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Jon: Could you describe your series a bit for people who may not have read any yet? Richard: Wil Hardesty is a Southern-California-based P.I., Vietnam survivor, lifelong surfer, a man still haunted by the death of his young son. I wouldn't characterize the series as hardboiled, it has too much heart for that, but he does get down with the bad guys. And he gets around.Jon: A lot of people I talk to seem to really identify with the books. Why do you think that is? Richard: A reviewer once said about Hardesty: "You can imagine having a beer with him. He and the others pop into 3-D and transcend the posture of their own drama." It's about character, I think—who and what they are, the forces that shape them. At least it is for me.Jon: How much of your self or your own experiences become part of your writing? Richard: A certain measure of self is inevitable in these things. Thus said, I counter a relatively sheltered life with a lurid imagination.Jon: What made you want to become a writer? And do you mind being classified as a mystery writer? Richard: To answer the second part, not at all; some of the best writing today, bar none, is in the field. As for the first part, Raymond Chandler called me. I just wanted to be him. That's all. Seemed so simple... Jon: What did you do before writing, and what other jobs have you had? Richard: I wrote copy for my advertising agency for 15 years. Which teaches you to be succinct and powerful in your word choices or die. Wonderful discipline, especially for shaping a book during the editing process. Jon: Do you feel that the setting plays a large part in your books? Richard: Bakersfield in Blackheart Highway, Hawaii's Waipeo Valley in The Ghosts of Morning, Lake Tahoe in Bearing Secrets, the Mojave desert in The Innocents: each affected me as any character would. More than describing a place, I want to know that world: how it tastes and smells, the unique vibes it gives off. I want to find the details that bring it to life so I can do the same thing on the page. It's about living the scenes. Jon: Do you strive for realism in the books, or do you prefer the reader to understand that it is fiction? Richard: To me, the best crime fiction is an amalgam of fact and made-up. The trick is to make the end result both seamless and integral. So yes, I strive for realism. Just not to the point it inhibits the impact. Bottom line: I'm trying to make you feel what I did in the creation. Jon: If you could go back and talk to a twenty-year-old Richard Barre, what would you say to him? Richard: Start writing now, this minute. Experience. And for crying out loud, read more. Jon: Is there anything about the writing and or publishing field that makes you nuts? Richard: These days, just about everything. Which is why I try to focus on the work. The rest is like trying to win at casino games. With ulcers compliments of the house. Jon: I understand you have a stand-alone book in the works. Can you give some details about it? Richard: It's a suspense novel about a coming-apart family—husband, wife and daughter—who try to pull their lives together aboard a sailboat off Costa Rica. And whether they die trying. Jon: Who and/or what do you enjoy reading? Richard: So many good crime writers: James Ellroy, Martin Cruz Smith, Don Winslow, Dennis Lehane, Bob Crais, James Lee Burke, S.J. Rozan, G.M. Ford, to name some—great voices classic and new. And Chandler...always Chandler. Jon: Do you write on a schedule, or is it more in bursts? Richard: Schedule. I write from two in the afternoon until nine or so at night. Seven days, usually. But I divide the day into two parts, pre-nap and post-nap. Jon: What's the one thing that is always in your fridge? Richard: Yogurt. How's that for exciting? |
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