Curtis Ippolito is an Anthony Award Finalist, a Derringer Award Finalist, and the author of the crime novel BURNING THE NEWSPAPER MAN, his debut. Additionally, his short stories have appeared in numerous prominent publications, including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Vautrin, Mystery Tribune, and Shotgun Honey, as well as being included in several anthologies including the Anthony Award-nominated Trouble No More, and 4:20 Noir. He lives in San Diego, California, with his wife.
FR: Let’s start with your wonderful novel, BURYING THE NEWSPAPER MAN. I really enjoyed reading that one. Tell us a little about the novel, Marcus Kemp, and his San Diego setting. Who is Marcus to you? And how does San Diego fit in?
CI: Thanks so much, Frank. And thanks for inviting me to have a conversation with you.
For those who don’t know, BTNM is about a beat cop, Marcus Kemp, who discovers a dead body in the trunk of a stolen car while on patrol. But when he realizes the body is the man who abused him as a child, Marcus sets out to find out who the killer is—not to bring him to justice as in traditional murder mysteries—but to help him get away with murder.
I came up with the idea for this book while doing a ride-along with a San Diego PD officer. We were driving through Ocean Beach, this funky, laid-back beach town here, when he got a hit on a stolen car. He processed the car and searched it, which included popping the trunk. When he did, I immediately wondered what would happen if there was a dead body in the trunk. I then wondered what would make a cop who has sworn an oath to betray that oath and help the killer get away with it.
When I was figuring out who Marcus the character was, I didn’t want him to fall into the overused tropes of detective fiction. I didn’t want him to be alcoholic or misogynist, for instance. I did put parts of myself into him, though. He grew up in Texas and moves to California, for instance, but the timeline and reasons are way different than my own move. And he’s an introvert and loves routine just like me. And, no, I didn’t experience the abuse he does in the book, just to be clear. As far as how San Diego fits in, I saw San Diego as a welcoming refuge for someone like Marcus and his mother. It has all the elements to be a place where someone with a troubled past can go to forget those traumas. Great weather, beautiful scenery, interesting people, etc. I love San Diego and love writing about it. I think because it’s such an idyllic place it can disarm the reader right off the bat when it comes to crime fiction. How could anything bad happen in such a lovely place? Hold that thought and let me show you.
FR: I’ve noticed you are both a Kansas City Chiefs fan, and a Texas Ranger fan, but live in the San Diego area. I’m assuming here, but you have lived in both Kansas City and Texas? If so, how did living in those places, and now San Diego, influence you as a writer?
CI: I was born in Kansas City and lived there until I was nine. And those were nine very formative years. I remember in first grade we all had to answer what our favorite color was and why, and I answered, “Blue, because of the Royals.” Kansas City is where I made my first friends, chased lightning bugs and caught turtles in the summer; played in the snow in the winter. My family moved us to the Dallas area in 1990. We moved around once there. We lived in a house the first nine months, then a single wide, then an apartment until I was 14 or 15, all living well under the poverty line. It definitely taught me early on about how society perceives and treats the haves versus the have nots. I went to college in Texas, started my career as a newspaper reporter and later a nonprofit writer there. Texas is where I met my wife. In 2013, we moved to San Diego and it’s the best decision we’ve ever made. I was meant to live here. I wish I had been born and raised in San Diego. I love KC and we miss all our friends in Dallas, obviously, and those two places will always be dear to me in many ways. And yes, each place definitely made me the writer I am today. It’s where I grew up and learned about life. Those years of experiences helped form my world view, which is a huge part of being a writer. Strangely, though, because of a lot of factors, I didn’t start writing in earnest until I got to San Diego, and not until I was here for six years. I always wanted to write fiction, and it was something I always told myself I would eventually do. One day, after switching jobs, which really freed up my creativity, I decided I had lied to myself long enough. It was time to do the work instead of continuing to dream about it.
FR: You’ve been nominated several times for short fiction awards in crime the last couple of years, congrats by the way. Do you prefer the short form of writing as opposed to the long form? Personally, I prefer the short form because it doesn’t get the love that the longer form gets. It’s hard to get it all down in ten thousand words or less, which is typically the word amount in most magazines. What are your experiences with both?
