Tod Goldberg is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books, including the award-winning Gangsterland trilogy and Living Dead Girl, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His short fiction has been published widely, including in Best American Mystery & Suspense, and his nonfiction appears regularly in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Alta, and has been anthologized in Best American Essays. He lives near Palm Springs, CA, where he founded and directs the Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts at UC Riverside. His latest anthology is Eight Very Bad Nights and he recently talked with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for Eight Very Bad Nights?
A few years ago, Soho Press did a terrific anthology called The Usual Santas where they had a bunch of their house authors write Christmas stories. I loved taking part, had a great time writing my story "Blue Memories Start Calling" and sort of jokingly told Juliet Grames, an editor at Soho, that we should do a Hanukkah one next. And then, about a week later, I had a book deal. Sometimes, the publishing business is awesome, it turns out.
In your introduction, you describe some of your family's Hanukkah celebrations. Are any of the people you mention based on or inspired by your family members, or were names changed to protect the innocent (and yourself)?
Well, the names are the same…but the situations have changed...
What was your process for putting together this collection? Did you ask specific writers for Hanukkah noir stories, open up a submission process, or did you approach it in a different way?
Soho gave me great latitude to put together the book in the way I envisioned it—which is that it would be a book that could be both deadly serious and seriously comical and that I’d figure out a way to arrange the stories in such a way that everyone’s tastes got served. I knew specific writers I had to have—my brother Lee, for instance, because we’ve never appeared in a book together and I thought that would be cool!—and I knew writers who I thought could deliver something unusual, weird, or beautiful. So this was an entirely curated anthology.
Were there any surprises for you amongst the contributors (names you were not expecting to participate or writers you were certain would but were not able to contribute)? Are there any authors that you were hoping to include but were unable to for some reason?
I really wanted my friends Paul Tremblay and Stephen Graham Jones to participate because I figured both would bring something hair-raising, but the timing simply didn’t work out unfortunately.
Are you a fan of "Noir" styled mysteries? What are some of your favorites (either classic or new) short stories, novellas, novels, films, and/or series? Who are your favorite authors and/or filmmakers?
Yes. Having written a dozen noir novels and three collections of noir-ish stories…it’s…well, it’s pretty much my life’s work at this point. Some favorites: Elmore Leonard, Dennis Lehane, Ivy Pochoda, Jim Thompson, Scott Phillips, Attica Locke, Donald Westlake, Susan Straight, Lawrence Block, and countless others.
Do you have a least favorite? (I realize that you may not want to address this one, and if that is the case, please don't. But I also realize it might be so bad that it could be fun to answer.)?
Oh, any least favorite usually has little to do with the book itself and is instead based on meeting the writer and finding them to be assholes. It happens.
You used the name of your contribution, "Eight Very Bad Nights," for the title of the collection. What was your inspiration for this story?
Well, that’s the benefit of being in charge! But in fact, I had the title before I had a story, but I knew I wanted my story to be a longer one, to take part across the entire holiday, and that it would be dark and deeply messed up. Then I went to a bar & grill in town for lunch one day and saw one of our local weathermen having a very large beer (I live in Palm Springs, and running into the local newscasters happens a lot—it’s a pretty small town if you’re a local) and all of a sudden, a story showed up in my mind.
What do you think it is about Noir that draws you, as an editor, authors, and/or readers, to these types of stories?
I love noir because you get to write about bad people doing bad things to worse people. Lotta wild cards there. It allows for comedy, violence, and seriousness, often all in the same sentence. But I also love to explore people pushed into a corner. With nowhere to go...where do you go?
Is there a theme/idea for another anthology that you would like to pursue or wish you had pursued in the past (and can talk about)?
I often get asked to write stories for anthologies based on classic records, and I’ve never had the chance to actually do that. So one day, perhaps I'll pitch the great Drive-By Truckers anthology to someone and will assign myself a short story based on "Goddamn Lonely Love."
Is there a common misperception about what you do as an Editor that you would like to explain/correct?
Well, I’m not really an editor. I happened to edit this, but I’m really an author. The most common misperception of authors is we're not as handsome as we are.
As an Editor, what do you wish writers, especially newer ones, knew or understood about the process of submitting a story for possible inclusion in an anthology on which you are working?
Again, I’m not really an editor…and if I were to do another anthology, I doubt I’d do one where I was reading submissions, so I guess the answer is: If I’m editing an anthology your best shot is to already be on my radar and hope that your phone rings.
What’s currently on your nightstand?
Reap the Whirlwind: Violence, Race, Justice, and the Story of Sagon Penn by Peter Houlahan.
Can you name your top five favorite or most influential authors?
Robertson Davies, Elmore Leonard, Richard Russo, Susan Straight, Margaret Atwood.
Can you name any influential editors?
Dan Smetanka of Counterpoint Press.
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Was there a book you felt you needed to hide from your parents?
No—my mom was deeply encouraging of reading of any kind. There were no taboos.
Is there a book you've faked reading?
Can you name a book you've bought for the cover?
Almost any of the old Vintage paperbacks but specifically I recall getting Fat City by Leonard Gardner in its Vintage edition, a million years ago.
Is there a book that changed your life?
Different books at different times have changed my life. Of Mice and Men changed my life when I was 11. Rock Springs by Richard Ford changed my life when I was 22. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies changed my life when I was 26. Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard changed my life when I was 27. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane changed my life when 32. Empire Falls by Richard Russo changed my life when I was 35. Every Daniel Woodrell book I’ve ever read has changed my life, over and over again. You have to remain open to those life-changing experiences.
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
Empire Falls by Richard Russo. Perfect book.
Is there a book you would most want to read again for the first time?
Give Us a Kiss by Daniel Woodrell.
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
I was driving in my car the other night, surrounded by the desert, listening to Jason Isbell's song "White Beretta" and wondering how he’d managed to climb into my memories.
What is your idea of THE perfect day (where you could go anywhere/meet with anyone)?
I like those Sundays when I wake up late, make a bunch of coffee, and sit with my wife and dogs, reading the newspaper, the sun cutting through our picture windows. I’m a simple person. All I need is right there.
What is the question that you’re always hoping you’ll be asked but never have been?
Who is the better writer, you or your brother Lee?
What is your answer?
Our sister Karen.
What are you working on now?
A new novel that is saved in my computer as Crooks, Thieves, & Killers. We’ll see if they’ll let me keep that!
