if someone tried steal some of that business?"

Q: What's the best/worst writing advice you've ever been given?
 
A: The best advice on writing I've ever heard was in an interview with Dennis Lehane, the author of Shutter Island and Mystic River. His advice to new writers was to remember that "Nobody cares." In the sense that nobody is watching you, tabulating how you're doing or if you're good enough. In the the beginning, no one is keeping score. Nobody gives a shit. Embrace the freedom in it, because once you make it, you lose that freedom. The worst advice I've ever received, has believe it or not, been from publishers. If you submit a story or book to 50 different publishers, you will get responses from both ends of the spectrum. One may read your work and think it's exceptionally good, while another may think it stinks. It can be confusing when you get conflicting ideas and responses to a piece of work, but at the end of the day, writing is for a large part subjective, and that's why I advise any writer to take criticism objectively and not to heart.

Q: What are you working on now, or what's your next planned writing project?
 
A: I'm in the brainstorming phase of a new book tentatively titled 'Renegade Cyborg Werewolf Cop.' It's a love story. And yes, I'm serious.

Q: Have you ever read something and thought, “I wish I'd written that!”? What was it?
 
A: There are many books I'd wished I'd written, but the one I'd choose above all others would be 'The Old Man and the Sea' by Hemingway. I've read it close to thirty times. It's a beautifully crafted novella unlike anything I've ever read before, or am likely to read again.

Thanks, Wade!