| Frequently Asked Questions
Rather than fake an interview, here are a bunch of questions that I get asked a lot by readers in e-mail messages.
1) Do you answer your own e-mail?
Yes, I try to answer them all, but when I'm on tour or particularly busy writing, my answers have to be pretty brief.
2) I have an idea for a story; if I give you the idea and you write it, can we split the money?
No, O.J., write your own damn book.
3) I have written a novel and I need to get an agent. How do I go about that?
You go to the library and find a book called The Literary Marketplace. Then you learn how to write a query letter and send them out.
4) I have a manuscript, would you mind reading it and telling me if it's any good?
Sorry, I can't, I would never be able to get my own work done if I read all of the manuscripts that people need to send me. I'd suggest getting into a good workshop if you need critiques.
5) Did you have a twisted childhood? Explain.
My father was a cop, a state patrolman, and a bad day at the office for him often involved pulling dead and injured people from burning cars. You develop a dark sense of humor to deal with that sort of situation - as a self-defense for your sanity. I think that sense of humor rubbed off on me somewhat.
6) When did you start writing?
When I was 12. I started thinking about going pro when I was 16.
7) Are you Gay?
No.
8) Well then, how come you almost always have a gay character in your books?
Honestly? And I know this sounds bigoted, but it's just my experience, but, most all of the gay people I know are really funny. I can't pass up that opportunity for comedy.
9) Are you Native American?
No.
10) Well then what's with all of the Indians in Coyote Blue?
The story takes place on a reservation, there are Indians there.
11) What about all the talking animals in your books?
Yes, I am a talking animal.
12) Are you sure you're not Gay?
I'm sure. I have no fashion sense and I can't coordinate colors.
13) Well why didn't you say so.
Your e-mail address is blocked by this user.
14) Are you married? Do you have any children?
No. No. I've lived with the same woman for five years.
15) Where do you get your ideas?
Usually from something I read. It could be a single sentence in a magazine article that kicks off a whole book. Ideas are cheap and easy. Telling a good story once you get an idea is hard.
16) Who is your favorite author.
John Steinbeck, but that's based on his comic work, not so much the heavy stuff that he's more known for. Steinbeck wrote about flawed people with great affection and forgiveness. I aspire to that in my own work.
17) What's going on with the movies of your books.
Not a damn thing. If anything real happens, I'll have it posted on the web page. Believe it or not, I don't pay much attention to that stuff. It interferes with my real work, which is writing books.
18) How can I get a signed copy of your books?
If you can't make it to one of my signings, you can get signed copies of many of my books either from Mysterious Galaxy Books in San Diego, Dreamhaven Books in Minneapolis or by calling Copper Dragon Books at (408) 271-9007.
19) Do you have any say in what goes on your covers?
Almost none. I've never wanted a character portrayed on the cover, but as you know, I've lost that battle on almost every book.
20) Describe your typical writing day.
I usually get up about 6:30, make coffee, then go down to my office. I write until 11:00, then I answer mail, make phone calls, pay bills, stuff like that until about 2:00 when I go to the gym. I goof off for a few hours, eat dinner, then I read research and work on notes in the evening. If I'm lucky, I'll figure out what I'll be writing the next morning. I've tried working longer hours, but it seems that I can't be funny that many hours of the day. I'm a little envious of author s who can crank out ten or twenty pages a day. I've done it, but I end up throwing most of it out the next day.
21) How long does it take you to write a book?
It takes me 12 months to do the actual writing of the manuscript, and another six to research it. I've written books in less time, and taken more time on others, but the average is 12 months.
22) Do you do a lot of rewriting?
Almost none, and I've been fortunate that my editors have liked what I turned in. I did rewrite some of the beginning of Love Nun and Coyote Blue because the main characters were sort of harsh. These are both redemption stories where the main character would go through a major change as the story went on, I tended to overwrite the negative, which made the characters hard to sympathize with in the beginning. With the exception of copy editing (spelling and stuff) most of my books have gone into print almost as the first draft. My editors have asked me to change perhaps four lines per book. I think this is due to the fact that I write so slowly. If I were writing a first draft in a month like some authors do, I'd be doing a ton of rewriting. Method has a lot to do with my lack of rewriting - and what's a draft anymore anyway? With word processing you back out so many phrases that might have ended up in a draft in the days of type writers.
23) Do you outline?
I usually know where the story starts and where it ends before I start, but I don't usually know "how" I'm going to get to the ending. I try to stay about five scenes ahead of where I am currently writing (this is the work I do in the evening). I have some scenes finished before I start the book and they just plug in at a certain point. I did outline the last half of Lust Lizard because I had a really tight deadline and I couldn't afford to miss a day if I got stuck.
24) What do you do when you're not writing.
I go out to lunch a lot. I also spend a great deal of time worrying about not writing. I live my life in a perpetual state of panic, either that the book I'm working on will suck, or that I'll never be able to write another book again.
25) What's next?
I can't talk about the next book specifically, but I can say that it will be different from the others in that it will be in first person and have a historical setting. Oh yeah, it will probably be goofy. (Note: this was written before "Lamb")
26) Anything else?
I'd like to do an FAQ page for each book and put it up on the page. We'll see how that goes. I have to get to work on this next book. Feel free to send me other questions.
Want to read Chris's old interviews? Here's one and here's another.
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Fluke, Chris's New Book |
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