Brief Author Q&A for Faraway Roads
Interview with Ken Wilkerson conducted via email, Darvey-Raignes, Publishers
Adrian Raignes: Hello, Ken. This interview is for the information website I'm setting up for Faraway Roads and Adobe Flats. To begin with, do you attribute the popularity of Faraway Roads to anything I'm not already aware of?
KW: A lot of the feedback I receive regards the storylines and locales. Many Faraway Roads readers have visited those locations and are pleased to find them come alive again on the pages - those who haven't explored the California desert enjoy descriptions of those far-off, unfamiliar regions. Other positive response has been for the various characters. Everyone seems to relate to them, women to the strong female leads, guys to Jack Chase. It's an enjoyable partnership - we're all off on the same journeys together.
AR: This book offers a wealth of interesting scenarios and characters, with Jack Chase as the centerpiece, our guide and companion. Offer some words on Jack.
KW: He works for an off-beat investigation agency based in Venice California, but his cases occur throughout the desert. A bit of a loner, he has an ironic sense of humor, an easy-going nature and a taste for tequila. A primary aspect of Jack is his perspective, his world-view presented in subtle ways throughout the narrative and in dialogue between the characters. Incidentally, I've never offered a detailed physical description of Jack because I want the reader to have the freedom of creating her/his own image of how he appears.
AR: I sometimes think of Jack as a bit of an existentialist prophet who wanders the desert, offering insights into other worlds, other ways of life - while eating a burrito in a '63 T-Bird. What about the many other characters? Are any based on real people?
KW: Two are well-known people - Gram Parsons and Steve McQueen. A few of the other characters may be composites but the rest are entirely fictional.
AR: What about Pegleg Smith in the story, Burning Sands?
KW: Actually, the Pegleg Smith tale is based on historical documentation. He allegedly found thousands of gold nuggets in a badlands area back in the late-1800s. In Burning Sands, his discovery returns to haunt some residents of Borrego Springs.
AR: Many fascinating components in the stories. For example, Coyote Flats, about the McQueen Phantom Bike. The story is set in the depths of the Mojave and inadvertently involves the Manson Family and a band of off-road desperadoes known as the Sand Dogs. I won't mention the paranormal occurrences though.
KW: A couple aspects of Coyote Flats are based on true events. All of the FR stories are rooted in reality to some degree, and laced with factual details. With Jack, I've made his work as a P.I. more authentic. Long ago I spoke with a pair of P.I.s who have an office in downtown L.A., in the old Bradbury building, and they clued me in on the reality of investigative work. Most P.I.s spend ninety-five percent of their time at computers or in insurance company offices, most don't have firearm permits or even carry pepper spray, and very few have dealt with actual mysteries. Of course I haven't put Jack in that reality, but I do avoid traditional "hard-boiled" elements, which would be incongruous in Jack's world.
AR: Readers of Faraway Roads have appreciated that. Naturalism is more compelling. I'm now thinking of Edge Rider, the story that takes place on a film set near Death Valley. The technical references and jargon are spot-on. Have you ever worked in filmmaking?
KW: No, but I have two buddies who have, and I was exposed to it when I lived in Los Angeles.
AR: What about The Three Sisters, the tale about artifacts stolen from an old Indian site?
KW: Desert tribal culture is a subject I've been fascinated with most of my life. I've read the works of turn-of-the-century anthropologists, the Southwest Museum Papers, visited sites, hiked a lot of ancient trails. The Three Sisters regards the theft of sacred Chemehuevi ollas. Jack's case culminates with a violent showdown on a lonely stretch of Highway 62.
AR: Faraway Roads has colourful elements at every turn: outland cycle gangs, apparitions, UFOs, deranged satanists, rowdy taverns and ramshackle motels, female heavy metal bands - to mention some - and of course, the mysterious landscapes of the desert. Regional lore and poignant themes though are a big part of the stories. Do you plan those elements before you begin composing?
KW: Sometimes, but they usually occur naturally as a story plays out. It's a bit like how we all live - we have a general idea of what we'll be doing from day-to-day, but never know what's actually going to happen. Over-calculation curtails the magic in our lives.
AR: In our next interview, which will be for Adobe Flats, I'd like to delve a bit into your thoughts about writing. This is an ideal opportunity though to mention Adobe Flats, your other current title for Darvey-Raignes. It contains two parts, the second a collection of six additional stories featuring Jack Chase. Would you like to offer any hints to their storylines?
KW: Sure. In the first one Jack investigates what's believed to be a meth lab hidden in a remote gold mining region; the second is a case of mistaken identity in a town near the Salton Sea; the third involves a search for a buried lockbox on a ghostly homestead in the southern desert; four is about the murder of a writer in a trailer park, with locales in Desert Hot Springs and nearby towns; five revolves around the legend of a ghost ship in the desert and a band of backcountry outlaws; six involves a decrepit hotel and a crazed killer roaming the old grove areas of Coachella Valley.
AR: An engaging collection. And Faraway Roads offers a dozen intriguing journeys in 400 pages. I believe this would be an appropriate point to conclude this interview. Incidentally, Ken, Bill [Darvey] and I send you best regards.
KW: I send you both mine.
