We are delighted to welcome author Joe Ricker to Omnimystery News today.
Joe's debut collection of short stories is Walkin' After Midnight (280 Steps; June 2015 trade paperback and ebook formats) and we recently had the opportunity to spend some time with him talking about his new book.
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Omnimystery News: Tell us a little more about the lead characters in your stories.
Photo provided courtesy of
Joe Ricker
Joe Ricker: I try to vary the lead between gender. There's a lot of violence in crime fiction and I want my female characters to be more than victims. A lot of my approach is from a nefarious perspective. I like sharp, edgy female leads, and I think it's about time more women preyed on men. I'm not sure how much value readers place on gender. Personally, as a reader, I just want the author to bring something honest and truthful to the surface, regardless of how ugly it might be. Most importantly, though, is that I want to believe what I'm reading could actually happen, so details matter most.
OMN: How did you go about researching the plot points of the stories?
JR: I had the good fortune of slinging drinks at a bar that was the favored watering hole for law students at Ole Miss, not to mention the abundance of lawyers that frequented the bar. I still keep in touch with a lot of those folks which allows me to consult with experts. I was a criminal justice major for my first two years of college, which gave me a little background as well. There's some personal experience in there, especially from my younger days. Basically, I use every resource available, and I triple check things. The Internet is alright, but there's so much bullshit there it takes almost as much time to filter through what's valid and what isn't.
OMN: If we could send you anywhere in the world to research the setting for a story, where would it be?
JR: I'd go to Australia. I've always been interested in how Britain used it as a penal colony.
OMN: What are some of your outside interests? And have any of these found their way into your stories?
JR: I spend a lot of time outside with my dog. We're avid hikers. I also like fishing and backpacking. I haven't brought any of that into my fiction, yet. I also really like road trips. Really long, extended, months-long road-trips.
OMN: What is the best advice — and harshest criticism — you've received as an author?
JR: Write until you find the jewel was the best advice I've heard. I've written hundreds of pages just to get a ten page story. If I hadn't written those hundred pages, I wouldn't have found the story I really wanted to tell. Some stories are closer to the surface than others, but the story never exists until it's written. Having it in your head is great, but it has to make its way to paper and that transition isn't always fluid. A lot of times it's blocky and you don't really know what you're building yet. I don't think any of the genuine criticism I've ever received was harsh. Anything that seemed harsh was never really about my writing, but the person giving the criticism. Often, they had something to say that they didn't like about me, not what they'd read. I think the best advice I can give an aspiring author is to find someone who will read your work objectively and provide you with honest feedback, but that's not always easy to find.
OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young? And do you think they influenced your decision on what you write today?
JR: I read The Hardy Boys and Boxcar Children, mostly, and I don't remember enough about them to know if there is an influence. The Phantom Tollbooth, Bridge to Terabithia and The Sign of the Beaver were a few of the books I favored as a child. I read fairy tales and Disney shit, too, and I think more of my influence came from wanting a different perspective of those stories, from the perspective of the "bad" guys.
OMN: Create a Top 5 list for us on any topic.
JR: Here are three topics:
Top Five Films:
• Fight Club
• True Romance
• Lucky Number Sleven
• Derailed
• Payback
Top Five Novels:
• Motherless Brooklyn
• The Contortionist's Handbook
• Kiss Me, Judas
• The Killer Inside Me
• The Violent Bear it Away
Top Five Short Stories:
• "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
• "Bullet in the Brain"
• "The Man Who Knew Belle Starr"
• "Time and Again"
• "Hair's Fate"
OMN: What's next for you?
JR: I'm always writing, but hopefully, I'll be moving. I've been in New York long enough. I'm ready to see something else, begin another chapter in my life.
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Joe Ricker is a former bartender for Southern literary legends Larry Brown and Barry Hannah. He's driven a cab and worked in the Maine timber industry. His short fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Rose & Thorn Journal, and The Hangover.
For more information about the author, please visit his website at JoeRicker.com and his author page on Goodreads, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Walkin' After Midnight by Joe Ricker
Crime Stories
Publisher: 280 Steps
A short story collection set in New England's darkest corners …
You might have passed some of the characters from these stories of the damaged underbelly of American society on the street; you were glad you kept walking.
— Walkin' After Midnight by Joe Ricker
