Ronald Malfi is the acclaimed author of Black Mouth, Bone White, and the forthcoming The Hive. Known for his dark, atmospheric fiction, Malfi is also the frontman of the rock band VEER. In this interview, he talks about writing in marathon sessions, the strange moments that spark story ideas, and why he never plans a single thing. Whether you're a longtime reader or just discovering his work, Ronald's answers offer a glimpse into the mind behind some of horror's most unsettling fiction.
What's a typical weekend like for you when you're not writing?
Wait, when am I not writing? But I get what you mean: if I'm not on a book tour, then I'm happy to spend time at home, reading, relaxing, and just enjoying the peace. I'm also in a rock band called VEER (www.veerband.net) and we frequently play shows on the weekends, depending on the band's tour schedule as well as what my book tours allow. I'm on the road more than I'm home, to be honest.
What book (by another author) has stayed with you the longest, and why do you think it stuck?
I always find myself mentioning Lance Olsen's Girl Imagined by Chance. It's such a unique book and its conclusion is unexpectedly heartbreaking. I don't know if it's still in print, but I'd recommend hunting that one down.
What's a comfort TV show or film you always find yourself returning to?
I'm a sucker for early Spielberg, whether it's the films he directed or produced, so I have seen Raiders of the Lost Ark and Back to the Future, which are likely tied for my favorite film of all time, enough to quote both movies verbatim. Heck, I could put on a one man show.
What attracts you to the horror and thriller genres?
I'm attracted to all genres, frankly, yet when I write, I tend to go dark. Who knows why? I was terrified of everything when I was a kid, so maybe in adulthood this is how I try to understand why.
When did you start writing, and when did you first publish?
I started writing back when I was ten or eleven years old. I bought an old typewriter from a yard sale and would write these creepy little stories on it. I wrote maybe fifty or sixty of them, and some of them were pretty long — a few hundred pages for the last few, once I'd gotten a bit older, so I was already in novel territory by the time I was in high school. Once I graduated college, I had roughly five or six novel manuscripts written, and wound up selling one to a small press a year after I graduated. My first published works were some short stories in collegiate magazines as well as a poem I wrote for a Dracula competition. That Dracula one was the first paycheck I ever received for my writing, a whopping hundred bucks. I'd like to say I have the check framed somewhere, but that'd be a lie: I spent that cash pretty quickly.
What music are you into? Any particular artists or bands?
I love all music — blues, jazz, rock, metal, classical, you name it. The songs I write for my band tend to fall into the alternative rock category, and bands like Nirvana, Live, Stone Temple Pilots, which were big radio bands when I was a teenager, held a lot of influence over me, and I think their sounds helped inform my own songwriting. I also tend to listen to very specific music when writing certain books, almost like I'm cultivating a soundtrack for each particular story. During the writing of Black Mouth, I played circus music exclusively, driving anyone within my vicinity crazy. I recall listening to Mellencamp's album Scarecrow nonstop during the first draft of my novel The Narrows, which I first wrote back when I was in high school.
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Do you have any pets?
Nope.
Where do your story ideas usually come from? Can you give a couple of examples of where the ideas for certain works came from?
They come from everywhere. Inspiration is born from the mundane, really. I remember one time sitting in a parking lot in my car, waiting to get an oil change. I looked over and there was this guy sitting in the next car over, oblivious to me. As I watched him, he lifted his wrist and, in hindsight, I suppose he was using his teeth to undo a stubborn watchband or something. But when I first glimpsed him, I thought he had taken a bite out of his wrist. That sparked an idea, and I went home and wrote the story "The Stranger," which appears in my collection They Lurk.
What does a typical writing day look like for you?
I used to write every day. Now, I tend to put off writing until I feel the story becoming fully formed in my head, and then the writing of it becomes these marathon sessions that take place over a course of a handful of months. I generally like to write at night, in the quiet dark, but really, when I'm under a deadline, I just get it done whenever and wherever I can. I finished my latest novel, the forthcoming The Hive, which comes out in April, in a hotel room halfway across the country, in the middle of the night.
What's your absolute favourite meal?
Sushi.
Are you more of a planner, or a 'see where it goes' kind of writer?
I don't plan a single thing in this world.
For readers discovering your work for the first time, which book would you recommend starting with?
I'll go with what I've heard others say: Black Mouth or Bone White.
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