A:
Yes. I love writing for kids. I used to write shows for Disneyland.
Q:
Are you related to the Michael Mallory who’s a character on the cult TV show
“Sliders?”
A:
Uh, no. As close as I get to cult TV is the dozen or so appearances I made
on “Days of Our Lives” in the 1980s.
Q:
Why did you turn from acting to writing?
A:
A lot of reasons, but probably the best is because writing offers freedom.
When you’re an actor (or a dancer or a signer or a musician), you constantly
have to try and convince someone to let you ply your craft. But a writer can
just sit down and write whenever and wherever he or she wants. Sure, you then
have to convince somebody to publish or produce the results, but at least
you’ve already created it.
Q:
Why do you write in so many different areas?
A:
I’m interested in each one so I write about them, as well as a few other things.
I’m not much of a specialist. On any given day, if I don’t feel in the mood
to tackle any particular one, I just go on to the next one.
Q:
Do you have a particular working method or procedure?
A:
Not really. I don’t write in the bathtub like Dalton Trumbo, or write to blaring
rock music like Stephen King. I just plant myself at my desk each day and
try to accomplish the rough minimum I’ve set for myself – about 1,600 words
a day, which seems comfortable. I’m a very fast typist, so I usually do it
in two 800-word bursts: one in the morning, the other in the afternoon.
Q:
How do you handle writer’s block?
A:
By not thinking about it. Charles Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts,” who wrote
and drew six cartoon strips a week for fifty years, was once asked about writer’s
block, and he said that in his experience only amateurs suffer from it, not
professionals. On first hearing, that sounds pretty arrogant, but when you
stop to think about it, he’s right. A lot of my work, even the fiction, is
done on deadline, which means I can’t afford the luxury of writer’s block.
Q:
Why, and how, do you write from the feminine POV for Amelia Watson?
A:
Well, “why,” because she’s a woman. As for “how,” I can only say that I call
upon the same insights as when I write from the POV of a serial killer, which
is also something I’ve never been. In other words, I imagine it. I did not
set out with the deliberate goal of writing from the point-of-view of the
opposite sex, but out of all the characters I’ve written over the years, Amelia
Watson is the one that has connected the most with readers, so I’ll keep writing
her (and since I left home and mother in 1973, and met my wife in 1976, I’ve
been under the influence of a woman for practically my entire life, which
must count for something). I refer to myself as a “character writer” because,
like a character actor, I seem to do best when I take on the persona of another
person (my natural persona is the guy who talks about animation and special
effects and make-up and cinematography). I was a professional actor from age
19 to about 33, so maybe that’s why I gravitate toward characters.
Q:
Where did the idea for Amelia come from?
A:
Many years ago an acquaintance of mine told me about her idea for an anthology
of stories about traditional fairy tales rewritten from a feminist slant.
I wasn’t sure I could contribute anything worthy to that, but it did get me
thinking. Ultimately I began to wonder about the wife of Dr. Watson: what
would she think about her husband and his strange friend suddenly disappearing
to go arm themselves and hide in the bushes all night in pursuit of a master
criminal? That seeded the idea, and then I vaguely remembered that Watson
had been married twice in the original stories, though nothing was known about
the second wife. I found the one reference to her existence – in “The Adventure
of the Blanched Soldier” – and took it from there. Amelia, incidentally, was
created out of the whole cloth. Conan Doyle never named or identified the
second wife’s existence, and after her one cryptic mention, promptly forgot
about her.
Q:
Do you do a lot of research for your Amelia stories?
A:
Yes, and I enjoy researching. I rarely “cram” for a particular story, I do
ongoing research and keep files.
Q:
Who would you like to see play Amelia in a movie?
A:
Maggie Smith circa “Murder By Death” would have been ideal, but that was
a long time ago. These days, I’d be delighted with Emma Thompson, and
Michael York as Watson, and Jeremy Irons as Holmes. And maybe Richard
Griffiths as Mycroft, Robert Lindsay as Harry Benbow, and Tom Wilkinson
as Inspector Laurie. And yes, I’m dreaming.
Q:
Who are your influences?
A:
A lot of old pulp guys, like Fredric Brown and Robert Bloch. Brown is amazing
for his imagination and Bloch is amazing for his style and economy. I was
fortunate enough to meet Bob Bloch a couple of times. I consider Walter Mosley
another “textbook” writer: I read him first for pleasure and then go back
and try to figure out how he can weave such magic and meaning using such simple
language. My favorite writer, though, is Ray Bradbury, who is a true wizard!
Q:
Okay, what’s with the fedoras that you’re rarely seen without?
A:
I often tell people my mother was frightened by Bud Abbott in the third trimester.
Seriously, I’ve liked hats as far back as I can remember. A lot of people
look good in cowboy hats, but I’m not one of them, and ballcaps are not hats
so much as marketing tools. So I’ve settled on the honorable, if slightly
unfashionable, fedora. I have quite a few of them in all colors, weights and
materials.
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