CI: Hmm. I don’t think I prefer one form over the other. I mean, maybe I’d give a slight edge to short fiction just because the time from finishing a piece and getting it published to then enjoying the dopamine hit that goes along with that and people reading it is much, much shorter than novels. That said, I want to be a successful novelist. I’ve written two novels, published one, and am working on a third right now. There’s nothing more satisfying than writing “The End” after finishing a novel manuscript. There are a lot of life lessons contained within writing, editing, revising, and querying a novel.
I think I’ll always write short stories. It’s where I started, taking all the creative writing courses that my college offered. And I can see in the time I’ve been writing seriously that my stories have improved. Early on, when I was in those classes and even when I started writing regularly, I thought that writing a good short story was all about entertainment or coming up with a twist. And sometimes it is. Who doesn’t love a highly entertaining story that runs on vibes (Sorry, I know you hate that word, Frank.) or a story that totally upends the reader with a twist they never saw coming? Lately, though, I’ve been intentionally trying to dig deeper with my stories and explore character and motivation and how characters respond to adversity. I want readers to feel something after they read one of my stories or books, so that’s been my North star of late in both my short stories and my novels.
FR: You are currently involved in guest editing a special issue of crime stories based on climate change, an issue near and dear to myself. How has that process been for you, reading over and selecting the wonderful stories that will be a part of the anthology?
CI: Thanks for asking. It’s really been so satisfying. The anthology is from Rock and a Hard Place Press, ON FIRE AND UNDER WATER, a crime climate change-themed anthology. When the editors invited me to be guest editor, I was blown away. I mean, their only other guest editor for a themed issue was S.A. Cosby. How am I in a place to follow him? Eventually, I got over that imposter syndrome, thanks in large part to how gracious and welcoming the RHP editors were to me. They really made me feel like part of the team.
The actual process went very smoothly. I’d say the most anxious part was just watching the shared spreadsheet for submissions and hoping enough writers from diverse backgrounds would submit. I did do a bit of cheerleading and urging writers to submit at Left Coast Crime in Denver in March. It definitely paid off. I think we received 50 or 60 stories and nearly all of them were solid stories. Many that didn’t make the cut I fully expect to see in fantastic magazines over the course of the next many months. Reading the submissions was a really cool experience, being on the other side of the process for once.
The last thing I’ll say about ON FIRE is I’m stoked for people to read this anthology. We have 15 stories that explore crimes of climate change in varying ways, locations, and themes. These writers absolutely brought it and I can’t wait for everyone to read their stories.
FR: Back to the novel a bit. There are themes you use without slamming them at us from a soap box, which is something I appreciate about your writing. You do a great job at making us feel those terrors such as sexual abuse, but weaving them into the story in a way that keeps us entertained and focused. How do you work those traumatic experiences and keep the pace of the story moving? Hard, easy?
CI: Man, I’d be lying if I said it was easy. There were several points while writing those tough scenes that I questioned if I was going too far or not far enough. What I ended up doing is telling myself to put myself in Marcus’ shoes, to be empathetic to what he was experiencing and trust that it would resonate with readers and they would empathize with him as well. I’m always thrilled when I hear from people like you who say I balanced it well. I didn’t set out to shock anyone with the sexual abuse; but I also knew it was my job to be honest there, report on the atrocities or else I don’t think Marcus’ motives as an adult would have rung true.
FR: The question everyone gets. You can’t escape it, Curtis. It doesn’t matter type, genre, etc. Give us Curtis’s five favorite dead writers, and a few of Curtis’s favorite living writers. Books that you recommend?
CI: Dead, I’ll mix things up by saying these may not be my favorites, but these are writers I wish I could talk to about one of their books, their lives, or about the craft. So, Truman Capote (I want to talk IN COLD BLOOD until he’s sick of me.), Peter Benchley (You remember when you wrote JAWS? That was awesome.), Ernest Hemingway, (Kansas City! and so much more.) and
And Dr. Suess, aka Ted Geisel. I hear he and his wife and friends threw epic parties, but the thing I’d love to do most is talk to him about San Diego. Sit under a tree at Balboa Park and watch his mind work.
