Il Posto Nero: Ten Knives Interview with Rio Youers

Ten Knives Interview with Rio Youers:

Knife 1) Please name at least three contemporary authors who write generally better than you do and why.

[Rio Youers] Dennis Lehane, because his work breathes with honesty and believability, and he creates characters you just want to reach into the page and touch. Peter Straub, because he writes beautifully in a genre that is not always known for beauty, and he appreciates the quiet power of subtlety. And Graham Joyce, who has built his reputation on intelligent, brilliant work, and has never settled for second-best. If I have a role model in this business, it’s Graham Joyce.

Knife 2) Has ever something happened in your life that made you think of giving up writing?

[Rio Youers] No. Never. I love writing too much. It’s what I do, and who I am. In 2002 I came close to landing a major deal with a huge publishing house, and when that fell through I was shaken up, and upset for a long time, but I never thought of giving up. I drew on the positives and went back to work.

Knife 3) Which compromises did you have to accept for commercial reasons?

[Rio Youers] I have never had to compromise. I have always produced work that defines me, and although some stories are stronger than others, I am proud of them all. Perhaps down the line I may have to make a decision about the kind of work I sell, but at the moment I am writing exactly what I want to write, and having a lot of fun doing so.

Knife 4) Is it very important to win literary prizes? Does it help to sell?

[Rio Youers] Firstly, outside of the major literary awards, I don’t think they benefit sales. Not to a notable degree, at least. Are they important? Well, some writers respond to the awards process, and are active in presenting their work for consideration. So for them, it is important – perhaps as a stepping stone to greater recognition. And then there are writers who really don’t care either way. For me, the most important thing is to be true to the work, at all times, and be wholly proud of what you put out there. Anything else – awards, good reviews, recognition from your peers – is a bonus, and is in no way essential to the creative process.

Knife 5) When you have no ideas for writing, how do you bring down yourself and whom do you phone to?

[Rio Youers] I’ve never had a problem coming up with ideas. Sometimes – for some of the themed anthologies I have appeared in – the ideas are slower in coming, but the secret for me is not to push. I’ll go for a walk or a drive, listen to some music, let my mind do what it has to do … and I’ll begin the story when I feel there’s enough of a spark to work with. In almost every case I have to trust that the story will steer itself in the right direction, and usually it does. I’m often just along for the ride.

Knife 6) What do you think when you read your country's best seller rankings?

[Rio Youers] I think how great it is that people are buying books and reading. Depending on which lists you look at, the Canadian top ten is usually diverse … which tells me that many different people are buying books and reading, and I think that’s just wonderful.

Knife 7) What do you reproach to American publishing? What are its limits?

[Rio Youers] Publishing – American or otherwise – is a business like any other, and its primary objective is to make money. Sure, I’d like to see genre-fiction offered a broader platform, but the reality is that very few genre writers have the widespread, commercial appeal of Stephen King. Publishing’s limits are defined by its success; when dealing with millions of dollars, it becomes more difficult to take a risk.

Knife 8) How many times have you refused to participate to a no-profit project?

[Rio Youers] If by “no-profit project” you mean a story for a charitable cause … then I have never refused. That said, I have only been asked once, for a charity I support, and so was happy to oblige. But if you mean a story for which I don’t get paid … well, I’m a slow writer; a five-thousand-word story could take me two weeks to write … so I would have to be extremely fond of the editor, or the publisher, to spend that much time on a project and not get paid.

Knife 9) What did you do right after signing major book deal?

[Rio Youers] I have yet to sign what I consider to be a “major” deal – by which I mean with one of the big publishing houses – but selling Old Man Scratch to PS Publishing was extremely rewarding, because they are so respected, and Peter Crowther notoriously expects only the highest standards. It was a big moment for me. We were living in upstate New York at the time. As I recall, I performed a happy dance, then my wife and I took the train into Manhattan, got desperately drunk, and stayed the night at a glitzy hotel. It was wonderful.

Knife 10) Final question: Whom to (or to what) would you throw a knife?

[Rio Youers] I’m a peace-loving, tree-hugging vegetarian. I don’t want to throw a knife at anybody – at least not anybody living. Zombies, though, are totally fair game.

Leggi in Italiano

Guest Profile

Rio Youers has drawn praise from some of the most noteworthy names in the speculative fiction genre. He is the author of two novellas, Mama Fish (Shroud Publishing) and Old Man Scratch (PS Publishing) -the latter earning him a British Fantasy Award nomination in 2010. His novelette, This is the Summer of Love, was the title story of PS Publishing’s first new-look Postscripts anthology, a publication in which Rio has appeared three times. His short fiction has also been published by IDW Publishing, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Shroud Magazine. Rio’s debut novel, End Times, was rereleased by PS Publishing in the autumn of 2010. His first short story collection, Dark Dreams, Pale Horses, will follow in 2011, with a short novel, Westlake Soul (ChiZine Publications), slated for release in the spring of 2012. Rio was born in Amersham, England, but has been living in Ontario, Canada, since 2001. Web Site