If the new year seems scary, a Koontz novel is scarier. And in a Koontz novel, unlike real life these days, everything makes sense.
Q: What excites you most about pub day?
A: Seeing how many pubs I can have a beer in before they all close.
Q: It’s publication day for THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE WORLD. How are you celebrating?
A: Rockin’ the night away with celebrities at Elvis’s estate on the dark side of the moon.
Q: After reading THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE WORLD, I can’t sleep.
A: That’s not a question, so I’ll just say how pleased I am with myself.
Q: What’s Odd Thomas doing in the afterlife?
A: Writing 8 books with me as the lead, putting me thru the terror to which I subjected him.
Q: How will you start the New Year?
A: Asleep, dreaming I’m a dog with all the joy thereof. Let someone else turn on the 2023 engine.
I sold my first story, then had at least 50 rejections. Never forget——all major New York publishers rejected Harry Potter. Perseverance.
Ask me anything about writing. I’ve received a lot of bad advice over the years, so I have plenty to pass along.
Q: How can you be so optimistic?
A: Seven times I should have died. I didn’t. Experience makes me optimistic. Plus, I’m a goofball.
If I had no readers and was wealthy, I would still write. I’m obsessed with writing. Better than being obsessed with setting fires.
If an idea scared me too much to write it——I’d HAVE TO WRITE IT to prove I’m more Clint Eastwood than I am Peewee Herman.
Q: You seem fond of Southwest deserts?
A: Lived in Vegas a year. 120-degree summers. Met Liberace. Was forever slammed by the glamour.
Ask me anything. I’m sure to have a foolish reply, but I’ll do my best to disguise it as wisdom.
The worst advice I was ever given: “Here’s a book by (name withheld). Write like this & you’ll sell better.” I refrained from murder.
It’s odd that people use the same words to describe me and my books: scary, funny, tense, different, strange, nice teeth.
Q: Who is your favorite character?
A: Me.
All prices are rising, but my 12 NAMELESS stories are free on Amazon Prime, so you can still afford food, gas, AND entertainment.
Q: What Koontz book should I buy for my friend?
A: Good Lord, buy 50 books, give 49 to strangers, & maybe make more than one friend!
Elsa, our dog, has a New Year’s resolution: to learn what I’ve done with all her poop I collected in bags——and why I’ve done it.
In college, I hated doing research and mostly faked it because it interfered with my interest in pinochle. So I’m surprised that doing research for my novels is one of my favorite things.
Q: How do you celebrate the holidays?
A: Carefully. I have a tendency to exuberance that can lead to trouble.
The strangest thing I’ve been asked to sign was a bosom. It was a nice bosom, but I politely declined.
Q: What’s your superpower?
A: In spite of the fact I’ve been regularly eating delicious power bars, I’ve yet to develop a superpower.
Q: What mental space are you in when you write an evil character?
A: Let’s just say for some days after, I can’t sleep with myself.
