Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Sd, to paraphrase William Faulkner, "Not too far at all."

As for the Kerouacs connection, you're right; the individuals at the
SADfacs could have been called Kerouacs more appropriately than the
travelers were.  Course, the media ain't always accurate when it hands
out its labels, and that's what happened in the case of my little band
of idealized travelers. 
  

    
I thought that was part of their charm. They were called Kerouacs,
realized that it was a dumb media pigeonhole, adopted it anyway and
even resorted to bop talk with a nod and a wink. 

They reminded me of touring Deadheads a little, too. That is a
compliment, by the way.
  

    
You know, as an after-insight, I too thought of the Kerouacs as being
bathed in a kind of Deadhead light. (Nearly all my insights come as
after-insights.) Thanks for the compliment.
  

    
Randall, as you've described earlier, in writing nonfiction, the
author draws on facts and truth to create yet another version of
something folks accept as reality. We allow ourselves to believe that
fiction is a figment of the author's imagination, a spun-tale made up
of conjecture and some fragments of an author's inner life.

I find in Mysticus an unsettling familiarity. In a world shaken apart
and rebuilt, we follow Ginger, Ronald, and the others, through a morass
of events, meetings, and reunions that go to the heart of each
character's sense of self. I identify with their struggles to find a
place in a world not hospitable. To me, real life is much like life in
Mysticus -- dreamlike, out-of-synch vignettes we process continually
every day of our lives.

You say that writing a novel is the highest artistic achievement, and
you've now written several novels. How would you characterize Mysticus
in that regard?
  

    
To my mind Mysticus is the best thing I've published to date. I have a
fondness for each of the five books that preceded it; each appeals to
me in its own way, though none of the others feels as full nor as rich
as Mysticus. 

But what do I know? In the past two weeks I've had two individuals
tell me that each of my two new books is "the best thing I've ever
written." In regards to ON NIGHT'S SHORE, the historical thriller
coming out from St. Martin's this winter, I can understand that
assessment. It was hard work. Set in NYC, 1840, with E.A. Poe as the
main character.  Often I felt myself drowning in the research.

The other book, BLOOD AND INK, is much smaller in scope and theme, so
I was a bit taken aback to hear it called my best. The person who did
so, the publisher of a new online literary magazine in which B&I will
be serialized (www.tantalusmagazine.com) apparently has a fondness for
Elmore Leonard-type comic thrillers.  To me it was the kind of book one
writes in order to "cool down" after a book like MYSTICUS, the way
Hemingway cooled down with THE TORRENTS OF SPRING.

I'm of the opinion that a writer's most significant books are the ones
that do something different, that take bigger risks.  The ones that
get written even though the author fully recognizes that the book won't
reach a wide audience.

I can look back on each of my books and say why that book was written.
Only one of the eight thus far was written purely out of the artistic
impulse, with no consideration of possible sales or audience, no input
whatsoever concerning what the publisher wants. That book is MYSTICUS. 
Of the five others currently underway, only one other fits the same
description. If not for these books, I might not be a writer.
  

    
I can certainly see why you'd consider Mysticus your best work.

Having had the opportunity to read AN OCCASIONAL HELL, THE LUCKIEST
MAN IN THE WORLD, and DEAD MAN FALLING, I've now added you to my list
of authors whose every book is required reading. I especially like that
each book is unlike its predecessor.

A while ago you mentioned a short story, "In a Town Called
Mundomuerto", that you've now written as a novel. Is this one of the
titles we can expect to see published soon?

Can you tell us a little bit more about ON NIGHT'S SHORE and when that
will be available to readers? Historical novel! E.A. Poe!

[note to self: call St. Martin's rep for adv. reader's copy!!]
  

    
Sorry, just noted ON NIGHT'S SHORE -- coming out this winter.
  

    

Is the Poe book finished yet?  I keep waiting for a book to come out that
offers an explanation for who it is that leaves the thre red roses and a
bottle of cognac on his grave!
  

    
The first Poe book is finished and is scheduled for publication this
Winter by Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press.  I can't manage to get an
exact pub date from my publisher, but I'm sure we'll try to capitalize
on Poe's birthday in January as a marketing opportunity. The book is
currently called ON NIGHT'S SHORE--from the phrase in the "The Raven,"
on night's Plutonian shore--but no promises that it will be published
under that title.

The second Poe book is being called DISQUIET HEART and is set in
Pittsburgh after Poe's disappointment with the reception of his
monumental "Eureka" essay. If I do a third book I'll likely take him to
his demise in Baltimore. Maybe I'll even tackle the mystery of the
roses and cognac! THREE RED ROSES AND A BOTTLE OF COGNAC--good title?

Thank you, Mina, for the nice words about my work. As for IN A TOWN
CALLED MUNDOMUERTO, I'm toying with the idea of trying it out as an
e-novel. I love the notion of e-publishing; it gives the writer so much
more control than traditional publishing does. I only wish it were
more satisfying on a physical, sensual level.  

