Monday, June 01, 2015

A Conversation with Crime Novelist Eryk Pruitt

Omnimystery News: Author Interview with Eryk Pruitt

We are delighted to welcome author Eryk Pruitt to Omnimystery News today.

Eryk's new crime novel is Hashtag (280 Steps; May 2015 ebook formats) and we recently had the opportunity to spend some time with him talking about it.

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Omnimystery News: Tell us a little more about Hashtag.

Eryk Pruitt
Photo provided courtesy of
Eryk Pruitt

Eryk Pruitt: Hashtag is told in three sections, each with its own "protagonist." The first story deals with Odie Shanks, a small-town boy with big-time dreams. He gets mixed up with Jake Armstrong, a career criminal, who helps him rob stations en route to Hollywood. The second part deals with Deputy Roy Rains, the hick cop assigned to cover up Odie's criminal debut, and the third stars "Sweet" Melinda Kendall, a tweaker coming down from a killer high and making all the wrong decisions. I love writing about people who do bad things. They may or may not be bad people... that is for you to decide. But these people definitely zig when maybe the rest of folks would zag.

OMN: Do you prefer writing stand-alone novels?

EP: Both my novels Hashtag and Dirtbags have been stand-alones, although they take place in the same town. I haven't written a recurring character yet because I believe I've gotten all I can get out of these people. Also, I like to chase after a theme if I can and it's a lot of fun to introduce folks to a new cast of characters. I can see the allure of a recurring detective or criminal, but I'm not there yet. However, if you look real close in both novels, you might see some of the same people turn up …

OMN: How hard is it to find the right voice for your female leads?

EP: It doesn't matter as long as I can relate to her. I can relate to "Sweet" Melinda in Hashtag. I can relate to her hard. I've known girls like that. I've been the guy who has pushed a lady or two to limits such as the ones she's had to faced, and I've been pushed. I'm not the guy you would call if you wanted to adapt or update Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice, but I like a lady with more on her mind than shopping or sipping hot tea. There are plenty of them in the South and I'll do what I can to do them justice.

OMN: How do you categorize your novels?

EP: I've had trouble checking boxes when it comes to categories. "Crime" seems the most general, although I like what has been called "Grit Lit." I love the tradition of the Southern Gothic, and I use techniques used in thrillers and hard-boiled novels, although I wouldn't go all the way in there. I like blending genres a little. My first film Foodie did well in horror film festivals, although most people will tell you it's more a black comedy. I just like to write what I want to read.

OMN: Summarize Hashtag for us in a tweet.

EP: Hashtag takes you on a rip-roaring ride through the American South with guns, hookers, and firetrucks! #GritLit

OMN: How much of your own personal experience have you included in your books?

EP: I'd like to think I'm all over these books. There's enough of my own experiences in there, but I'm not writing a diary, man. I'm gussying up my own stories and telling them for a bigger audience. I tell folks that if you're my friend, you will recognize something in there we've shared a laugh about in the past, but if you are my enemy I will fucking name names.

OMN: Where do you most often find yourself writing?

EP: I sit at a 19th century desk with a PC. My walls are covered with notes and pictures to keep me in the moment. When I finish a particular work, I will clean it all off and start over. But I like to be immersed.

OMN: How do you go about researching the plot points of your stories?

EP: I try to get as close to the subject matter as possible. While researching Hashtag, I actually scoped out gas stations and an office supply store. It's funny because one night, I was casing a joint and writing notes when a security guard came along and asked what I was writing. I would have shown him, but I caught a quick glimpse at my notes which said: "doors at front, two cameras, safe in mgrs office, 3 registers … etc." Shortly after, I added "gung-ho security guard."

OMN: Is there any particular place that influences your settings?

