"My world view seems to reflect . . . A certain weary hope for humankind, . . . and more pity than rage."
- Ed Gorman

Feo Amante's Horror Home Page Presents:
An interview with
ED GORMAN
by Harry Shannon

Ed Gorman has become a legendary figure among both fans and authors of dark fiction. I have been reading his stories for decades, so I was amazed to discover that he has only been publishing books for about the last sixteen years, when he walked away from a successful career in advertising to pursue writing full time. Within that limited frame, Ed has produced more than thirty novels and short-story collections, averaging roughly one every six months. He has published original crime noir, mystery series, collections and even westerns in addition to his horror and dark fantasy efforts; has edited anthologies and co-created Mystery Scene magazine, been nominated or mentioned for nearly every imaginable writing award at one time or another (Edgar, Spur, Stoker, Shamus) and yet remains surprisingly unappreciated.

Ed Gorman is also a very intense and private man, although he has recently gone public about his ongoing battle with cancer. I was delighted when he agreed to be interviewed at length.

-Harry Shannon

The Bulldog of Mystery stares out at the world

ED GORMAN: Yes, another one of my collections, "Cages," was nominated.

HS: I noticed you dedicated the book to Leisure Horror Editor Don D'Auria. Tell us how this collection came about.

Ed Gorman: Don is a sweet guy. He was open to doing a collection, and so we did it. There was also a second dedication, to Susan Carrithers, a lovely, sweet, troubled (look who's talking) woman with whom I had several different kinds of relationships over the years. She died very young of breast cancer.

HS: That's sad.

Ed Gorman: Yes.

Ed Gorman: I wish I had a lofty, artistic explanation for how "Masque" got written. But it was strictly commerce. The editor at Ballantine called me one day and said something to the effect of, "We're ready to put this anthology about mummys into production. But we don't have a stunner. Lots of good stories. But not one that'll punch you in the eye. Could you take a crack at one right away?" I did it in two or three sittings.

HS:"Different Kinds of Dead" is another great story…but I understand you didn't realize how good it was when you first created it.

Ed Gorman: That story seems to have a life of its own, telling me that there are a lot of tired, lonely middle-aged men out there. It's sort of a documentary of my last years directing TV commercials all over the place. The dull, disorienting, melancholy of life on the road.

HS: I recently read an interview you did for the English ezine Crime Time. I was absolutely stunned to read that you wrote your first novel, "Rough Cut," at forty.

Ed Gorman: I wrote stories for men's magazines and for very insignificant literary magazines. Emphasis on "very". And I started dozens of novels - literally - over the years that I never finished. Then one morning before work - by that time I owned a small ad agency - I sat down and started a novel (do or die) as a birthday gift for my fortieth year. And damned if I didn't finish it. And damned if it didn't sell to the first publisher I sent it to. My wife Carol and Max Allan Collins were my greatest supporters and crutched me through it.

Ed's spiritual influences include John D. MacDonald

HS: I also read that you loved my idol, John D. MacDonald and his man Travis McGee. Whom else do you consider a major influence on your writing?

Ed Gorman: Here's the short answer: As for craft, I learn something from virtually every type of fiction I read. And every writer. I am probably closest, in a spiritual way, to John D.in his non-McGees and Graham Greene and the late and vastly under appreciated Peter Rabe. My world view seems to reflect theirs. A certain weary hope for humankind, I suppose; and more pity than rage. Rage, for reader and writer alike, can burn you out pretty damned fast.

HS: Like that great line at the end of the movie SEVEN. I think Morgan Freeman quotes: "Someone once said that the world is a beautiful place, and worth saving. I agree with the second part."

Ed Gorman: Yes.

HS: When I was a kid I bought some books just because of the publisher. I liked almost everything Fawcett Gold Medal put out, for example. Are you still a "pulp" fan?

Ed Gorman: Yeah, I am a child of all those paperback lines, Gold Medal, Ace, Pyramid, Lancer, etc. And sure, I have a few dozen favorite titles that I reread from time to time.

HS: You have produced more than thirty books in perhaps seventeen years, which is just amazing. Do you have a set routine for writing? Have you always maintained that?

Ed Gorman: I try to do five pages a day, 365 days a year.

HS: Wow. Okay, now for some secrets of the trade. How extensively do you outline a novel? Do you use, say, an Aristotelian three-act breakdown, or just go for it?

Ed Gorman: Each novel is different for me. Sometimes I outline in the three-act way; sometimes I list eight or nine plot points that shape the novel; sometimes I have only a vague notion of where I'm going and start in. The last method is perilous for me so I try now to do at least a crude outline, though the writing process invariably changes many elements of the plan.