Still, we shall see. I'm experimenting with a reprint of DEAD MAN
FALLING as an e-novel, and it seems to be selling well with Crossroads
Publishing.  I'm also experimenting with the e-serialization of BLOOD
AND INK; it remains to be seen whether readers will go for it or not. 
In the end, I'm keen to try anything that will help get writers out
from under the thumb of print publishers, and I'll keep playing with
e-publishing if for no other reason than it makes print publishers so
nervous.
  

    
Now you've opened a can of worms, or maybe a bottle of Cognac!

You've expressed a strong opinion that e-publishing benefits authors.
I've worn a lot of hats in the publishing world, and I've never seen
it in such a state of flux as it is now.

In my best of all worlds:
   1. Authors get their best works to readers and make a good living.
   2. Readers get what they want at affordable prices.
   3. Publishers/booksellers support worthy works profitably and
      build reputations on quality of product and service.

There are authors and readers who have expressed the feeling that
traditional publishers and bookstores are, at best, cumbersome
intercessors, and that e-technologies offer better publishing
opportunities.

I had a rude awakening during a conversation with a long-time
acquaintance. Learning about my new post as book designer, he asked,
"What does that mean? What do you do?" When I explained I chose the
type and determined the design and format of a book, he seemed
genuinely puzzled. "Someone pays you to do that? Aren't all books
alike?" I reminded him that books take many forms and have many
functions. Not all books are text only. Even books that are text only
can be enhanced in their presentation by the esthetic of design and the
physical format of the book.

I too, like the concept of e-publishing for the direct line of contact
it provides between author and reader. And under certain conditions,
the author can retain more control over the content and distribution of
his work.

Randall, can you give us more feedback about the benefits and possible
liabilities of e-publishing in your experience thus far? Would you see
this as a supplemental publishing process or as a means of supplanting
traditional publishing? How would you compare the opportunities of
e-publishing to printing-on-demand?
  

    



Ah, Kerouac.  There was a gifted drinker.

clementine@yourbidding.com
=clementine mccool carey
  

    
Mina, your ideal world is the same as mine. I've been searching for it
for twenty years.

Now, to that can of worms: I do not think, nor even in my lowest
moments do I ever hope, that electronic publishing will replace print
publishing. (I address this subject in an essay, "Books:What Are They
Good For?" in the inaugural issue of Tantalus Magazine, coming in
May/June at www.tantalusmagazine.com.) But e-publishing will provide
another option for writers and readers, and that's always good.

The problem with e-publishing now is that it's a free-for-all, and a
lot of mediocre stuff is being published. However, walk into any Walden
Books, and the same argument can be made of print publishing.

Print on demand, though, is a whole other critter, and in it lies the
potential for the salvation of print publishing. When a publisher no
longer has to lay out a lot of money upfront to pay for paper and
printing, and no longer has to deal with the headaches of returns and
remainders, nor pay for warehousing nor, possibly, even shipping...will
that publisher then be more likely to publish the next William Gass
rather than the next David Baldacci?

Probably not. But he might be more likely to publish both.  Lower
publishing costs might result(we can only hope) in more books published
for the smaller audience of discriminating readers. And I won't have
to work so hard to find a decent book to read. Talk about an ideal
world.  
  

    
Ideal, indeed!

I just bookmarked the Tantalus Magazine page and found myself
thinking, "Free! Great! How are they doing that?"

You're right, Randall. It is a free-for-all in every sense of the
word. It makes me giddy to ride this sweep of technology. I often find
myself thinking what fun it would be to take Gutenberg or Ben Franklin
on a tour of this century. But Bill and Ted (of the "Excellent
Adventure") already did that, and they wound up in a shopping mall.

I DO wonder about the influence of the medium on writing itself.

How does the delivery system affect what is written?

Do you find yourself writing differently for the electronic world than
for the printed page?
  

    
I spent some time in the out-of-print book trade and believe that
print on demand will be a real boon for lots of people.

Another aspect of e-putlishing that I think is interesting is the
practice of printing a first chapter online. I've bought a number of
books because of just such a preview and would certainly have had to
read the rest of Mysticus if I'd had a peek at the first movement or a
portion. 
  

    
Definitely! I was hooked by it from the first two grafs featured at
amazon.com:

"At nine years of age Ronald Shepard held in his hands a blue jar, and in
the jar was a fetus. Beneath the dusty glow of the bare fruit cellar bulb,
Ronald mistook the fetus for a tadpole, a polywog, and, had his mother not
restrained him, he would have run for his fishing rod to skewer the newt on
a number six hook. But Rosemary Shepard explained to her son that this was
not bait for a hungry sea bass, this was a fetus, his brother. She had saved
it for him in a blue Ball-Mason jar filled with alcohol.

"Ronald named the fetus Ricardo."
  

    
Thanks, everybody, for the good words.