EP: I grew up in East Texas, so a certain degree of can-do lawlessness will forever infect my work. However, since transplanting to the East Coast, I've been tainted by a heavy dose of corruption. I've watched as business, politics, and religion have uprooted all that is good and right with the region and wanted to put it into a setting. Lake Castor is similar to a lot of towns in the area, in that when jobs went overseas, a lot of people were left with limited options. I wanted to capture that spirit.

OMN: If we could send you anywhere in the world to research the setting for a book, where would it be?

EP: Ireland. I traveled there back in my wilder and woolier days and regretted leaving. The Irish situation is so similar to what I've been writing about and what fascinates me, I'd give anything to be surrounded by it. I could think of nothing that would make me happier than to write a gritty Irish slice of fiction.

OMN: How did you come up with the title Hashtag for your book?

EP: My working title was originally The Freeway Potboiler, because it took place on the highways and I wanted to write a classic potboiler. Then I renamed it Highwaymen because I've always loved that name for old school bandits, especially mean dudes on the Natchez Trace, but I didn't want people to confuse it for that old Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings supergroup. Finally, I decided on Hashtag because … well, you'll see when you read it.

OMN: How involved were you with the cover design?

EP: Looking at the 280 Steps cover designs was a bigger factor in choosing them than I'd like to admit. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but their covers are so kick ass …

OMN: What kinds of feedback have you received from readers?

EP: I like hearing which characters they like best. Since I'm not in love with the idea of having one main character tell a story, I like to hear which one resonated with them the most. Or which one they hated … whoever they liked reading about the most.

OMN: Suppose Hashtag were to be adapted for television or film and you're the casting director. Whose agent are you calling?

EP: Odie Shanks would be great for some younger actor trying to get his street cred. I love that kid Lucas Black from Sling Blade and Friday Night Lights. I think he'd make a great 1996 Jake Armstrong, or maybe even Danny Yeager. Timothy Olyphant could run circles around present day Jake Armstrong. North Carolina actress Hanna Brown was great as Sweet Melinda in the trailer, so I'd love to see her sink her teeth further into the part. Another local actress, Tracey Coppedge, would make the perfect Ruby Fuller.

OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young?

EP: I read a lot of Choose Your Own Adventure Books. Hardy Boys. Mark Twain. I loved adventure books and learned early on how important it was to hook a reader. Most of the stuff I wrote early on was horror because it is so easy to let the imagination fly and keep a reader interested.

OMN: What's next for you?

EP: I am also a filmmaker, so I am fortunate enough to have three short films produced in 2015. The first one is Liyana, On Command, which is currently in film festivals. The second is a drama directed by Meredith Sause called Keepsake, and the third is The Hoodoo of Sweet Mama Rosa, adapted from my Pushcart-nominated short story in Zymbol magazine, starring J.W. Smith and Logan Harrison. I also am hard at work on a new novel.

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Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, filmmaker and the author. His short films Foodie and Liyana, On Command have won several awards at film festivals across the US. He lives in Durham, NC.

For more information about the author, please visit his website at ErykPruitt.com and his author page on Goodreads, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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Hashtag by Eryk Pruitt

Hashtag by Eryk Pruitt

A Crime Nove

Publisher: 280 Steps

Amazon.com Print/Kindle Format(s)iTunes iBook Format

The repercussions are felt across the American South when a pizza joint in sleepy Lake Castor, Virginia is robbed and the manager, Odie Shanks, is kidnapped. The kidnapping is the talk of the town, but it's what people don't know that threatens to rip asunder societal norms. Odie chases dreams of Hollywood stardom and an explosive social media presence while his partner in crime, Jake Armstrong, pursues his own vengeful agenda.

In the meantime, corrupt and lazy Deputy Roy Rains has a hard-luck time of covering up the crime in order to preserve his way of life.

And college student Melinda Kendall has hit the highway in a stolen ride with nothing but a .22 and limited options, on the run from her drug dealer boyfriend, the Mississippi State Police and the media, trying to escape some bad choices by making even more bad choices.

Hashtag by Eryk Pruitt

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