Tom Piccirilli

Allan Guthrie interviewed Tom Piccirilli for Noir Originals.

Their opening exchanges:

Allan Guthrie: When did you start writing and what was your motivation?

Tom Piccirilli: I suppose I started for the same reason that all young guys start writing. For the hot chicks.

AG: And did it work?

TP: Yes, but they didn’t start coming around for twenty years, until after I was married.

AG: And you’ve written how many books?

TP: Twenty novels now. Plus three short story collections, three poetry collections, and a mess of chapbooks.

AG: What’s your motivation these days?

TP: The older one gets the clearer the themes and topics that make up the writing become. You discover the sound of your voice. You find the deeper substance of your work. It’s not merely saying something, but having something to say. Not merely telling stories, but the stories that teach the writer something about himself. What his priorities are, what his values are, what his beliefs might be. The more you write, the more you learn about yourself. And the more experiences you have, the more you find to write about.

AG: With the recent release of The Fever Kill and the impending publication of The Cold Spot, would it be safe to say your focus seems to have drifted away from horror and into the crime field?

TP: As I hurl shrieking into middle age, I feel a greater affinity for crime fiction. I seem to be more concerned with writing more realistic, authentic material. I feel comfortable with the crime field because in essence when you purify and distill horror you wind up with crime. Crime against man, crime against God, or crime against nature. Whether your monster is a werewolf or a serial killer or a bank robber, it boils down to somebody fucking up someone else’s day.

Read the full interview.

--Marshal Zeringue