Author Interview! Charlie Huston

Over the past year and a bit Charlie Huston's 'Joe Pitt' series have become books where I'll drop everything else so I can get reading them straight away, they're that good. I'm a real fan so when I got the opportunity to run a few questions past Charlie I totally jumped at it! RedEyedGhost, over at Westeros had a few questions of his own and very kindly agreed to let me use them. So, without further ado...

Hi Charlie, thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview


If you woke up one morning and found that you’d become a Vampyre, which clan would you be looking to join up with in New York? Or would you go freelance like Joe?

I doubt that I would last a day. Joe always says that you’re either the kind of person that can deal with drinking other people’s blood to survive, or you’re not. I think I’m not. But by nature, I’m probably more of a Society guy than anything else. That or a Freak.

The Joe Pitt novels have a noir tone but Joe Pitt is not your typical ‘noir private eye’, what gave you the inspiration for his character and is Joe the same character that you originally concieved?

I was thinking tough guy as much as I was thinking PI. Joe’s ended up being a little more sympathetic than I thought he’d be. Which seems absurd in retrospect.

One of the things that I really like about your Joe Pitt books is that a great deal happens in a relatively short space of time. Have you ever been tempted to write a Joe Pitt book that is twice or even three times the length of previous books?

Not really. If the books moved any slower the holes in the plots would become too obvious. But the fifth and final book is likely to be the longest. There are a lot of loose ends to tie.

‘Every Last Drop’ is now in bookstores, what can fans expect from this latest instalment?

Toe biting. Lots of toe biting. More than one toe is bitten off. Toe biting.

Have any of Joe’s actions thrown you a curveball, in terms of where the plot goes next, or do you still have a good idea of how the last book will end?

I’m pretty certain of how the series will end, but there have been plenty of surprises along the way. It’s had to nail them down, they happen so regularly, but Joe is always killing someone I expected to have around for another hundred pages at least.

Are you planning on sticking with just Vampyres or are there plans to introduce other creatures into the mix? For example, will Joe going up against a werewolf anytime soon?

I’d originally planned for more other-worldliness. In fact, the first draft of Already Dead included Joe making a reference to a fight he had with a werewolf. I ended up jettisoning the concept for the sake of streamlining Joe’s world.

You write crime fiction as well, could you see any of the characters from these books crossing over into the world of Joe Pitt?

Nope.

I've never read any ‘Moon Knight’ stories but figured I’d give ‘The Bottom’ a go. I’ve got a copy but haven’t started on it yet, what can I expect to find inside? Do you have any plans to write more books for Marvel?

Marc Spector is a former mercenary who may or may not have been resurrected by the Egyptian god of vengeance and the moon. Either way, he’s crazy as a shit house rat and only does one thing well: hurts people. So he dresses up in a while costume and goes out and hurts people in the name of Khonshu.
I am working on something else for Marvel right now, but they haven’t announced it as yet and I’m supposed to keep my yap shut until they do.


Are there any other vampire books that you would recommend to someone who’s never really read in that genre? You’re not allowed to say ‘Dracula’…

Other than the aforementioned, I’ve only read a few vampire books, all of which I would recommend: “I Am Legend” (the Richard Matheson original, not a novelization of the movie), “Salem’s Lot”, and “The Hunger”.

Finally, there’s a guy in a bookstore who’s thinking about giving ‘Already Dead’ a go for the first time. He’s not sure whether to put his money on the table though, what would you say to him?

Noir vampire PI goes looking for missing poor little rich girl and gets a face full of zombies and knuckles, set against a Manhattan vampire demimonde, soaked in blood, whiskey, more blood, and shrouded in Lucky Strike smoke.
That should weed out the haters.

Thanks again for your time, I really appreciate it

'Every Last Drop' is available right now, in the US, through Del Rey. Orbit will be releasing the UK edition in March next year.

If you're after finding out more about Charlie Huston then click Here for his website. You can also read my reviews of
No Dominion, Half the Blood of Brooklyn, Every Last Drop and The Shotgun Rule