Post Meeting Write-up
Well, last night marked the return of Face the Fiction to our sponsor store, Borders GSP, and
what a night it was. The Face the Fiction crowd was the center of attention at the center of the
store, and proved once again that If you are having fun, others will notice:)
Steve & Jim Spinosa arrived nice and early and sat back with me for a relaxing chat. We were
soon joined by our friends Gene, Paul, and Brian. The pre-meeting discussion centered around
optics, chemistry (by the way Brian, Mo'Larr is a villain from He-Man and is the Eternian
Dentist, your chemistry question was a ruse, wasn't it, lol), the ThunderCats, and A Dangerous
Book for Boys (of which I thinhk the store sold two or three copies, go merchandising display!).
As time passed, the crowds began to gather, with many SFSNNJ regulars being joined by
fresh new faces.
Starting around 8:15, Steve did a wonder job (as always) introducing our gracious and cool
guest 'Dallas' Jack Ketchum. Dallas took the floor and began by asking how many people had
read his books, and how many of us were writers. Taking careful note of the responses, he then
explained that one of his goals at any appearance was to teach writers the most vital tools that
they would need to make it. In a quick turn of conversation, he began to describe his own,
abbreviated, biography; starting with growing up in Livingston and proceeding through the point
where he pushed a little old Jewish lady out of the way to get a cab in the rain (which was
completely out of character, and showed him that it was time to move on from his then
employer), then on to talking with Henry Miller and deciding to quit his job before he turned into
even more of a monster, and finally on to his writing career.
Dallas spent quite a bit of time explaining how he wrote Off Season, and the outcry that erupted
because of that book. The Village Voice article (written by some hyphenated guy whose name
is lost in the mists of time) that decried the book as violent pornography helped to generate a lot
of interest, however the problems with distributors and other editing issues (much of the book
was cut at the time though it is now available in the unexpurgated re-release) meant that he got
stuck in '40,000 copy limbo' for subsequent books. He then explained the processes that he
went through to do books like Ladies' Night, Red, The Girl Next Door,She Wakes (described by
Dallas as his Ode to Greece as the most sensual place on Earth, as well as a really nasty
book).
We then proceeded to allowing the author to talk about the things that are the most important to
writers. Dallas explained that the first paragraph, and first chapter are the most important things
to write. If you can catch the attention in the first chapter, then you have the reader hooked, and
you just need to keep them on for the rest of the book. He also stated that his old friend Robert
Bloch (author of Psycho) had once explained that you need to know where you are going for the
end of the book in terms of feelings, but not in terms of actual scenes (Dallas put it rather more
succinctly, and I should have written it down at the time). Dallas then read from several of the
openings of his own books to show exactly what he meant (and he is a fantastic reader).
Questions and interaction (the best part of every Face the Fiction meeting) then ensued, with
really great questions from both Steve Spinosa and Steve Herr, as well as Mike, Brian, Ana,
Paul, Ann-Marie, Bob, Bill, and myself. We learned, we laughed, we cried (well I got teary at the
ending to Red, it was heartbreaking, I cannot speak for anyone else). Eventually we left the store
at about 10:45 and adjourned to the Seville Diner with Dallas for a great evening (which ran till
about 2AM). Ana was reading Red for much of the evening, staunchly refusing to put the book
down.
This was a great way to kick off our triumphant return to the Border Garden State Plaza, and I
would like to personally thank our wonderful Guest, Dallas Jack Ketchum, as well as
Ann-Marie, Josephine, and Steve Spinosa. Your hard work is a credit to us all!
Well, last night marked the return of Face the Fiction to our sponsor store, Borders GSP, and
what a night it was. The Face the Fiction crowd was the center of attention at the center of the
store, and proved once again that If you are having fun, others will notice:)
Steve & Jim Spinosa arrived nice and early and sat back with me for a relaxing chat. We were
soon joined by our friends Gene, Paul, and Brian. The pre-meeting discussion centered around
optics, chemistry (by the way Brian, Mo'Larr is a villain from He-Man and is the Eternian
Dentist, your chemistry question was a ruse, wasn't it, lol), the ThunderCats, and A Dangerous
Book for Boys (of which I thinhk the store sold two or three copies, go merchandising display!).
As time passed, the crowds began to gather, with many SFSNNJ regulars being joined by
fresh new faces.
