Down Here In The Dark: An Interview With Lee Thompson

What was your inspiration for writing DOWN HERE IN THE DARK?

Well, it’s a small part of a large story, and I knew that Frank Gunn was as close as you can get to shattered by the end of IRON BUTTERFLIES RUST, so I explored that and the trip, the adventure really, as scary as it can be at times, that brings him to the crazy little town of Division. I see things very clearly when it comes to my character and how his story ties into others, the big picture and the small beats, which made it easy to write about him in this book. I enjoy subtext too and there is a lot of that, and a lot of links to other Division books, and I like the forward propulsion of the narrative, the searching Frank does inside himself and trying to relate to all the odd things going on around him, which really is out of his reach like it is anybody’s. 

What themes do you enjoy exploring?

Oh, a lot of themes. Lol. Recurring ones are about betrayal and how we deal with it; the necessity of returning violence when somebody will be nothing but violent to you or those you love; growing up on the inside instead of faking it simply for the sake of others; how weak and strong and reliable and unreliable we can all be, how human that makes us;  that if anything in the world is a monster, it’s man; if anything in the world is a hero, it’s man; connections that may not appear to be connections at first until we dig deeper and figure out people’s motives; how frail love makes us, and how incredibly driven; how hate doesn’t eat us alive, our allowing it to rule over us for an extended period of time does, because hate is as necessary as love; how there’s magic in childhood and adults train it out of us; how desperate some people are to find an identity and others will sacrifice everything just to fit in, which I and most of my characters feel is very, very sad; I like to explore the results of tragedy, and show how different people cope or accept it; I deal in self-loathing because I’ve done it most of my life, and the work it takes to break those negative thought processes; bad habits and good habits, regrets and pride, extremes and everywhere between; the mystery of life and our fear of death; our egotism one moment and self-doubt the next; most of my characters feel like Holden Caulfield, that they’re surrounded by phonies, that they themselves might be phonies, and it whittles at their souls because if nothing is true or fair or genuine then what’s the fucking point when you don’t want to play the game to begin with?

When did you begin writing?

I was in my late twenties. I’d lived a lot. I’d stored up plenty of things I loved and despised, mostly emotional weight, kinetic energy to move mountains. I sucked at writing but I was disciplined and hungry to learn, to know the truth, because it gives me solid footing in what seems like such a shifting world full of masks, different ideas of success, the inconsiderate nature of people close to us who say they love us but hardly every do anything but tear us down. Satisfaction isn’t found in other people. It’s a temporary fix. We have to be happy with what we create in our own little corner of the world and be grateful if some others connect with it.

Do you consciously set out to write darker fiction?

Not consciously, no. I just know darkness. I know regret, bad choices, failed loves, wastes of time, going against the grain, conflict, stubbornness, and that what I’m doing is right for me, and all those things tend to get a little murky. I don’t think there is an absolute light and absolute darkness. I think we’re all gray. I believe all we have are our choices and sadly we act like little kids a lot: selfish, violent, manipulative, compulsive, impatient, wounded. All of that naturally walks right into dark territory. None of us are the fucking Care Bears. It’s natural to have those darker shades and I think it’s healthy to release them creatively.

Who are your major influences?

I love Tom Piccirilli for his lyricism and emotion, Greg Gifune for his atmosphere and tightly-woven plots, Clive Barker for his imagination, Peter Straub and Jack Ketchum for the places they can go even if it’s very heavy subject matter, Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly for those shades of gray even when it crosses a line to support their characters’ moral duties, John Connolly for creating a massive and entertaining story with Charlie Parker, William Faulkner for his honesty and style, Ray Bradbury for his jaded optimism, the list goes on. I’m a sum of many parts combined with my own perspective and life experience.

Do you follow a strict writing schedule or write when the ideas come to you?

Nothing strict about it. And I have too many ideas and not enough time to write them. I end up starting with an image of my characters and a title and I ask a bunch of questions about what their problems are and figure out how they all tie together, then I just write it as cleanly as I can before editing it and sending it off to my readers. Right now I have the next six books planned out but I can only tackle one of them at a time. And since I started selling work professionally I don’t rush myself anymore. I want to really know most of the major beats before I start on the prose. My focus is pretty intense so I can usually brainstorm a book in about a half hour to hour and really get to the heart of it: who the characters are, their internal and external struggles and their character arcs. The ending always ties into the beginning for some reason. Not sure why that is, but it’s usually subtle and I usually like it.

What is the most frightening book you’ve ever read?

Not sure about the most frightening. I think in many ways Peter Straub’s KOKO and Jack Ketchum’s THE GIRL NEXT DOOR were the most draining emotionally.

If “writer” wasn’t an option, what would your ideal career be?

Running my own business would be ideal and I’m going to do that anyway later this year. Once I get to the point where I can hire somebody reliable I’ll pretty much just write, play guitar, paint, speak to kids at schools about creativity and imagination, paint, hike and rock climb, practice martial arts, and read, read, read.

Any tips for up-and-coming or unpublished writers?

I summed it up on my website in a post called Gaining Traction and Maintaining Momentum:  http://www.leethompsonfiction.com/?tag=writing-success

More About Lee...

Lee Thompson started selling work in early 2010. His novel Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children, and his novella Iron Butterflies Rust, were released in 2011 by Delirium Books. You can find his short stories in Dark Discoveries, Darkside Digital, Sideshow Press, Shock Totem, Apex’s Zombie Feed anthology, Tasmaniac Publications, and other neat places. He's worked a lot, sweated a lot, and continues to take up space the best he can. The best place to keep track of what he's up to is his blog: http://www.leethompsonfiction.com.

***Posted by Dave Thomas