Favorite living writers: Dennis Lehane, Stephen King, S.A. Cosby, Jordan Harper, Kellye Garrett, James D.F. Hannah, Rob D. Smith, Holly West, Heather Levy, Marco Carocari, and so, so many more.
And for books I recommend: every book by the authors I just listed.
FR: If you are involved in a project, whether a novel or short fiction, what is your process like? Do you write hunched over a coffee table? Maybe an office? And how much time can you dedicate to the work?
CI: I write longhand, going all the way back to my reporting days. I just love the feel of writing with a pen on paper. I think I can get into the groove easier. I write at a desk in our guest room, then type up what I wrote in our dining room on the computer. I do my writing in the late afternoon, after I get off work. I’ve found that I like thinking on what I’m going to write throughout the day. I usually write for an hour or two a day when I’m working on something. But I’m always thinking, and I believe that counts as writing, too.
FR: What can we look for from you in the future? Are you working on another novel? Maybe more short fiction? Will there be other stories about Marcus Kemp, a prequel story? Or are you more of a one and done sort of writer?
CI: I’d say I’m mostly a one and done type of writer. BURYING THE NEWSPAPER MAN is a stand-alone, but I do have plans to have one of the characters make an appearance in the novel I’m writing right now. I like the idea of creating one universe or timeline all my characters share.
The novel I’m working on is set in San Diego. It’s a multi-point-of-view murder mystery. Two women and a guy. A mother searching for her missing teen son, a grieving widower whose wife died under mysterious circumstances, and a homicide detective who is working both cases while trying to win back the family she broke. I’m pitching it as a cross between MARE OF EAST TOWN and SMALL MERCIES.
FR: What I dig about BURYING THE NEWSPAPER MAN, the quick chapters. How it moves without stalling too much. You take a couple of classic tropes, but put a new spin on them to make them your own, fresh. Did it come easier to you to make the chapters quick, the writing flow with ease? Or perhaps it took a lot of rewrites to get it down?
CI: I think short, quick chapters are likely a by-product of being a former newspaper reporter. Most news stories I wrote were around 500 words. You had to report the facts with clarity. There wasn’t a lot of physical space on the page to pad your piece. The longest newspaper story I think I ever wrote was probably around 2,500 words and was a feature story on a native gardener in Dallas. Features and profiles are much different: editors allow for some flowing prose. When it comes to writing my novels, I try not to do much loitering. Get in and get out, tell the important parts. I’m also just a fan of quick chapters as a reader. It really does keep the story moving at a quick pace.
FR: Tell the readers out there about your recent award nominations? Where can we read you? If someone hasn’t read your terrific novel how can they pick up a copy? Give everyone the Curtis information.
CI: My story, “Something to Hold On To,” has been nominated this year for an Anthony Award under the Best Short Story category. I’m thrilled to be nominated again and grateful to share the honor with James D.F. Hannah, Barb Goffman, Kristopher Zgorski, and Gabriel Valjan—all writers I consider friends and whose work I admire.
You can read a lot of my short stories at curtisippolito.com where I have them linked. As far as my novel, unfortunately it’s out of print due to my publisher closing down a few years ago. Sometimes there’s a copy floating around on eBay or on that tech giant site.
BONUS QUESTION
FR: You are the guest of honor at a party for the Kansas City Chiefs. You will be partying with your favorite NFL team, but have to bring a gift. I noticed you are a fan of the plant life around San Diego, often taking photographs. You bring Andy Reid a potted plant, and three books you loved, what do you bring him to gain access to the Super Bowl party? And once inside, what are you drinking?
CI: I’d bring Andy an iris, one that is native to Kansas City. For the three books, JAWS, MYSTIC RIVER, and the complete works of Calvin & Hobbes.
And once I’m inside I’ll go with a Black Cherry Waterloo or an unsweetened iced tea (now you see why I had to get out of Texas. There’s no tolerance there for those who drink unsweet iced tea. Lol).
