Hier ist es, bzw. genauer gesagt sind es zwei.
TBR: Today is the publication date for HUGGER MUGGER, which by my count is the 30th Spenser novel. When you wrote THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT --- the first of your novels to feature Spenser --- did you have any idea that almost 30 years later you and Spenser would be major literary icons?
RP: I don't think you could say I was surprised. I really didn't know enough about publishing to know what to expect. I knew the book was good; and the publisher thought it was good. By the time I turned it in I had already started another one (GOD SAVE THE CHILD). I really didn't know what was going to happen but I felt good about the book and good about the character and knew that I could continue writing about Spenser
TBR: HUGGER MUGGER brings Spenser to a very un-Spenser-like environment. Has horse racing been a long-term passion of yours, or was this an area you had to research to become familiar with?
RP: Actually, I've had no passion at all for thoroughbred racing. Approximately 10 years ago my agent, who is part owner of a thoroughbred stable, had an idea for a book which would be about horse breeding and racing. She thought it would be ideal for Joan and me, since we knew nothing about horse racing and would bring a fresh perspective to the topic. The result of this was that Joan and I went around the racing circuit and wrote a book entitled A YEAR AT THE RACES which, unfortunately, was promoted very poorly and sank beneath the notice of the book buying public. There were a couple of benefits from the project, however. One was that by luck we were able to observe the development of an extremely talented yearling colt named Summer Squall, who within a year won several awards and ultimately was named Horse of the Year. The other, of course, was HUGGER MUGGER. Joan suggested to me one day, "Why don't you use all that research into thoroughbred racing in a book?" And I did!
TBR: Was there a specific model for the Three Fillies Stables in HUGGER MUGGER?
RP: No, not at all. HUGGER MUGGER, the horse in the book, was modeled after Summer Squall, but that's where any comparison between fiction and reality ends
TBR: One of my favorite passages in HUGGER MUGGER was that in which the reader saw, through Spenser's eyes, the city of San Francisco. He --- or rather, you --- captured the essence of the city in a brief sentence or two.
RP: Just doing what I'm supposed to do! That's why I get paid the big bucks!
TBR: Do you have any plans for a Spenser novel set entirely in San Francisco?
RP: No, I really have no plan as such. I really don't know what I am going to do in terms of what a book is going to be about until I actually start writing it! I don't know what the next Spenser book will be about since I haven't started it yet. I'm not ruling out having Spenser visit San Francisco for an extended period. I would have to spend some additional time there myself to know the city better, however.
TBR: Which of the novels that you have written is your personal favorite?
RP: ALL OUR YESTERDAYS was unquestionably the best work I have ever done. And the reading public stayed away in droves. The publisher thought it would be huge, I was proud of it, other writers enjoyed it; but it is a fact that what interests other writers does not always interest the reading public. One of the more interesting episodes concerning ALL OUR YESTERDAYS was that CBS picked up the option for the film rights to it. When the first draft of the script came in, one of the higher-ups in production said, "What are all of these Irish guys doing in here?" She, needless to say, was somewhat unfamiliar with the book.
TBR: Have you ever considered writing any short stories, whether involving Spenser or not?
RP: Only once. Playboy at one point solicited me for a short story. I told them that I did not do short stories, that short stories did not work for me, or for Spenser, but they persisted. They offered good pay, an autographed picture of Hefner, that type of thing. So I wrote a short story, featuring Spenser, titled "Surrogate." And Playboy rejected it! It eventually was published but that has been the only time I have really considered doing a short story.
TBR: Which of your novels would you most like to see adapted to film?
RP: ALL OUR YESTERDAYS. By the time a book gets to film, however, it's theirs, not mine. The exception to this is the A&E adaptations. I have artistic control over those and write the scripts. And there will be more of those. THIN AIR will be shown in September, and LOOKING FOR RACHEL WALLACE will be on next year.
TBR: FAMILY HONOR, which is the first, and hopefully not the last, of the Sunny Randall novels, has been adapted for film. Did you have any input into the adaptation and, if so, to what extent?
RP: I have no input at all. They give me the money, I give them the book. Having input into the adaptation would be kind of like selling a house and coming back three years later and saying, "Paint it this color!"
TBR: Could you tell us a little about Pearl Productions, and what projects are current being worked on?
RP: Nothing of great consequence, really. We have sponsored some local theater, as well as a dramatic presentation and a concert presented by my sons in San Francisco and Boston, respectively.
TBR: What is your academic background?
