BookWenches

Interviewed by Bobby

Today, the BookWenches have the honor of talking with Victor J. Banis, author of the Deadly Mystery series, Lola Dances, and many other works. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to answer our many questions, Victor.

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When you wrote Deadly Nightshade, had you already decided to write a series featuring your two main characters, or did the decision to continue their story come later?

Deadly Nightshade had a kind of odd history. I chatted with a publisher of a hetero mostly-hard boiled line of crime fiction for guy readers and he told me he really wanted to do a gay novel in his series. I thought that was kind of odd, since I couldn't see his buyers really accepting a gay novel. At the same time, though, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to open a new door for gay writers. I don't think my name is a big thing but I believe it does still have some currency, and I try to spend that to benefit gay writers and gay causes. Also, Wayne Gunn had suggested not too long before that I should do a detective novel. So, I wrote Deadly Nightshade. But when it was done, the publisher turned it down, saying he didn't care for the writing, though in fact I think he'd just had second thoughts. Anyway, I offered it to Laura Baumbach at MLR Press and she was really thrilled with it, and the rest is history. But, I haven't answered your original question, have I? I knew by the time I was maybe a third into the book that it needed to be a series, and I worked out in my head the story line that arcs through the first three books. And that was as far as I planned to go, three books. When I finished number 3, though, Deadly Dreams, I knew I couldn't let the story end there, too much was unresolved. So, we added the latest, Deadly Slumber. Which I'm guessing will be out by September.

When you developed Stanley and Tom, was there anything in particular that inspired you? These two men are complete opposites…did you originally intend them to end up together? At the end of Deadly Nightshade, I was convinced that they were split apart forever. 

As I said above, by the time I ended the first book, I knew where I was going with them. As for what inspired me with those two – it's bizarre, I don't know where my characters come from, they just sort of pop up in my head, and then I let them lead me. I mean, like the ending of Nightshade – I honestly wanted to leave them together, but Tom had to have that confusion about his relationship with Stanley, he just wasn't ready to believe what was happening to him. It's funny, you know, most readers loved Stanley, and many of them really had negative feelings about Tom – about the only reviewer that felt the way I do about Tom was Elisa Rolle, who is always so incredibly perceptive. But, for me, Stanley got it right when he said that Tom was "an asshole with possibilities." I've known guys like that, they've got all the right stuff inside them, they just have never gotten in touch with it. But, when they do, oh boy, look out. I had a friend, a total virgin until he was 22 years old. Then he called a gay friend he had and said he'd like to try it on, and he did, and after that – well, it was non-stop, no one was safe. 

How many stories do you plan for the Deadly Mystery series? I’m going to mourn when they’re over…I’ve looked forward to each one as it came out. Can you give us a sneak peek as to what the future holds for Stanley and Tom? 

Well, Deadly Slumber is # 4, and I'm thinking out ideas for # 5. Beyond that, I don't really know myself. It's easy to get tired of a series, and start getting stale. I don't want to write this one until people start yawning. So, it's a question of will another fresh new idea come to me, and what direction will their relationship head? Neither of them has ever been in a long term commitment before. And if someone is going to stray, I suspect it's more likely to be Stanley than Tom – but, I think that would be devastating to Tom. Just some early thoughts…they haven't told me much yet. 

What causes you to write a series rather than a single-story novel?

Series are hard. This one just kind of dictated the terms to me. More often than not, at this point in my career, I try to get me out of the way and let my muse—Snotto is her name—take over.

How has your writing evolved over your career?

Oh, I like to think I've gotten better at it, but I'm not so sure. When I go back and read some of my early stuff, well, some of it's awful, but some of it – Kenny's Back, for instance – it doesn't read much different from what I do today. In some ways, it's gotten easier. I don't consciously think about it most of the time, I just do it. That's the first write. But, then it's harder when I sit down to rewrite. I have that ghost haunting me – one day I'll do one book too many, the one that will embarrass me. I'm always competing against my track record. When I did Longhorns, I thought I'd never be able to write anything that good again. Same with Angel Land. And of course, I do so many different kinds of things – I never liked being pigeonholed. Lola Dances isn't like anything else I've done, but neither is Angel Land, or the Deadly series. I like exploring new roads.

