Interview with author F. Paul Wilson at RT

After the book fair today, I got to talk with F. Paul Wilson, author of the bestselling Repairman Jack series. Read on as he talks Jack, science and rock and roll.

RT: Tell the readers a little about who you are.

F. Paul Wilson: I write … everything. I write horror, science fiction, medical thrillers, metaphysical thrillers, religious thrillers and paranormal thrillers.

RT: And most people know you for your Repairman Jack series.

FPW: Right. They have paranormal elements in them, because there is a kind of cosmic shadow wars going on behind the series and impugning on Jack’s life. So it’s a mixture.

RT: Was last year your first RT and what made you decide to come to one?

FPW: Yes, it was. I was on tour in 2007 for a book, and it was probably my most extensive tour yet. And I started noticing that at stops, signings and events that about fifty percent were women. There were elderly women, teenage women and everything in between and it was an eye-opener to me. I had envisioned my books as a men’s type of thing. With no intention of writing for female readers, I was writing for guys, the kind of books I like to read. I had never been a romance reader, it was a shock to me. So I think it was Alex Sokoloff and Heather Graham who said “you’ve got to go to RT” and after hearing that for about five times, I decided what the heck. I had a great time.

And I have mentioned this a few times, but my web site, www.repairmanjack.com, was averaging 1.8 million hits a month. In April of 2008, I had 1.8 million hits and in May of 2008, I had 2.8 million hits. The only thing I had done of any real importance in terms of exposure to people was going to RT, so I had to RT the credit for that. It couldn’t have come from anywhere else. So I said, whoa, I am coming back!

RT: What’s your favorite part about the convention?

FPW: There’s a camaraderie here that is missing at a lot of conventions. There’s very little stratification. You see readers sitting with wannabe writers sitting with established pros, just all hanging out with out anybody drawing lines. It’s a really collegial atmosphere and I find that refreshing, too. So, it’s just a very friendly gathering. There’s good business reasons for being here, but also it’s also just very pleasant.

RT: You have a conference coming up?

FPW: I am Toastmaster at the World Horror Convention next weekend in Winnipeg, Canada. I have never been to Winnipeg, but it’s the capital of Manitoba, so I guess it shouldn’t be … it’s very north. Talk about extremes, I am here in Florida and then I go north to Winnipeg.

It will be a totally different group. Though that’s a pretty friendly group, too. Tthere are lots less, because horror doesn’t have as many readers. They say horror is dead. But I always point out that romance has been absorbing horror for years. What used to be called vampire fiction or the monsters fiction has been changed into their own sensibilities.

But that’s what happened with rock and roll. They said rock and roll was dead until the British got a hold of it and brought it back to its roots and made it fresh again and made it hugely commercial where they made it interesting again. It’s sort of like that, sort of like a British invasion into horror. Where you are co-opting horror and making it new again and commercial.

RT: Are you working on anything else?

FPW: I am also commenting on science and medicine at this new website that just went live a few weeks ago called True/Slant.com. It’s got some very interesting people commenting on everything. It’s just a great variety. It has some networking aspects to it, where you can follow people, get their RSS feeds. So about three time a week I put up a commentary there about science and medicine. It’s a different kind of thing for me; I almost never write nonfiction. They asked me so I said I would give it try.

Thanks, Paul!