Talking with Tim

It’s not often that an award-winning novelist teams up with an Academy Award winner like Guillermo del Toro to write a novel. But that’s the situation that Chuck Hogan finds himself in with the new novel, The Strain.  As detailed by HarperCollins: “The visionary creator of the Academy Award-winning Pan’s Labyrinth (del Toro) and a Hammett Award-winning author (Hogan) bring their imaginations to this bold, epic novel about a horrifying battle between man and vampire that threatens all humanity. It is the first installment in a thrilling trilogy …

They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come.

In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country.

In two months—the world.”

I recently got the chance to do a brief email interview with Hogan about the collaboration. But before launching into it, here’s some additional information about the novelist: “Hogan is the author of several acclaimed novels, including The Standoff and Prince of Thieves, which won the 2005 Hammett Award and was called one of the 10 best novels of the year by Stephen King. Prince of Thieves will soon be a major motion picture.”

Tim O’Shea: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this is your first foray into writing horror. What was the biggest challenge to writing in this genre?

Chuck Hogan: My biggest challenge, far and away, was getting the book off on the right foot vis a vis my coauthor. Guillermo is an intimidating first reader, so I wanted to make sure I brought it. My anxiety level went down fifty percent once I felt like he liked what he saw, and that our oars were rowing in sync.

O’Shea: This is the first part of a trilogy (the upcoming installments to be released in 2010 and 2011), how much of a challenge was it to commit to be co-write three novels in the span of essentially three years?

Hogan: A huge challenge, but my excitement for the story trumped all common sense. And I’m not exactly writing one book a year, but more like half a book a year, since it is a collaboration. In fact, I have another crime book coming out next Spring.

O’Shea: What kind of storytelling lessons/strengths did you you take away from collaborating with Guillermo Del Toro?

Hogan: Keep creating. He has this seemingly limitless ability to create, which makes my former preciousness seem amateurish.

O’Shea: How much research did you do into the CDC before or during the writing of this trilogy?

Hogan: Well, I did a ton – for a previous novel, THE BLOOD ARTISTS. So it was a real boon to be able to go back and use some of that, especially with all the new other areas I had to research for this trilogy.

O’Shea: Who’s idea was it to make one of the major characters a recovering alcoholic–I thought it was a strong nuance used effectively in the book.

Hogan: Eph’s background was explicated in GDT’s original outline.

O’Shea: Which was the hardest character to write, in terms of finding his or her voice (and why)? Also, were there certain characters that grew on you more than others as you wrote?

Hogan: None were difficult. In fact, I wish we had more space to give to some of the second tier characters, but that would have made the book too long. Setrakian is far and away my favorite character, and that continues into the second book as well.

O’Shea: Looking over at Twitter, many readers are raving about The Strain–do you enjoy the more immediate feedback that can be gained from your readership–thanks to the Internet?

Hogan: I remember getting my first ever letter from a reader – way back in the pre-internet days – and being surprised. It never occurred to me to write an author about his book – they seemed so far removed from my life. I like that readers can communicate immediately. It can only help promote good books, especially those without a huge marketing budget, but which are deserving of attention.

O’Shea: You and Del Toro made an appearance at the recent New York Festival of Horror, what was that experience like?

Hogan: It was huge for me, because I was a Fangoria subscriber way, way back in the day. When you subscribed, they gave you a three-line classified ad for free, so you could say I was first published there. I wish I’d had more time to walk the floor and hang out.