Is there any particular genre that you prefer to write over others?

No. I just wait for a character to come to life and then I let him lead me where he will. I resisted the idea for Lola Dances because I didn't think I was the one to write it – really, I just don't know anything about cross dressing. But she wouldn't leave me alone, and I'm glad now. I still tear up when I read it. Feeling unloved, searching for love—it can be so very painful.

If you had to choose one of your works (stories, articles, whathaveyou) as your favorite and the finest example of your work, which would it be? Why?

I get asked that a lot, but I don’t have any answer. In some ways, I think Angel Land may be the best thing I've written, because the subject matter is so serious. But, I really love a straight novel I did a few years ago, Avalon, because I totally empathized with the heroine. She's a bitch, but she goes after life tooth and nail. And she finds love, too, while she's at it. I think if there's any theme that runs through my books and stories, that's it – love – looking for it, finding it, losing it. I said elsewhere, "It doesn't matter what the question is, Alex, the answer is always love."

Will you share with us what you’re working on right now? What can your readers expect from you in the near future?

At the moment, I'm working on a couple of vampire stories for MLR, and I'm beginning to think one of them will launch a series. The Amorinii are really quasi-vampires, tracing their lineage back to Amor, the Roman god of love, and despised by the true vampires for their same sex appetites. I think you can work out the metaphor for yourself.

Will you share with us the story of your first “sale” for professional publication? How long had you been writing before you pursued publication?

I started writing when I was a kid, but I never really even thought about trying to get published, I was just having fun. I wrote a story when I was in, I think, the third grade. It was all about two plants out in the pasture, a lovely buttercup and a weed, and a cow came along and ate them both, and through the magic of the cow's digestive processes, the buttercup became part of a glass of milk drunk by a young boy; and the weed became a little stinker, and went out the other way. Of course the kids loved it – children do love potty humor, don't they? That was my first experience of critical acclaim. My first published story, however, was Broken Record, which was published in an early Swiss gay journal called, alternatively, Der Kreis, Le Cercle, and The Circle, published in German, French and English. Probably not as much fun as the buttercup story, and no money, but it got me some attention and of course made me start thinking about becoming a real writer. My first published-for-pay work was The Affairs of Gloria, straight but with some lesbian scenes in it, and that ran afoul of the Federal authorities, got me put on trial on obscenity charges—and ultimately established me as a writer. But that's a long story. You can read it in Spine Intact Some Creases, which is on my blog, at http://www.vjbanis.com - the chapters are in reverse order, so you'll have to scroll back 3 or 4 pages to Foreword if you want to read it in order.

What has been your goal as a writer? Have you achieved it yet?

I suppose when I was young I dreamed, as all writers do, of fame and fortune. These days, I just like to write a good tale, and sometimes I think I almost get it right. But, I don't write for the intelligentsia or the Pullet Surprise folks, I write for readers much like myself. I'm an old fashioned guy from a small town, high school education and a lot of years picking up pretty stones on the beach. I like to eat a good cheeseburger or fried chicken and smashed potatoes with corn on the bone. I grew up on Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, and will never stop rereading Mary Stewart's romantic mysteries. Give me a good whodunit any day, and hold the spatter and gore. I listen to The Pines and Fountains of Rome, and Bolero, and Tchaikovsky's ballets, and I still get goosebumps from Un Bel Di. And I suspect if you read back through that, you'll get a good clue as to why I've never gotten the big prizes and awards. But I do get lots of letters from people thanking me for giving them pleasure, and that's quite a prize in itself, I think.

