Interview with Crime Writer Joe Lansdale – S. 4, Ep. 23

The Crime Cafe

Debbi Mack interviews crime writer Joe Lansdale on the Crime Cafe podcast. Check out the show notes below, or if you're in a rush, download a copy! Debbi: [00:00:12] Hi everyone, this is the Crime Cafe your podcasting source of great crime, suspense and thriller writing. I'm your host Debbi Mack. Before I bring on my guest, I'll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: The 9-book boxed set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy links for both on my website DebbiMack.com under the “Crime Café” link. You can also get free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You'll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Debbi: [00:01:04] It's my great pleasure to have with me today one of the most eclectic writers doing crime fiction, among other things. An author in multiple genres including mystery, westerns, horror, science fiction, and suspense, he has also written for comics, and several of his novels have been adapted for film and TV. My guest is none other than the very awesome Joe Lansdale. Debbi: [00:01:31] Hi Joe. I'm so excited to talk with you today. Thank you so much for being here. Joe: [00:01:36] Thank you, Debbi. I'm glad to be here. Debbi: [00:01:39] It's so great to have you on. I first got to know your work as a reviewer for Mystery Scene Magazine actually. Joe: [00:01:45] Really? That's a great mag. Debbi: [00:01:48] Yeah, it's great, it was wonderful. I got these wonderful free books and I got to read them and talk about them. It was great! Joe: [00:01:54] (laughing) Debbi: [00:01:56] So my Lansdale starter book was EDGE OF DARK WATER and, boy, that made an impression on me. Joe: [00:02:03] I'm glad it did. Debbi: [00:02:04] Tell me when you wrote it—did you think of it as a young adult novel? Because it is a very mature young adult novel, and I love that about it. Joe: [00:02:14] No. I didn’t really think of it as a young adult novel. It was the first novel I did for my new publisher Mulholland, which is a branch of Little Brown. and it was just a story I wanted to tell. And I’ve always liked stories with young people as protagonists. In fact, I’ve written quite a few with young people as protagonists and so it just seemed natural to me and, you know, it just rolled out. Debbi: [00:02:40] I know that feeling actually. The feeling that something is just rolling out. Joe: [00:02:43] Mmm … it’s good feeling. Debbi: [00:02:45] Yes it is! I have this one young adult novel I’ve done and it’s kind of like this real kind of variation from what I usually do. But the fact that you write in multiple genres to me is so encouraging, but let me get to the latest thing you have out which is in the anthology A TIME FOR VIOLENCE. Am I correct about that? Joe: [00:03:09] Ah, yes, there is an anthology that has my story in it among others. Debbi: [00:03:14] I got to tell you, I love that story. It was like the world’s most twisted holiday story. Joe: [00:03:22] Thank you! Thank you so much. Debbi: [00:03:24] It’s the highest compliment I can think to make for that particular story. It’s awesome. One thing I enjoy about your writing is the way you combine serious social issues with humor. Can you talk a little bit about Hap and Leonard and where those characters came from? Joe: [00:03:42] Well, you know, Hap and Leonard really were an accident. I had a two-book contract for Bantam, which I was very excited about, for two crime novels, and the first one I wrote was COLD IN JULY. And when I finished COLD IN JULY, I thought, you know I’d like to write another novel that kind of has that old Gold Medal novel feel. Fawcett Gold Medal was a branch that did crime, and then there was another branch that did westerns, science fiction and so on. And I’ve collected those Gold Medal novels for years,