We chat with author Ronald Malfi about Senseless, which is a page-turning, supernaturally-tinged LA puzzle-box thriller – Zodiac with teeth, perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Lauren Beukes.
Hi, Ronald! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m the author of about twenty books, each one darker than the next. I also play in a rock band, VEER.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
When I was around eleven years old, I salvaged an old typewriter from a yard sale, took it home, and proceeded to relentlessly hammer out stories on the poor thing. It was an ungodly profession that I continued all through high school, well into college, and clearly until this day. I never set out to deliberately write things that were dark, although they always seemed to come out that way.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King was the first one that resonated with me as a somewhat-adult. Prior to that, there would have been what passed for young adult novels back when I was a kid, like some Beverely Cleary books. I remember being moved by the novels Where the Red Fern Grows and Bridge to Terabithia.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Stephen King’s It.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: A little-known book called Girl Imagined by Chance, by Lance Olsen. If you can find a copy, I recommend reading it.
Your latest novel, Senseless, is out April 15th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Three lives intersect through murder.
What can readers expect?
This book has a decidedly more noirish tone than anything else I’ve ever done, and the L.A. setting only enhances that. It’s very dark, very gritty, and at times it borders on the…I suppose you’d say “psychedelic”? I’m very pleased with how it turned out.
Where did the inspiration for Senseless come from?
Who knows? My mind is constantly filled with characters and situations, storylines that merge and intersect and diverge and converge and whatever other kind of verge you want to consider. This book in particular has what appear to be three disparate storylines that all come together near the end of the book. Because I don’t outline when I write, I had the pleasure–not to mention the arduous task–of figuring out how they’d all cross paths at the end.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really had fun writing about the relationship between Maureen and her future stepson, Landon, because Landon is such a sadistic, misogynistic creep that there seemed no limit to his behavior.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
I hit a stumbling block with some police procedural stuff at the midway point. Ordinarily, this would have been a big problem, but the unique way this novel unfolds–these three seemingly unrelated storylines–I was able to pick up with the two other storylines while, in my head, I worked out the details of the issue. Fortunately, it didn’t slow me down too much.
What’s next for you?
I’ll be heading out on a book tour for Senseless that will take up most of the year. Meanwhile, I’m working on my next novel, which is showing itself to already be a nasty piece of work.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
Very excited to have just read Philip Fracassi’s The Third Rule of Time Travel, which is excellent. I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates. I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of Eminence Front by Rebecca Rowland, which comes out in January, and is a book I’d recommend everyone pick up.
