Interview conducted by MyMiserys (aka Kimberly Cook)
Tom Piccirilli is the author of twenty novels including SHADOW SEASON, THE COLD SPOT, THE COLDEST MILE, and A CHOIR OF ILL CHILDREN. He's won the International Thriller Award and four Bram Stoker Awards, as well as having been nominated for the Edgar, the World Fantasy Award, the Macavity, and Le Grand Prix de L'imagination. Learn more at www.tompiccirilli.com or www.thecoldspot.blogspot.com.
1.How old were you when you wrote what you consider your first story?
12 or thereabouts. I remember writing a pretty dandy riff on LAND OF THE LOST called DIMENSION X that featured monsters, mutants, magic crystals, and evil mirror people.
2. What inspired you to write it?
The need to fantasize has always been with me.
3. What was the first book you wrote?
A bizarre little mystery called The Runalong that I wrote when I was maybe 18, about a drifter with a brain tumor who runs up against a serial killer. It had weirdo shifting perspectives and all kinds of insane backstory. It's been lost to the depths of time and rubbish, thankfully.
4. Of all the books you've written, which is your favorite?
I dig each one for a different reason. I think A CHOIR OF ILL CHILDREN and THE DEAD LETTERS are probably my most ambitious, but THE COLD SPOT or SHADOW SEASON is probably my strongest so far as pure storytelling goes.
5. Which book would you like to forget you wrote?
Doesn't matter. I remember them all.
6. Who is the most influential person in your life?
The guy at my mortgage company who sends the bills.
7. Who is your favorite author?
Too many to even consider one favorite.
8. If you could only own one book, what would it be?
THE DEAD FATHER by Donald Barthelme or THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE by John Irving. No matter how many times I reread them, I always find more to enjoy.
9. When and where do you write?
I write in drips and drabs all day long, at my desk in my office. I write for a bit, read for a while, write some more, watch a movie, write, walk the dogs, write, and on and on.
10. Do you have a "day job?"
Writing my guts out is the day job.
11. Do you have a "dream job?"
Being Angelina Jolie's cabana boy.
12. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
On one of those Amazonian plateaus where dinosaurs and hot cave chicks still live, because it would be righteous.
13. What is your guilty pleasure?
None of my pleasures give me any guilt, I'm unconscionable that way.
(The Black Glove thanks Tom for his time and efforts)