RP: I received my B.A. From Colby College in Waterville, Maine. I earned my Master in English from Boston University in 1957. I began teaching in 1962 and also began studying for my Ph.D. in literature which I obtained from Boston University in 1971. One of the reasons that I was working for a Ph.D. was that I had been advised that a professor's position at a university would give me time to write! I had heard about the nine hour workweeks and, when I ultimately acquired the doctorate and obtained a professorship, I found that to be true. When I made the decision to resign from my teaching position Joan said, "Why resign? You only have to teach on Wednesdays!" and my response was "Yes! But it's EVERY Wednesday!"
TBR: Your doctoral thesis concerned the evolution of the American Hero commencing with the colonial period and ending with 20th Century mystery writers ---including, of course, Raymond Chandler. Who in your opinion, was the first American Hero?
RP: Natty Bumpo, in THE DEERSLAYER by James Fenimore Cooper.
TBR: And why?
RP: He was really the first one who made it all work. There have, of course, been many others since that time
TBR: In addition to the Spenser novels, you have written two novels featuring Philip Marlowe; two novels featuring Jesse Stone; and the recent FAMILY HONOR, involving Sunny Randall. Do you have plans in the future for novels involving any of these protagonists, or new creations, in addition to Spenser?
RP: There will be a new Sunny Randall book, PERISH TWICE, in November of this year. That will be followed by a new Spenser novel. I plan on alternating that way for a while, writing two books a year.
TBR: What are you working on now?
RP: PERISH TWICE. I am about a third of the way toward completion of it. I unfortunately got a bit behind recently. I went into the hospital in January of this year for a major, though routine, surgical procedure. There was a major complication during the surgery, unfortunately. If not for the fact that Boston has many brilliant medical specialists, I might not be here today. I was in intensive care for several days and, in fact, am still near the end of my recovery. My wife and sons were all there during the course of my hospitalization; if there was any benefit for me from the experience it was seeing that my sons were everything that I would want my adult children to be. They were very supportive of their mother, unintimidated by the doctors. I couldn't have asked for better.
TBR: Could you share your work habits with us?
RP: I normally get up around 8 AM. I eat breakfast, read the newspaper, and read and answer e-mail. I start writing between 10 and 11 AM and write five pages per day. I'll then eat a light lunch, take an hour nap, and work on a screenplay in the afternoon. I need long, uninterrupted periods to write --- I can't write in short bursts, although Joan can. I'll then go down to the gym and work out. I should note that another of the benefits of my recent surgery was that I lost 40 pounds! Now if I can just keep it off...one of my doctors told me that what really saved my life was my lifestyle --- I work out regularly, and do not smoke or drink.
TBR: You have on any number of occasions acknowledged the influence of Raymond Chandler upon your career. You are now at the point where you may well be even more of an influence upon the genre than Chandler, especially as applicable to writers trying to break into the genre. Do you have any advice for new writers?
RP: No, not really...well, actually, two things. First of all, find a way to produce. As I described earlier, having a Ph.D. and a professorship position gave me long uninterrupted hours to write! Secondly, when you have finished writing it, send it to someone who can publish it. Don't send it to me! And don't show it to your writers' group where everyone can tell you how good or bad it is. Send it to someone who can publish it. And if they won't publish it, send it to someone else who can publish it! And keep sending it! Of course, if no one will publish it, at that point you might want to think about doing something other than writing.
TBR: Besides Chandler, what other authors have influenced you?
RP: Actually, I've been influenced on two levels. The first level was the pulp magazines, which I read the way kids today watch television, read comics, or play video games. In addition to authors like Chandler and Hammett and Rex Stout, there were many wonderful writers that nobody has ever heard of. The second level consisted of authors such as Hemingway.
TBR: You have been quoted as saying that you will keep writing Spenser novels as long as people want them. Is there really any doubt that Spenser fans will keep reading, and rereading, your novels as long as you wish to keep writing them?
RP: That sounds like a good arrangement to me. I plan to keep writing until I die. Retirement has no attraction for me. Sitting around on the beach drives me crazy! I think what disturbed me most about my recent medical problems was that I was unable to be as productive as I would have liked. I am pretty much back up to speed, however; Joan says I must be getting better because my whine is louder and stronger.
TBR: Not to be morbid, but have you written the last Spenser novel, to be published after your death?
RP: Oh no! That's not fair to the reader at all. Spenser will live forever, at least as long as people want to remember him, and me. And I don't want to work hard on a book that is not going to be published in my lifetime. I want the money now! And, of course, I want to see the book published.
TBR: Last of all: will you ever reveal Spenser's first name?
RP: No, and for a very good reason --- I don't know what it is myself!
Robert Urich Biographie - An Extraordinary Life - ab 30.08.2019