Do you have any words of advice or encouragement to aspiring authors? Like… “don’t quit your day job”? What’s the secret of success, anyway?

I like to tell writers, "Have fun." I can't think of anything more enjoyable, really, or more magical. As for the secret of success, I guess that depends upon your definition of success. But, I am a firm believer in, you can get away from anybody else, but not the guy in the mirror. You have to sleep with him every night and you'll sleep far better if you follow your own star. I write first and foremost for myself, that is to say. Doesn't matter how rich you get, or what best seller list you land on, if you're not happy with it when you re-read it, you aren't going to be happy, period. And, life's too short to waste it trying to please others – even the most devout fans will turn on you eventually. Stick with the guy in the mirror. Well, you're stuck with him anyway; best not get him sore at you.

What do you do for relaxation?  What do you do when you’re not tethered to the computer writing?

Writing is my relaxation, I think. But I love to read, of course, and listen to music, and cook. I like old movies. I love to drive back country roads, but don't get to much anymore. I'm a terrible recluse, and a crab, and, here's one I tell almost no one, I'm telephone-a-phobic, I cringe whenever it rings. Not sure why. Not sure I want to know why. Some mysteries are best left unsolved, don't you think?

I’m sure folks are sick of me asking this question, but I’m always fascinated by what others are reading. What would I find if I looked at your bookshelf? What would I not find? Are you a book saver, or do you tend to pass your books on?

I can't save them all, or the house would collapse from the weight, but if I really enjoy a book, I save it and will generally read it again somewhere down the line. You'd find lots of cookbooks. Those Mary Stewart books I mentioned. Lots of P.D. James – now there's a good whodunit. A couple of Bibles (hope that doesn't surprise you too greatly), one a big, big old thing, falling apart, which has much of the Apocrypha in it. Books by my fellow writers on GWR and MLR, which I'm really trying to catch up on so I can write some reviews. What would you not find? Porn, except for a couple of anthologies I did long ago. Most of the "serious" gay lit put out in NYC, which in general I find tiresome. Harlequin type romances, except for those written by special friends, that I keep for sentimental reasons. I'm awfully sentimental. The world's biggest crybaby. And, as everyone knows by now, Mister No-Tech.

What do you think the future has in store for the world of publishing? Do you think e-publishing is going to supplant print? There’s nothing quite like the smell and feel of a brand new tree book, but electronic is just so darned convenient...and green.

My crystal ball is kind of cloudy. I think e-books will continue to grow in importance, but I think there'll always be a market for tree books, if perhaps a smaller one as time goes by. I don't think the publishing problems so often bemoaned of late really reflect the demise of print books, I think they show an industry increasingly out of touch with readers, and never truer than in the case of M/M and gay readers. They will continue to publish what suits them, even when readers thumb their noses. Look at the writers in the glbt and M/M fields who publish today with the small indies. The big NYC houses continue to publish people like Picano and Holloran, and you couldn't get them to publish Dorien Grey or Rick Reed or William Maltese or Laura Baumbach or dozens of others, I couldn't possibly list them all here, who are writing books that people want to read, and for good reason – they are entertaining – which the big city people apparently consider a sin.

How can your fans find additional information about you and your work? And where can they purchase your work if they are so inclined?

My website is http://www.vjbanis.com, and all my MLRPress books are available at www.mlrpress.com most of them in both ebook format and print, and of course, there's good old Amazon, which is about the only place to get some of them, alas. Longhorns, e.g., is available in e-format only as a Kindle (of course, keep it under your hat, but I have been known to have compassion for those who don't have or can't get Kindle). Oh, and if you buy my books, they come with my money back guarantee: if you aren't completely satisfied, you are welcome to try to get your money back. And I tell folks, if you like the book, tell everyone. If not, who asked you?

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Thanks so much, Victor. You certainly have a fan in yours truly, and I'll be eagerly awaiting your next release. We at BookWenches wish you the very best of what the future may bring.