Interview with Peter Straub
http://www.net-site.com/straub/

Jon: Peter, what made you decide to bring back Tim Underhill in Lost Boy, Lost Girl?

Peter: There was no special reason, really. He makes things comfortable for me, because I'm familiar with his stance, his point of view.

Jon: Being a native of Milwaukee, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Millhaven and Milwaukee. What is your connection with Milwaukee?

Peter: I was born in Milwaukee and lived there for the first 18 years of my life. After graduate school, I came back for another three years and then took off for Dublin.

Jon: Your books always seem to end up with the horror genre at bookstores, even though some are clearly something else. Does this bother you? Personally I would rather just see fiction all together.

Peter: I agree with you! I'd rather see all the fiction shelved together. The only thing wrong with the horror section, in my view, is that only a self-selected bunch is ever likely to go there. It's like being in the Model Airplanes section, or the Addiction & Recovery section.

Jon: The locations in your books are always wonderful and vivid. Millhaven aside, do you use actual places as a basis for them?

Peter: Every now and then I've used Westport, CT, where I once lived, not exceedingly happily. In KOKO, I used a lot of real locations, but I built an underground arcade in Chinatown.

Jon: What do you think are important characteristics for a protagonist to have?

Peter: There can be no real answer to this question.

Jon: What is it about the short story format that appeals to you as a writer, and as a reader?

Peter: As a reader, I'm not all that interested in short stories, although I do enjoy reading novellas. As a writer, I like the intensity of the format, the opportunity to get into some extreme places, and the fact that I know I'll be finished with the thing in a week or two.

Jon: Before you were an established author, what was it like trying to get published? Did you receive many rejection slips?

Peter: Early on, I got a lot of rejections slips. Every time I wrote a story in high school, I mailed it to the New Yorker! And when I wrote a lot of poetry, the rejection slips just piled up. When I wrote my first novel, I simply mailed it to a publisher, blind, and they accepted it. This never happens. I was very very lucky.

Jon: Who are some of your favorite fiction authors?

Peter: Lessee... Henry James, Raymond Chandler, John Crowley, Donald Harington, Kelly Link, Elizabeth Hand, Stephen King.

Jon: Is it true that you lived across the street from Steve Miller at one point?

Peter: Yes, in Madison, WI, during the early 60s. We were both attending the University of Wisconsin. Boz Scaggs lived over there too. I was at 512 Henry Street, and they were in 509, I think. Ben Sidran also lived in that house. We were all friends. I used to be a Miller groupie, sort of. I loved the way he played, and I tagged along on all his gigs.It was an amazing amount of fun.

Jon: What are your writing habits like? Do you write a certain amount each day? Do you outline in advance?

Peter: I work most of the day from 11 to 6, in longhand these days. I try to do three pages a day, and then revise and revise, over and over. It's helpful to have a loose, general kind of outline.

Jon: To this day I think Ghost Story is one of the most chilling books I've read. I think the movie based on it stands on its own. What are your thoughts on the movie, And are the lack of Peter Straub based movies a decision of yours?

Peter: I wish the film of Ghost Story had been better, and I'd love to see more films made from my books.

Jon: Who are your favorite musicians?

Peter: Here goes... Paul Desmond, Zoot Sims, Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Tommy Flanagan, Stan Getz, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Lucky Thompson, Don Byas, Lester Young, Stephin Merritt, Claudia Gonson, Chris Ewen, LD Beghtol, The Real Tuesday Weld (Stephen Coates).

Jon: Who exactly is Putney Tyson Ridge, Ph. D. and should we take what he has to say about you and your work seriously?

Peter: Well, either PTR is my oldest friend and harshest critic, or he's someone I made up to make fun of a certain restrictive point of view. Take your pick. I can tell you one thing, though: Putney is dead. RIP, PTR. He was found at the bottom of the basement staircase in his former home, surrounded by what he called "erotic journals." Um, porn magazines.

Jon: What is “ The Adams Roundtable” ? And in a related question, is Warren Murphy as entertaining as he appears to be ?

Peter: The Roundtable is a congenial group of mystery writers that meets once a month in an upstairs room overr a restaurant to have dinner and talk about our current projects. Larry Block is in it, and Susan Isaacs, and Mary Higgins Clark, Warren Murphy, lots of interesting people. Warren is what we used to call "a trip." He has a good soul and a huge heart. He also has a very loud voice.

Jon: What made you decide to move to the UK? And what brought you back,to New York in particular?

Peter: I went to Dublin to work on a Ph.D., and I moved to London 3 years later, after my first novel was accepted. It seemed like a good place to live. I came back because all of a sudden I made too much money and the UK government wanted to get their hands on nearly all of it. Whoops, nope, bye bye.

Jon: Do you ever reread your earlier work? And if so, are your thoughts of it now different than when you wrote them originally?

Peter: I don't really reread my earlier work, unless I need to find a detail in one book or another, or to remind myself that once upon a time I could write pretty well.

Jon: I was thrilled to see another book with Tim Underhill in it and actually a bit surprised. Might we see him again some day?

Peter: Maybe, but I don't have any plans to bring him back in the immediate future.

Jon: What question do you get asked more than any other?

Peter: Well, I always get asked about Stephen King. It's like being on a tour bus that once every circuit has to stop out in front of Elvis's house, or something like that.

Jon: After reading your books I would imagine most people get an image in their head of what you might be like. Is there anything about you that surprises people when they meet you?

Peter: Oh, sure. They’re always amazed that I'm so absurdly well-dressed, and that I seem to be so friendly. I guess they expect capes, robes, snake head-dresses, evil tattoos, that kind of thing.

Jon: Do you believe in things supernatural ?

Peter: Um, sort of, some of the time.

Jon: What is it about Stephen King that makes him a good writing partner?

Peter: His energy, tact, skill, imagination, sense of humor, and generosity.

Jon: What’s the best writing advice you’ve had?

Peter: No one ever gave me advice except the greatest editor I ever had, the late Joe Fox, who told me that I should tape up KISS over my computer, for Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Jon: What’s the one thing always in your refrigerator?

Peter: Yikes! Ugh! I don't want to know!