Yesterday was the official release of Corey Mitchell's latest book, Pure Murder. It was also the beginning of his 15-date Virtual Book Tour and word scramble contest.
At the bottom of every interview will be a "Word of the Day." Participants will need to follow the tour to collect all fifteen words, which they will then need to unscramble to form a quote. The first person to submit the exact quote, along with the name of the original person who said it, will win signed and personalized copies of all five of Corey's Kensington/Pinnacle books.
The tour and interviews began yesterday at In Cold Blog and continues here today. For my interview with Corey I chose to focus on his life as a crime writer.
How did you get started in true crime?
When I lived in Los Angeles during the late 90's/early 00's, I went to the L.A. Times Book Fair to see an author by the name of Dennis McDougal. He writes Hollywood biographies and true crime books and I was a huge fan of his writing. I brought of all his books with me, had him sign them all, and then stood around chatting with him about his work. I asked him if he ever needed a research assistant that I would be more than happy to help him out. Three weeks later he called to tell me he had just signed a contract with a major publishing house to write a book on The Yosemite Park serial killer, Cary Stayner and he needed some help with research. Of course, we did not know it was Stayner at the time because the killer was still out there while we were researching in the park. In fact, just a couple of weeks after we went up to Yosemite, Stayner decapitated Joie Armstrong inside the park.
I helped Dennis with most of his research and took photographs for his book, The Yosemite Murders. At the same time, I had already written the book proposal for what would become my first book, Hollywood Death Scenes. I asked Dennis if he would be interested in writing the introduction to the book. He agreed, and the rest is history.
What authors do you like to read and which book would you consider your all-time favorite?
For the past several years I have been mainly interested in liberal-based political books by such noted authors as Robert Reich, Al Franken, David Sirota, Eric Alterman, and George Lakoff. I have always been a political junkie and the current administration has provided plenty of fodder, both serious and humorous, to ponder.
For my personal enjoyment, I love, and have always loved, the horror genre. Clive Barker, Poppy Z. Brite, Joe Lansdale, Brian Keene, Richard Laymon, Caitlin Kiernan, Lucy Taylor, Phil Nutman, Tim Lucas, Dennis Etchison, John Skipp and Craig Spector, H.P. Lovecraft, Algernon Blackwood, Edgar Allen Poe, Shirley Jackson, and Ed Gorman are just a few of the many brilliant horror novelists I admire.
I actually don't read much true crime any more now that I write it for a living. I am, however, a huge fan of Dennis McDougal, Gary Lavergne, and Darcy O'Brien.
As for my favorite books, Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry takes the non-fiction prize. I read this book when I was nine years old and have been corrupted ever since. Despite the fact that I now realize it is a bit of a prosecutorial puff-piece, the storytelling, organization, and humanization of both the victims and the perpetrators is impressive and obviously influential on all of my work.
For fiction, Throat Sprockets by Tim Lucas. It is the most bizarre horror novel I have ever read that has never left my senses. Plus, it covers all of the things in life I find entertaining: sex, cinema, and psychosis.
Who has had the biggest influence on your life and career?
My mother and father, of course, followed by my late wife, Lisa, and my current wife, Audra. I also have a core group of friends I have known since grade school and one buddy from college that are major influences.
As far as people outside my inner circle, I have drawn inspiration from the likes of James Hetfield, Clive Barker, Stephen King, Elton John, George Romero, John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, and Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Each one of them stuck to their guns and went after what was important to them, and fought tooth and nail, but with honor, to attain what was rightfully theirs. Also, they all tended to skew outside the so-called "norm" and basically did not give a damn about what people thought about them.
What does your significant other think of your job?
She thinks it's great! She's not real big on the phone calls from serial killers or mass murderers. She also hates it when people spread lies about me on the internet, but she has learned to accept that such treatment comes with the territory.
I have been blessed in that both of my wives were eagerly accepting of my chosen profession and fully supportive. Plus, writing books allows me to take care of our daughter, Emma, so we don't have to send her to daycare. She gets 24/7 hands-on parental care. I could not ask for a more perfect scenario.
Do you truly believe that true crime books can make a difference in people's lives?
