Speaking of Toby Sawyer [of The Deputy], most of your male protagonist tend to be–and excuse the phrasing–irresponsible assholes. What’s your attraction to writing this type of character?Learn more about the author and his work at Victor Gischler's Blogpocalypse.
I hate heroes in crime fiction who have flaws like “They care too much” or they’re alcoholics and “struggle every day to keep sober.” That ABC After School Specialstuff leaves me cold. If my protagonists ever feel any sense of redemption, then it truly is a triumph because that start so far down in a moral/ethical hole. My protagonists don’t know readers are watching them. It doesn’t occur to them to be on their best behavior. Having said that, many readers are often surprised they can find away to like/care about the protagonist. One of the comments I got all the time about Charlie Swift (the protagonist of Gun Monkeys) was along the lines of “I don’t know why I like this guy, but I do.” I like to challenge the reader with the implied statement “This fucking guy is going to be your hero for the rest of this damn novel. Can you handle that?”
With most of your novels–as with Sawyer’s underage girlfriend in The Deputy–you’ll typically feature a strong female character to offset the relative immaturity of your male protagonist. What’s your attraction to writing this type of female lead?
All I really want is for my female characters (all my characters actually) to be...[read on]
Victor Gischler is a former English professor. His books include Gun Monkeys, The Pistol Poets, Suicide Squeeze, Shotgun Opera, Go-Go-Girls of the Apocalypse, and Vampire a Go-Go.
The Page 69 Test: Shotgun Opera.
My Book, The Movie: Shotgun Opera.
The Page 69 Test: Go-Go-Girls of the Apocalypse.
The Page 69 Test: Vampire a Go-Go.
--Marshal Zeringue