Interview with Gar Anthony Haywood
aka Ray Shannon
by Jon Jordan

Interview with Gar Anthony Haywood
Spring 2003

JON:  Why was the decision made to use a different name for Man Eater?

GAR:  It was a joint decision between myself and Putnam, though I must admit to having some second thoughts post-publication. Basically, the decision breaks down three ways:

--1) MAN EATER is substantially different from anything I've ever written before, and I've already made one major shift in sub-genre of this kind under my own name (the Loudermilks from the Gunners, and back again), so we thought it might be best to let a pseudonym separate this book (and the standalone thrillers which will follow it) from my previous body of work.

--2) It's my belief that once an author has been around for a while (I've written eight novels prior to MAN EATER), many readers have already read you and determined what you "do." If they don't care for it, they're not going to read you again, no matter what you try to do differently. So writing MAN EATER under an assumed name was a way of giving the book a fair shot with this group.

--3) Bigger book sales start with bigger book orders from the major chains, and based upon my previous sales figures, the latter was unlikely to happen. Sad, but true.

JON:  You have kids, so I'm guessing you've read or at least seen Harry Potter. Any thoughts on the whole thing?

GAR:  Actually, my wife is a "Potthead," as I like to call Potter fans, so I've had a firsthand look at the phenomenon. The books don't do much for me, but any time a book or series of books can demand this much attention from both children and their parents, it can only be a good thing.

JON:  What kind of things have you done besides writing?

GAR:  I was a computer maintenance man for 19 years.

JON:  Were you a reader as a child?

GAR:  I was a VORACIOUS reader as a child. I wouldn't be a writer today if I hadn't learned at an early age to love reading. Sci-fi and sword-and-sorcery were my early passions: Conan the Barbarian, Larry Niven, Frank Herbert. And, of course, Marvel comic books.

JON:  Marvel Comics? Which ones were your favorites? I was always a sucker for Spidey and Daredevil. I also loved the Defenders.

GAR:  I started out with Spidey and Daredevil (back when John Romita was just starting to do both), added the Fantastic Four, then went bonkers for the Avengers. I went through a Defenders phase, but could never quite warm up to the Beast.

JON:  Who are some of your influences?

GAR:  In the beginning, Ross MacDonald and Lawrence Block. Now, Martin Cruz Smith, James Lee Burke, Elmore Leonard.

JON:  Do you put some of your self into your > characters? And do you have them do things you would never do?

GAR:  Internally, my characters are very much reflections of myself. They tend to be stronger willed, though. And I think it would be more accurate to say that I regularly have them do things I COULD never do.

JON:  How does the work week play out for you? Do you write during a certain time each day? Do you try to get specific amounts of writing done each day?

GAR:  I generally spend the first four hours of my day writing at a neighborhood coffee shop (Silverlake Coffee), then go home and write some more in the office. I put no pressure on myself to write X-number of pages a day, because I don't always have X-number of QUALITY pages in me. But I write every weekday for a minimum of 6 hours, and then put in an hour or two at night.

JON:  Having a Father who reads a lot and also writes books, do your kids read a lot?

GAR:  Not really. Go figure.

JON:  In Man Eater you are writing a female lead. Any special prep work for the perspective of writing a woman?

GAR:  Well, I've done this before with my Loudermilk books, which were written in first-person, from Dottie Loudermilk's perspective. So this wasn't anything new to me. As for the preparation involved, there wasn't any. I just wrote Ronnie Deal the same way I'd write a male character, only she's a little smarter, less sex-driven, and more willing to admit her mistakes.

JON:  Also, have you had any dealings with Hollywood yourself? This book sounds like it's from some one who knows the inside track.

GAR:  I've done a little writing for episodic television. NEW YORK UNDERCOVER, THE DISTRICT, etc. So I know a little about the absurdities of the business. But I'm certainly no "insider," and MAN EATER is certainly no Hollywood expose.

JON:  Your books are all pretty topical to events happening in today's world. Do you think the crime/mystery genre is a good way to make commentary about the world around us?

GAR:  I can't imagine a better one.

JON:  What are some of the major differences between writing a novel for yourself, and writing television episodes for someone else?

GAR:  There is absolutely no comparison. With very few exceptions, what I want goes in a novel, while writing a television episode is work-for-hire, there is absolutely nothing about the work I have any real control over. So your expectations are different before you ever put your first word on the page, and I think those expectation affect what you write, and how you write it.

JON:  Do you have a website?

GAR:  Not yet, but I'm putting the finishing touches on one. It should be up somewhere by the end of June.

JON:  Are you a stickler for details? Do you research every little thing, or do you feel that something's don't have to be dead on?

GAR:  I try to do just enough research to avoid looking stupid, and no more. Sometimes I'm successful, and sometimes I'm not. The danger of doing too much research is, you're tempted to put too much in, and nothing brings a good read to a jarring halt faster than a writer who's determined to make use of every single line of his or her research notes.

JON:  Your Loudermilk series seems to be the exact opposite of the Gunner series. What made you want to write at both ends of the genre?

GAR:  One, I wanted to prove that I could, and two, I was looking to avoid the burnout authors tend to suffer when they only have a single series to write.

JON:  Are there any aspects of your characters that could be considered aspects of the "Super Gar" ? Things that you wish you could do or talents you wish you had?

GAR:  I certainly envy Gunner's courage in the face of danger. But other than that (and the Shelby Cobra he drives), I've got everything he's got, and more.

JON:  What is the best food you've ever had?

GAR:  My late mother's meatloaf. Laugh if you want, but like me, one bite, and you would have been hooked for life.

JON:  Are there any questions you get asked often that you would be happy not to hear again?

GAR:  "So what do you write?"

JON:  Floating out there in cyberspace I found a recipe for Ronnie's Raw Meal Deal. Do you cook?

GAR:  Absolutely not. But like playing guitar, it's a skill I keep hoping to pick up someday before I day.

JON:  Do you see yourself some day living similar to the Loudermilks and living on the road in an RV?

GAR:  I don't think an RV would work for the wife, but a life of constant travel is a fantasy for us both.

JON:  What's your favorite time of year?

GAR:  Summer. Los Angeles, women, summer dresses. 'Nuff said.

JON:  What's something that is always guaranteed to make you laugh? And I mean Laugh out loud holding your sides laugh.

GAR:  The phone booth scene in the Laurel & Hardy film "Our Relations."

JON:  What is the most recent book you've read and what did you think of it?

GAR:  THE BLACK BOOK by Ian Rankin. Pure genius. Really ticks me off.

JON:  What is the one thing "ALWAYS" in the refrigerator at the Haywood household?

GAR:  2% milk, for my Cheerios, Frosted Shredded Wheat, Alpha Bits, etc.