Starting around 8:15, Steve did a wonder job (as always) introducing our gracious and cool
guest 'Dallas' Jack Ketchum. Dallas took the floor and began by asking how many people had
read his books, and how many of us were writers. Taking careful note of the responses, he then
explained that one of his goals at any appearance was to teach writers the most vital tools that
they would need to make it. In a quick turn of conversation, he began to describe his own,
abbreviated, biography; starting with growing up in Livingston and proceeding through the point
where he pushed a little old Jewish lady out of the way to get a cab in the rain (which was
completely out of character, and showed him that it was time to move on from his then
employer), then on to talking with Henry Miller and deciding to quit his job before he turned into
even more of a monster, and finally on to his writing career.
Dallas spent quite a bit of time explaining how he wrote Off Season, and the outcry that erupted
because of that book. The Village Voice article (written by some hyphenated guy whose name
is lost in the mists of time) that decried the book as violent pornography helped to generate a lot
of interest, however the problems with distributors and other editing issues (much of the book
was cut at the time though it is now available in the unexpurgated re-release) meant that he got
stuck in '40,000 copy limbo' for subsequent books. He then explained the processes that he
went through to do books like Ladies' Night, Red, The Girl Next Door,She Wakes (described by
Dallas as his Ode to Greece as the most sensual place on Earth, as well as a really nasty
book).
We then proceeded to allowing the author to talk about the things that are the most important to
writers. Dallas explained that the first paragraph, and first chapter are the most important things
to write. If you can catch the attention in the first chapter, then you have the reader hooked, and
you just need to keep them on for the rest of the book. He also stated that his old friend Robert
Bloch (author of Psycho) had once explained that you need to know where you are going for the
end of the book in terms of feelings, but not in terms of actual scenes (Dallas put it rather more
succinctly, and I should have written it down at the time). Dallas then read from several of the
openings of his own books to show exactly what he meant (and he is a fantastic reader).
Questions and interaction (the best part of every Face the Fiction meeting) then ensued, with
really great questions from both Steve Spinosa and Steve Herr, as well as Mike, Brian, Ana,
Paul, Ann-Marie, Bob, Bill, and myself. We learned, we laughed, we cried (well I got teary at the
ending to Red, it was heartbreaking, I cannot speak for anyone else). Eventually we left the store
at about 10:45 and adjourned to the Seville Diner with Dallas for a great evening (which ran till
about 2AM). Ana was reading Red for much of the evening, staunchly refusing to put the book
down.
This was a great way to kick off our triumphant return to the Border Garden State Plaza, and I
would like to personally thank our wonderful Guest, Dallas Jack Ketchum, as well as
Ann-Marie, Josephine, and Steve Spinosa. Your hard work is a credit to us all!
About Jack Ketchum
Jack Ketchum is the pseudonym for a former actor, singer, teacher, literary agent, lumber
salesman, and soda jerk -- a former flower child and baby boomer who figures that in 1956 Elvis,
dinosaurs and horror probably saved his life. His first novel, Off Season, prompted the Village
Voice to publicly scold its publisher in print for publishing violent pornography. He personally
disagrees but is perfectly happy to let you decide for yourself. His short story The Box won a 1994
Bram Stoker Award from the HWA, his story Gone won again in 2000 -- and in 2003 he won
Stokers for both best collection for Peaceable Kingdom and best long fiction for Closing Time.
He has written eleven novels, the latest of which are Red, Ladies' Night, and The Lost. His
stories are collected in The Exit At Toledo Blade Boulevard, Broken on the Wheel of Sex, and
Peaceable Kingdom. His novella The Crossings was cited by Stephen King in his speech at
the 2003 National Book Awards.
Jack Ketchum is the pseudonym for a former actor, singer, teacher, literary agent, lumber
salesman, and soda jerk -- a former flower child and baby boomer who figures that in 1956 Elvis,
dinosaurs and horror probably saved his life. His first novel, Off Season, prompted the Village
Voice to publicly scold its publisher in print for publishing violent pornography. He personally
disagrees but is perfectly happy to let you decide for yourself. His short story The Box won a 1994
Bram Stoker Award from the HWA, his story Gone won again in 2000 -- and in 2003 he won
Stokers for both best collection for Peaceable Kingdom and best long fiction for Closing Time.
He has written eleven novels, the latest of which are Red, Ladies' Night, and The Lost. His
stories are collected in The Exit At Toledo Blade Boulevard, Broken on the Wheel of Sex, and
Peaceable Kingdom. His novella The Crossings was cited by Stephen King in his speech at
the 2003 National Book Awards.
Jack Ketchum -- June 9, 2007
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