In regards to the delivery system affecting the way I write, Mina--so
far, it hasn't.  If I were writing nonfiction for the Web, I suppose I
would adopt a more journalistic style. Otherwise I just write the way I
write, which tends to be a bit meandering and digressive.

What fascinates me about electronic publishing are the possibilities.
I can add audio and even video files to the text if I wish. A novel
could be illustrated.  Hyperlinks can be embedded throughout the text
to take the reader, if he or she chooses to go there, off to explore
dozens of side trails off the main path.  And all this without barking
a single tree!



 
  

    
Hvae you explored using hyperlinks in such a way that the reader can
discover different plot lines? Like, having multiple potential clickable
links, one which has the protagonist following his long lost love across the
sea and antoher where the same guy says "Oh, to hell with that" and settles
down with the girl next door?

Obviously my plot lines leave a lot to be desired, but I think there's a lot
of interesting potential in Web publishing just *because* you can add so
many different layers.
  

    
I haven't yet played with plot lines in that way, but have read some
interesting hypertexts that have.

I think those links work especially well with nonfiction, though. Many
years ago I wrote a two-part series about Pocahontas, which was used
by the Discovery Channel to launch their then-new online site. Embedded
in the text about Pocahontas were links to all kinds of interesting
historical footnotes which could not be addressed so fully within the
main narrative. 

In nonfiction, fact leads to fact.  Too often, because of length
constraints in print nonfiction, some of these most interesting facts
have to be addressed summarily or not at all. But on the internet, the
links can go on forever!

The thing I like best about electronic publishing in regards to
fiction is that there are few length constraints.  Right now I'm
discussing with a publisher the possibility of putting a novel and the
screenplay version of the same story together in one file.  Also maybe
a kind of "Silvis Reader" crammed with stories, poems, and plays.  In
print, an omnibus like this, because of length, would be unlikely to
get published.  But it could easily be put on one CD, and still have
room for audio and graphics.

My generation will probably never get wholly comfortable with reading
off a screen, no matter how small or book-like.  But my children and
their generation, who already think of their Game Boys as an extension
of their hands, will have no such problem.  And the 400,000 readers who
downloaded Stephen King's novella have demonstrated that electronic
publishing is something a writer ignores at his own peril.
  

    
Randall, we really haven't said much about your plays. I was imagining
what audiences might experience if the linking/interactive concept
could be applied to the stage. It would be to be a theater-goer if
actors were to choose from variations in the script so that each
performance was one-of-a-kind. Though I'm sure many authors figure
actors already do that.

Can you tell us about the works you've written for the stage? Are
there any productions currently running or forthcoming?

You've given us a lot to think about during these two weeks. I hope
you'll keep an eye on the Well and we'll certainly look for your
writing in its many venues. Perhaps the "Silvis Reader" will be more
than conjecture. 

MYSTICUS begs multiple readings. I'll mention that I don't see any of
your titles released as audio books. Have I missed a resource? The E.A.
Poe novels are on my list of hot titles coming out this winter.

Thanks very much for visiting with us in Inkwell.vue, Randall! We'll
be sure to keep Welperns notified of upcoming titles. Of course, if you
join the Well, you could keep us in your creative loop on a regular
basis.

Please feel free to continue this discussion in Inkwell.vue and
respond to inquiries or comments as long as you'd like. I won't say
goodbye, just "See you later!"
  

    
Streaming audio links of, perhaps instrumental perhaps original, music
to be played while reading might be interesting. The branching
plotline sounds pretty author intensive. Extra nuggets a la DVD bonus
material might tantalize readers. 

Just got "An Occasional Hell" and started it last night. Vastly
different but a great read, so far.
  

    

Thank you so much Randall and Mina!  You've done a splendid job of
whetting my appetite for more Randall Silvis books.  I'll be looking for
the Poe books, particularly the one in which you explain what I want to
know!!

You're welcome to continue talking as long as your schedule allows and you
still want to.  We love having you.
  

    
It's been a pleasure. My thanks to one and all. Happy journey.  
  

    
So, I guess this is...goodbye.
Can we still be friends?
  

    
Nice interview. Thanks!
  

    
Can we still be friends? I've told you people things that I don't even
tell my wife.  So keep it to yourselves, okay?

Meantime, I thank all of you once again for your warmth and
generosity. And I hope you will check in on occasion with the new
online magazine, Tantalus (tantalusmagazine.com).  Once we're up and
running later this month or early next, I'll be posting an essay from
time to time, plus have a serialized novel running for several months.
It's all free, so don't be shy.

And, if I can ever get around to it, I'll be posting more links at my
website (www.csonline.net/rsilvis) for those interested in reading my
short stories, poetry, essays and other short works.  That's also where
I'll be announcing all forthcoming books. I'll also try to post the
locations of my readings and signings for the next novel, ON NIGHT'S
SHORE, due out in Dec/Jan from St. Martin's.  If I come to your city,
drop by and say hello and bring a couple bottles of Guinness.