I certainly hope so. The obvious answer is that it can teach people to watch their backs. I receive letters from readers who told me they will not walk home at night alone after having read about Rachel Newhouse in the opening sequence of my book, Dead and Buried. I also receive letters from rape victims who have read the same book and thanked me for giving them a voice.
More specifically, Harriett Semander, mother of Elena Semander, a victim of Coral Eugene Watts from my book Evil Eyes, was able to finally put away her boxes of clippings of her daughter's murder she had gathered for more than twenty years after my book came out.
The ability to give a voice to the dead is quite powerful and moving. As is the power to give a voice to the killers and tell their stories as well.
Several years ago the late Jack Olsen said that true crime had become a "false crime" genre because, according to Jack, a majority of true crime authors would fabricate and embellish details about the crimes. What do you think?
Unfortunately, most of recorded history written by people who did not actually participate directly in those events is patently false. As such, I believe Mr. Olsen's argument was fatuous, since even autobiographical accounts are witnessed and recounted through a slanted prism, oftentimes used to place the subject in the best light possible.
I do believe, however, that Mr. Olsen's general take on the true crime genre was correct -- too many true crime authors make stuff up! I personally do my best to make sure I only use quotations that were uttered in courtrooms or are recalled by those who said them and then corroborated by those who may have heard such utterances. Of course, just because documentation exists and people back other people up does not mean that such statements are 100% accurate or that even the intent is appropriate.
No matter how many interviews an author conducts, no matter how much research is unearthed, no matter how much fact-checking goes into a book, an author will never get the story exactly right. All you can do is make it as accurate and truthful as possible and not create something supposedly more "entertaining" to spice things up.
What is the strangest thing that has happened to you since you started writing true crime?
Being accused of being a sociopath and a misogynist by a couple of so-called professionals in this business because I also enjoy extreme horror films.
Oh, and being pelted with oranges by a homeless person on L.A.'s Skid Row. That was after he threatened to kill me for not taking his photograph.
Given your enjoyment of "extreme horror," would you ever consider crossing over to that genre?
I would love to write horror novels, horror film screenplays, direct horror films, you name it! I have already directed a horror-based music video for a death metal band out of Oklahoma called Divine Pustulence. It was definitely in that Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Hostel vein (so to speak).
I am currently working on an apocalyptic horror novel set in Texas. I write on that one occasionally mainly for craft and for fun. My publisher at Kensington has stated she would be happy to take a look at it once I finished, so we shall see.
Of course, if that ever gets published it will provide more grist for the mill for some so-called professionals in this business who believe you shouldn't mix horror and true crime. It's okay to write about rape, dismemberment, pedophilia, and other horrible crimes, but don't dare write about those things in a fictional setting. Huh? People are just so darn confusing and confused.
What scares you and puts goose bumps on the back of your neck?
After experiencing the unexpected death of my first wife, Lisa, six years ago, I have become somewhat impervious to fear. I have lived through the worst possible scenario and come out of it a stronger human being. Nothing anyone can throw at me can make me flinch.
As a result, I would say that the things that scare me the most are the feelings of helplessness created by the soulless machine of government and business that our beloved country has turned into is truly frightening. The stripping of our basic civil rights by the current administration does not bode well for a future of people who want to scare you with threats of terrorism and the evil "other." Our government should stop wasting so much money on fighting international terrorism and focus it on the kinds of people I write about in my books that live, breed, and kill on our own shores on a daily basis.
Also, I despise spiders.
Will you ever retire from writing or is it something you will continue doing for the rest of your life?
I am a lifer. I simply hope that enough people like my work, will go out and purchase my books, and make my publisher satisfied so they will continue to pay me enough money to keep on doing this.
Any Regrets?
The only regret I have is that I know I will not live long enough to write all of the stories I have in my head. With more than one hundred stories spinning inside my cranium, at the rate of one book a year, I don't foresee how they will all leak out onto the page.
Maybe someone will invent a literary syringe that can extract the ideas out of my brain, turn them into little vials of liquid, and keep them in cold storage for future publications.
Sounds like the makings of an interesting sci-fi/horror tale right there...
The "Word of the Day" is: OF
Be sure to follow Corey Mitchell's Pure Murder Virtual Book Tour tomorrow, June 5, at the True Crime Blogroll, hosted by Michelle Gray.