EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW
with
KIM NEWMAN
by
Robert-James Barker
Interviewing
someone in person is remarkably stressful. Especially when it's
someone you really admire and Kim Newman is one of my favourite
authors. So, here's me a bit lost in London (which, strangely, smelt
of dead things) flustered, nervous and watching the sky waiting
for the heavens to open and drown me. It was that sort of ominous
sky that hung above the city, or maybe it was smog and it's always
there. Anyway, by the time I finally got to Mr Newmans flat I was
sweating and nervous and managed to fumble opening the door.
Plus
the fact that the enormity of London had overwhelmed me and left
me unable to find anything as simple as tapes for the Dictaphone,
so if I misquote it's entirely my fault due to my incredibly bad
handwriting
The
flat itself was relatively modern, though it was hard to see the
walls for books. Walking into Kim's house was like entering a second
hand book store, thousands of books, each one creased and read,
and as I was to find out, absorbed.
Kim's
obsessions with the vampire started early in his life, though he's
quick to add that it wasn't just the vampire, it was all monsters
and this fascination is borne out by the array of plastic creatures
crawling across bookshelves in his study. There's also a Dracula
set of shelves which made my eyes bulge and my fingers develop a
shoplifters twitch.
We
went for Lunch and Kim had venison stew, something the fitted perfectly
with his Edwardian styled clothing and trademark facial hair. Although
that makes the man sound wilfully eccentric which he's not, there's
a very definite sense that he is just Kim Newman, not a manufactured
media personality.
As
we chatted Kim filled me in on Anno Dracula though the conversation
quickly branched out, his knowledge of genre fiction and film is
encyclopaedic. In Anno Dracula there is a definite sense of impish
joy and Kim confirmed that he enjoyed writing it, "I enjoy
writing everything I do, otherwise I wouldn't do it." And he's
done a lot; Anno Dracula, The Bloody Red Baron and Dracula Cha-Cha-Cha
(AKA "A Judgement of Tears") and the forthcoming collection
of shorts plus one unpublished Novella, will most concern our readers.
Newman has also published Jago, The Night Mayor, Life's Lottery,
the Quorum, The Original Doctor Shade, Famous Monsters, Seven Stars
and a host of non fiction books. As well as this he also writes
under the name of Jack Yoevil, though he says the pen name was for
no particular reason as he rates those books equally as much (and
some more) as he rates the books written under his own name. He's
a busy man and tries to write about two thousand words a day, he
has no rituals tied to his writing but like most writers I've spoken
to often finds himself slipping into the heads of his characters
and losing time, "I suppose I do go into a fugue state, and
I always fall in love a little with my leading ladies, I think you
have to" .
Anno
Dracula has it's genesis in a thesis about late Victorian apocalyptic
narratives, as a footnote within the thesis Kim had written "Dracula
is an invasion narrative, although the invasion is only one man,"
Anno Dracula's fearsome (and humourous) reinvention was formed from
that seed.
"The
vampire is a metaphor with many meanings, which is true of all cultural
Icons. The Golem is the Golem, where the Vampire can be whatever
you wish it to be." I asked if he believed vampires actually
existed "no, and I don't care," Anno Dracula is as much
a work of satire as a work of horror, Newman has used the vampires
as his ciphers, code touching on literature through the ages.
He's
not interested in eternal life either, "I don't believe in
capital punishment so even killing bad people is out for me, so
no, if Dracula offered me a chance."
He
touched briefly on the fact that the trilogy was multi layered -
you could read as much into it as you wanted. He then backed off,
slightly embarrassed, he's a very modest man and seemed a little
embarrassed by praise. But I think he was right, the books can be
simply a rip-roaring read or can be read deeper, to find the clues
and hints to influences and interests of the author himself (for
instance, he told me all the police in the first book are real names
from the police who worked on the actual Jack the Ripper case, and
he often does things like this).
He's
actually quite daunting, I consider myself reasonably well read
and able to keep up with most people I know with ease, Kim Newman
was way beyond me. His mind is a literary trap; he skips from Shakespeare
to Italian horror films, obscure pop ("Dracula Cha-Cha-Cha"
is the name of a song) to the fiction of James Ellroy. In the forward
of the short story collection "Seven Stars", Steven Jones
(editor of many successful horror anthologies) says, "He has
always been there when I have needed him - with a helpful piece
of obscure information, a copy of an impossibly rare video, or just
the short story I need…". After talking to Kim I can imagine
how true this is, it made him difficult to keep up with at times,
but no less an enthralling speaker.
It
also made for some difficult choices for Kim, favourite author?
"There are so many, I don't know how anyone can have one favourite
author," desert island vampire books? "I am legend,"
no hesitancy with that one, "Vampire Tapestry, Revenants is
good, Fever Dream, Empire of Fear, Carmilla," he looks downcast,
"there are so many, I could go on forever and I'd still forget
some." He laughs
The
Anno Dracula world is populated by people we all know and love,
Inspector Lestrade, crops up, various actors and actresses, Mr Hyde
and Dr Jeckyll amongst many others, although some of them are way
past the copyright laws still applying I wondered how he coped with
the more modern characters.
"Copyright
was never a problem, probably because I approached the characters
with satiric intent," but Hamish instead of James Bond? "I
did that by choice, there were a few things I wanted to do with
him that James Bond wouldn't."
From
there we moved onto writing, Kim is a member of the HWA (Horror
Writers Assocation) like myself and I wanted to know if he thought
this was a necessary step for writers starting out, "not really,
no. I mean it can be useful," then he said in a conspiratory
tone "I just like to read all the gossip".
He
approaches his novels in a head on manner, "I usually know
the end, then I just have to work out how to get there." He
doesn't usually do chapter planners or strict guides and you get
the feeling that he lets his characters guide the story to it's
conclusion. Although we only briefly touched on it h e does research
his books, he doesn't just make everything up. Although he chooses
not to use the net as a research tool. "There's too much information
and it's hard to know what's reliable and what isn't. Neither does
he see the net as a problem for writers in the future. "A book
is a machine and it's very good at what it does, better than a computer
or a laptop, you can't read from a computer in the bath or stick
it in your pocket to read in the park. If something old is better
than something new then…" he lets it hang although the
conclusion is obvious. He's not worried about net piracy, "I
don't think it will have any more impact than books being stolen
from shops has. No one really wants to read a novel off a screen.
It may affect people like Stephen King, but he's rich enough not
to care anyway."
Kim
recommend new writers start with the fiction of Robert Louis Stevenson,
"Jeckyll and Hyde is a great plot, from there try mid twentieth
century crime fiction, it will teach you not to overwrite. But the
best advice is to write stories, read a lot, find old ideas and
try and think of ways no one has done them before. Everyone has
there own way of doing things."
Before
I leave I ask him what he's got planned for the future "an
occult nourish thriller with Raymond Chandler and Boris Karloff."
I ask him if he will revisit the Anno Dracula world. "I may,
I don't want to outstay my welcome like some writers do." How
would you go back seeing as you killed Dracula in "Dracula
Cha-Cha-Cha".
He
looks at me with a twinkle in his eye, "Dracula was always
dead."
Kim
Newman's Bestselling Books include:
