A Writer's Tale by Richard Laymon Read Free Book Online

Ltd. in Modesto, CA. Approximately two copies of The Stake were sold. Larry Mori and Joan Parsons drove out from Berkley and had dinner with us.
    July 17 - August 1 We took a driving trip out west. Went to Jackson Hole. At a dude ranch near Cody, Wyoming, we did a lot of horseback riding, some whitewater rafting, some rock climbing. We got to meet a few real cowboys. We went to the Cody rodeo and Yellowstone Park. After the ranch, we went to Custer, South Dakota, saw Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Mountain, the badlands, the Custer battlefield at the Little Big Horn, etc.
    We drove through fabulous landscapes near Moab, Utah. All this provided vast amounts of first-hand experience that came in handy during the writing of Savage’?, western sections. (I had been writing Savage since November of the previous year.) Aug. 9 I spoke and autographed copies of The Stake at The Book Annex in Venice, CA.
    This being Venice, we had real vampires in attendance.
    Sept. 6 I finished writing Ripper, otherwise known as Narrow Calls and soon to be published as Savage.
    Sept. 9 Though I’m convinced he did everything possible to help my career, I broke off from my U.S. agent, Ralph Vicinanza.
    Sept. 10 I began a series of original stories for my first short story collection, to be published by Peter Enfantino, John Scoleri and Robert Morrish of Deadline Press.
    Sept. 12-18 I wrote the short story, “Finders Keepers.”
    Sept. 19-23 I wrote “Joyce.”
    Sept. 24 - Oct. 1 I wrote “Mask.”
    Oct. 1-5 I wrote “Stickman.”
    Oct. 7-20 I wrote a story called “Friend,” which would become the title story of the Deadline collection, “A Good, Secret Place.” (The title, of course, is a play on the title of Hemingway’s classic short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.”) Oct. 14 I met agent Dominick Abel for lunch at Coco’s in West Los Angeles. He seemed willing to take me on as a client, but he thought I would be a tough sell because of my track record. (It’s all computerized, so if your books are not smashing hits, you can’t escape the record and your career inevitably goes down the toilet.) Mr. Abel thought it might be a good idea for me to escape from my record by writing under a pseudonym.
    Oct. 28 After smoking a pipe since about the age of sixteen, I gave it up. For a while, I thought I might not be able to write without smoking a pipe, but I managed.
    Oct. 29 I started work on a new novel, The Caller (never finished).
    Nov. 4 In my quest for a U.S. agent, I talked to a man from William Morris. I was informed, however, that the agency wouldn’t take me on as a client unless I allowed them to handle the whole world, including the U.K. Which would mean dumping Bob Tanner.
    So I didn’t go with William Morris.
    It may have been at this point that I decided to quit looking for an American agent, and have Bob Tanner handle the whole works. He’d done such a fine job everywhere else, that it made sense. And still does.
    Nov. 6-13 I wrote the short story, “The Fur Coat” for Richard Chizmar’s anthology, The Earth Strikes Back.
    Nov. 12 Bob Tanner called to inform me that Blood Games would be the main selection of Book Club Associates, Britain’s most important book club.
    Nov. 17-23 I wrote the short story, “Phil the Vampire,” for the Gorman/Greenberg anthology, Vampire Detectives.
    Nov. 27 - Dec. 2 We went to Bullhead City, Sedona and Cottonwood with the De Larattas.
    Dec. 2-9 I wrote the short story, “Dracuson’s Driver,” for the Gorman/Greenberg anthology, Dracula, Prince of Darkness.
    Dec. 10-13 I wrote the short story, “Kitty Litter” for the Gorman/ Greenberg anthology, Cat Crimes II. Dec. 14 I started writing my novel, Quake.
     
    1992
     
    Jan. 15 The Stake went into development for Tri-Star TV.
    Jan 26 - Feb.2 In Florida, we went to Disney World, Daytona Beach, Cape Canaveral, and Gatorland where I ate alligator.
    March 19 The trial of the police officers who subdued and arrested felon Rodney King