October 2007

FIVE QUESTIONS: A Visit With Peter Straub

We're visiting with Mr. Peter Straub today! The multi award-winning novelist of "Lost boy, lost girl," "Ghost Story," "Mister X," "Koko," along with co-author of "The Talisman" and "Black House" (both with Stephen King). Mr. Straub has had two recent releases "Sides" from Cemetery Dance (available as a trade and limited) and "5 Stories" by Borderlands Press (limited to only 350 copies). So take a seat on our cyber couch as we visit with Mr. Straub at his writer's desk to discuss his work.

Yo Peter! Welcome to our Five Questions at the Overlook Connection Bookstore.

DAVE: ONE: In recent years I would venture to say you've been tightening up your novel prose. Compared to your earlier novels, your recent "lost boy lost girl" and "In the Night Room" are both shorter novels, but no less intense. Are you taking a different approach to your writing these days?

PETER STRAUB:Those last two came fairly easily, after an initial struggle with each. That's probably what made the difference. My current project looks like being maybe 500-600 pages.

DAVE: TWO: You've just had two recent releases as we mentioned: "Sides" and "5 Stories." Would you please illuminate our readers on these releases, what they're about and how did these collections come to be published?

PETER STRAUB:Richard Chizmar at Cemetery Dance asked me if I had anything he could put on his list, and I realized that I had bunch of uncollected essays that would make up a pretty good book. Then I added the complete Putney Tyson Ridge, just to have all of that in one place. It's SIDES as in "side dishes." 5 STORIES happened much the same way, though this time I asked the Monteleones if they'd be interested in doing a little book of my thus-far uncollected stories.

DAVE: THREE: The Talisman was published almost twenty-five years ago. The follow up, The Black House, published in 2001. Steven Spielberg purchased and is pursuing a TV mini-series on The Talisman. And now there has been some discussion about a third book in "The Talisman" - do I venture to say 'series."? What can you tell us about another book from you and Mr. King? Anything new on the TV / film project?

PETER STRAUB: The Talisman has just been shelved for the hundredth time, now because of the budget. Steve and I have agreed to do the last book in the series, but it will have to wait until our desks are clear.

DAVE: FOUR: You also have the twenty-fifth anniversary limited edition of "Floating Dragon" being released soon. Will this release feature any revisions, and or additions to the original novel? Any other specialties being planned for this edition?

PETER STRAUB: There are no new revisions, but I did add an indiscreet new Introduction to the book.

DAVE FIVE: Let's look to future projects on Peter Straub. You mentioned to me recently that you have a comic series that is being planned. I was very excited to hear about this. Your prose is very descriptive and I think your fiction would make a wonderful transition to a graphic novel. What is the project and when do you expect it to be released? Do you have a new novel that we can look forward to? Any other projects from Peter Straub that we should know about?

PETER STRAUB: I'm doing a graphic novel called THE GREEN WOMAN with my friend Michael Easton, who plays Lt. John McBain on "One Life to Live." The artist will be John Bolton, and the publisher is DC/Vertigo. The work has been very enjoyable, and we both think the project will be very exciting. It sure as hell is dark, anyhow. And I'm at work on a novel called THE SKYLARK, to be published by Doubleday in the autumn of 2008 (see updates below).

2010 UPDATES:  Skylark was later altered in novel content and name to become the 2010 released novel DARK MATTER. However Skylark was released in its original form from from Subterranean Press. According to Mr. Straub a novella, A SPECIAL PLACE, although written during the Skylark / Dark Matter period, became an entity unto its own and was released  as a seperate title in limited and trade paperback.

THE GREEN WOMAN is being released as an original graphic novel in October 2010.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OF PETER STRAUB'S NOVELS AND ITEMS HERE AT THE OVERLOOK!

(This page is an interview only and is not an item for sale)