One of my favorite Ed Gorman novels is "Harlot's Moon," where the hero Payne deals with the murder of a womanizing priest. It dealt with trust vs. betrayal on any number of levels. The subplots had Payne dealing with the return of his abandoning father, who is dying; also with real trouble in his primary relationship. Meanwhile he is investigating a Priest who betrayed the women he was counseling by seducing them. Good stuff.

Ed is as well known for his editing as his writing.

HS: Payne seems like a solid series character for television or films. Has anyone ever nibbled? While you're at it, tell us your Hollywood horror story (since we've all got one!)

Ed Gorman: As I recall, there was on option on the first couple of books. But it came to nothing as those things usually do.

HS: That's the truth. Let's go back to the exploration of trust and betrayal in "Harlot's Moon" for a moment. Do such themes just emerge as you write, or do you often start with a "controlling concept" as well as a plot?

Ed Gorman: On "Harlot" I had two clear storylines in mind when I typed Chapter One-I wanted the womanizing priest to trigger an even darker story; and I wanted to deal with a father-son relationship that was painful to read about. I wanted to see if I could get Payne to forgive his father. That section of the story pretty much went off on its own. I just typed up words that were already in my head.

"Cut-backs in publishing have over-loaded the handful of editors remaining. So, more than ever an agent is mandatory."

Ed Gorman's successful Sam McCain series in Hardcover

Ed Gorman: My first four or five novels went out without an agent but since then I've always used an agent. Today, your agent may give you the only serious editing you're going to get. Cut-backs in publishing have over-loaded the handful of editors remaining. So, more than ever an agent is mandatory. At least I think so but I'm not a wise man on that subject… or any other for that matter. As for newcomers: It's a bitch, worse than it's ever been, by far. Just keep trying to interest an agent in your material is all I can advise.

HS: I've read that you would agree with me that publishing has become less courteous over the last decade or so.

Ed Gorman: When I'm overworked, I'm not always as courteous as I'd like to be. I can't really fault editors for that. They're under enormous corporate pressure now.

HS: Any opinion on how the Internet might help or hurt publisher and the new writer of crime and horror fiction?

And in Paperback

Ed Gorman: I don't know. There are some very good things published directly on the net and some very bad things, too. I suppose getting your Internet fiction in front of the right eyes-editor, agent-is the key.

HS: Actually getting read is always the key. For some reason I have devoured more of your crime stuff than the pure horror. Can you give us an overview of your work in the horror genre that led up to "The Dark Fantastic"?

Ed Gorman: Well, I grew up reading an abundance of horror starting with Poe and jumping quickly to Bradbury, Beaumont and Robert Bloch. Horror is a natural expression for me, though I certainly wish I were better at it.

HS: You had a tough adolescence and ran with a pretty tough crowd. Can you tell us about that, and how it may have affected your fiction?

Ed Gorman: I was a juvenile delinquent of sorts until I was falsely accused of grand larceny. I seemed to be well on my way to reform school - I was sixteen at the time - until the guilty party finally stepped forward and fessed up. The experience terrified me so much that I reformed completely. Got way deep into science fiction fandom, published my own fanzine, and started writing a lot more. I would've made a lousy criminal anyway. Too easily spooked.

HS: One of my pet beliefs is that good writers have a message they desperately want to communicate, and the substance of the message rarely changes. Do you have a statement about life you keep making with some consistency?

Ed Gorman: Bill Pronzini wrote that my stories are about "outsiders trying to make their peace with the world." I think that's a pretty accurate description.

HS: Hey, do you ever miss the advertising business?

Ed Gorman: Yeah, right.

HS: Just kidding. And you always have Mystery Scene, probably that genre's most respected publication. How did that magazine come about?

Ed Gorman: In 1984 crime novelist Bob Randisi and I decided that the mystery field needed its own version of the science fiction news magazine "Locus." That's how it began, though we've always been more feature-oriented than a straight news magazine. My partner Marty Greenberg bought Bob out in the late eighties. The magazine wouldn't have survived its last decade without Marty's ideas and infusions of cash.

HS: Tell us, what's next for Ed Gorman fans? Do you have more novels in the pipeline? Perhaps another collection?

Ed Gorman: This year, I hope to write another Sam McCain and a science fiction-horror novel. Wildside Press will publish a large collection of my western short stories.

HS: Ed Gorman, you're a gentleman and a scholar. Thanks so much for your time.

Ed Gorman: Thanks, Harry. Good questions.