Interview with Michael Newton http://www.michaelnewton.homestead.com/

1) Well, first off I want to say I’m beyond impressed with the fact that you’ve written over 164 books. You write in a more than one genre, ranging from true crime to westerns and action adventure books. Do you have a favorite genre to write in?

I've done the most in action-adventure, but I also enjoy westerns. Still, if I could only write one thing (and earn enough from it to make ends meet), I'd probably go with nonfiction.

2) Your reference books are amazing. You must do an awful lot of research. How do you approach a project like that?

I try to start with something I'm interested in, which presupposes that I'll have plenty of reference material on hand already. The books are generally sold on the basis of a proposal which includes sample entries and a prospective list of topics. The sole exception to that rule (so far) is my forthcoming Encyclopedia of High-Tech Crimes and Crime-fighting. That one was proposed by an editor and researched almost entirely on the Internet.

3) How did you come to write the Don Pendleton books?

I was a fan before I started writing the books (or anything else, for publication). Around 1976 I was reading various fictional biographies of James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Doc Savage, etc., and it occurred to me that the Mack Bolan character from Pendleton's "Executioner" series might do well in a book of that sort, written by someone distinct from the original series author. I got up the nerve to propose it and Pendleton called me at home a few months later. He didn't care for my idea but he was working on something vaguely similar that became my first professionally published work. Next up, he hired me as a "ghost" to work on several novels in his next six-book contract and it snowballed from there.

4) Do you have a favorite among all your work?

Avoiding the cliche that my next work is always the favorite, I'd have to say it would be "The Invisible Empire," which recently won an award as best book on Florida history for 2002, and/or "Silent Rage," which involved working with serial killer Eddie Cole.

5) With all the true crime writing you do, are there any cases that really grab you, ones that really capture your interest more than others?

Ed Gein is still the strangest killer I've ever researched, and I suspect he always will be. After him, I've been fascinated for years by the controversy surrounding Henry Lee Lucas and his partner in crime Ottis Toole.

6) When writing true crime, do you need to be careful of using names of real people? Are there aspects of it that need to be kept out of the public eye?

I only use pseudonyms if a particular person is still alive and likely to sue. Generally speaking these cases are already notorious, within legal definitions, and most of the facts have been aired in the media. I suppose dwelling on the minute details of a sexual assault might be too much, but I rarely write about victim's who have survived in any case and by the time I deal with a case it has generally passed into history.

7) Has there ever been any controversy over something you’ve written? I’ve heard that people are disputing facts in the Black Dahlia book you co-authored.

The only complaints I've heard so far about the Dahlia book come (a) from theorists convinced they know "the truth" about the case (though none of them played any part in the investigation and most weren't born when the crime occurred), or (b) from individuals whose minds are closed on the subject of repressed/recovered memories. There's a whole industry devoted to pretending that traumatic amnesia doesn't exist. Unfortunately, most of those beating the drum for "the other side" are either professional defense witnesses or accused criminals.

That work aside, the only real controversy I've encountered were the two frivolous libel suits filed against me by serial killer Gerard Schaefer in 1993-94. I beat both cases in court before he was murdered in 1995, and I had the satisfaction of hearing a federal judge officially declare Schaefer a confessed serial killer (something he always tried to deny, even while privately boasting of 80-100 murders).

8) With all the exposure to the real side of crime and murder that you’ve had, do you ever run across something that utterly shocks you?

I think I'm shock-proof at this point, though certain demonstrations of perversity give me pause from time to time. Dahmer's slave-making experiments, for instance; or the character in Canada who cut one of his victims open and ate cereal out of her stomach.

9) What made you want to start writing? Did you write as a child?

I was six or seven years old when I started putting together my first "books," normall 10 or 12 pages long, produced on an old manual typewriter with hand-drawn illustrations. I got more serious about it in high school, but never really thought it would go anywhere until Don Pendleton gave me my break in the business.

10) Are you a big reader? And what do you like to read? Any favorite authors?

I've always been a bookworm and would probably read instead of writing, if it paid the bills. I enjoy so many authors a list would take all day, but a few off the top of my head include Kinky Friedman, Carl Hiassen, Stephen King, Lawrence Bloch, Patricia Cornwell, Barbara Gowdy, Robert Leckie, Jack Olsen, J.K. Rowling, Tolkein, Ian Fleming ... I may as well stop there.

11) What exactly is Cryptozoology? And how hard is it to research?

The man who coined the term, Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans, defined it as the study of hidden animals--meaning either those unrecognized by modern science or those officially deemed extinct (but still reported as alive and well from various parts of the world). Thankfully, there are hundreds of books on the subject, along with several good periodicals and a growing number of Internet websites.

12) Any favorite stories from your research into Cryptozoology?

I've always been drawn to tales of the Yeti, Bigfoot and Nessie, but there is such a wide variety of creatures reported all around the world today that it's difficult to choose a favorite. The Mongolian "death worm" intrigues me, but I suppose if I could only study one, I'd go with the reports of surviving dinosaurs from the African interior.

13) Do you actually have any free time? And if so, what do you like to do with it?

Free time is increasingly hard to come by, but when I get some I'm either reading or researching some new project.

14) What do you think is the reason people are so interested in true crime? People (myself included) are just fascinated with it.

Part of it's the car-wreck syndrome, slowing down to look and thinking there but for the grace of "God" go I, etc. I think today that many people are also enthralled by forensic science, and some may be hoping that if they read about enough psycho-killers they can spot the next Jeff Dahmer when he moves in next door.

15) Your website (http://www.michaelnewton.homestead.com/) is really nice. Do you put a lot of time into it?

I have literally nothing to do with it. My fiancee is also my webmaster and deserves all the credit. I'm a virtual high-tech illiterate.

16) It seems like westerns are making a bit of a come back, both in movies and books. Do you plan to keep writing them?

I'd like to keep up the current series, but since it started as a one-off novel and was never meant to be a series in the first place, we'll have to see how it goes.

17) What are some of your favorite movies?

I've actually thought about this one, perhaps more than I should. My all-time favorite is The Wild Bunch. Others would be Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Unforgiven, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

18) Do you get asked to consult by either law enforcement or other authors?

I hear from other writers now and then, but nothing from law enforcement since I spoke at a few conferences on child sexual abuse in the 1990s. Police usually want a Ph.D. or university affiliation before they take anyone seriously--even if the Ph.D. in question is shoveling manure with both hands (like one or two who shall remain nameless).

19) What can we look forward to seeing from you next?

All my books in progress are listed on the website, but those I'm enjoying most right now are the FBI encyclopedia and the Cryptozoology book.

20) What is the one thing always in your refrigerator?

That would be Classic Coke. Can't go long without a sugar-caffeine rush.