A Visit With Gary Dobbs Part Two
Today we’re continuing our interview with Gary Dobbs, author of The Tarnished Star and the forthcoming Black Horse Western, Arkansas Smith.
MB: You’ve written both short stories and novels about the Old West. Have you written any non-fiction? Would you enjoy researching or writing historical pieces?
GD: I sometimes write the odd non fiction post on my blog, but I would one day like to write something on the west with real depth. Maybe my planned trip next year will inspire me – I have a massive western reference library, and I love the subject, never tire of reading about it. But there are so many really great non fiction western works out there, writers like Dee Brown, Fred Nolan , Stephen Ambrose and Hampton Sides come to mind. It’s difficult to think where I could fit in, but I would like to write a major study on the gunmen of the west one day.
MB: By trade you are a writer, but an actor as well. I know you’ve written that these two sides sort of compliment each other. Will you explain what you mean?
GD: Well they are both creative, and when I’m acting the feeling is the same as writing, only your vocabulary is more physical. You express yourself with gestures and movement rather than words, but it is all story telling. And when I’m writing I sometimes find myself acting out lines of dialogue to see how they pan out, or maybe becoming the character I’m writing about – Hey, I’m a method writer! For instance, when I was writing Tarnished Star I went and lived in the mountains for a month and fought wolves. Now that may not be true but I’m not saying one way or the other.
MB: Can you describe your process in writing a new novel? Do you outline extensively?
GD: I like to have an idea of the climax and a brief understanding of the characters, but other than that I don’t outline. I’ve tried outlining beforehand, but I found it limits me in the actual storytelling because I’m conscious of what happens next and invariably a character refuses to cooperate and the outline goes out of the window. For instance the imagined ending of Tarnished Star was somewhat different to the way it eventually came out. With Arkansas Smith I did outline the flashback segments but they were important to the overall story arc and I had to get the dates of events correct, so it was vital to follow an outline. The main part of the story though was, as always, in the hands of the characters.
MB: You’ve also written some short crime stories. Would you like to write a longer mystery or noir?
GD: I’m actually working on a crime project at the moment, and I’ve also got a noir idea I’d like to develop. But I always come back to the westerns – you know you can work crime, noir or otherwise into westerns in any case. So I don’t think it would be that far fetched to think that one-day I may write a contemporary crime novel. The genre is very successful, but I don’t much like the size of most modern crime novels and the way they are half soap opera – frankly I don’t give a shit what the detective’s wife is doing in her spare time or what the characters kids grades in school are like.
I have a crime novel set in South Wales in 1904 which features Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Circus that I should finish before this year is out – I intend to publish that under my real name because I think of Jack Martin as solely a western writer. It’s going under the working title of, “It’s high noon, boyo” and it’s a humorous historical crime but it’s also half a western. I love the idea of a Wild West shoot out in Pontypridd’s Taff Street. I guess whatever I do I can’t get away my western obsession.
MB: Writing, acting, driving a cab: you must have a full schedule. What does Gary Dobbs do to unwind?
GD: Seriously I find writing so relaxing, so I don’t really need to unwind. I tend to walk a lot, me and my dog (a boxer called Lennon) and I like to sometimes relax with a bottle of decent wine and a movie (yep, a western). And I love doing the garden, there’s something spiritual about digging about in the earth – it’s better than hours of therapy. I guess I’ve already lived my wild years, and although I can let my hair down at times, I prefer to just chill these days. I’m happy in what I do, and that’s a pretty special place to be. Only a year ago I would have given my right arm to publish a novel, and now I’ve done that and have a second in the pipeline for next year. Now I just want to get better and better and build my brand be it Jack Martin or Gary Dobbs. Both are sides of me – I guess I’m like a cuddly version of Two Face from Batman.
MB: With a daily blog, The Tainted Archive, a regular podcast, and a strong presence in True West’s social media group, you seem comfortable with technology. Did you grow up using computers?
GD: Not really but the Internet fascinates me and when blogs came about I realized this was my chance to write about anything I fancied and publish it myself. You don’t get rejection slips when you’re blogging. I also really enjoy the sense of community the internet gives me (maybe I need to get a life). But seriously living in the UK I know very few western buffs in my circle of friends, plenty of SCI-FI geeks, and so the net allowed me to meet and chat with people who like the same things as me. I’ve learned so much from the Internet and the people I meet there. I also think we’ve only just brushed the surface of what the Web can do. Too many writers see it as frivolous and time wasting, but that’s so wrong. It’s a great tool, the best marketing aid in the world. Without the Internet no one would be buying Jack Martin books, and at the moment Tarnished Star is doing rather well. If you think of it it’s a debut novel and yet it topped the Amazon pre-order charts four months before publication and never left the top ten. That’s down to the Internet so I must be doing something right.
I want to develop the Podcast into a professional quality show, something people will be eager to listen to. So many people don’t understand podcasts and think they need an iPod to listen to them. I subscribe to dozens and listen to them while driving in the car. Anyone wanting to get into Podcasts I recommend Crimewav, Slice of Sci-fi, Out of the Past, Behind the Black Mask and Answer Me This which is better than most professional TV and Radio Comedy. Oh and The Tainted Podcast. But there are literally thousands out there on any subject – I even listen to a few about Pipe Smoking, and I once stumbled across one on knitting.
MB: Your online work is remarkable. What do you enjoy most about the Web?
GD: Thank you. What’s not to like about the web? It’s the source of all knowledge and not to mention some seriously funny videos. Seriously the web is a virtual world that the more you put into it the more you get out of it. I just love everything about it – you know years ago I wrote a computer game for the ZX Spectrum using a programming utility called PAW which did all the coding and allowed anyone to easily write a text based adventure game. I published the game myself, got some nice magazine reviews and sold maybe half a dozen cassette tapes. Anyway I don’t have a copy myself and had forgotten about it until one day while browsing I found it on the Spectrum Archive site – I’m now playing this game I wrote myself, and I’m stuck in it. I can’t remember how to get into the car without it exploding. Now that’s awesome. Anyone want to play it just go to worldofspectrum.com and do a search for Operation Thunderbowel – I wrote this way back in 1988. It’s Austin Powers before Austin Powers.
MB: I read where you are planning a trip to the United States. Do you have several Western stops in mind?
GD: This is my dream holiday – hopefully next year. I’m hoping to tour the West of the country, see as much as possible. I’m not really interested in the big cities but I do have an affinity for the history of the West and I’d love to walk the same ground as all those legends of the past. Man I’m as excited as a ten year old at Christmas about this and am saving big time for the trip. I’m hoping to be able to get an extended visa as some of the trip will be research. Who knows maybe I’ll vanish into the hills and become a mountain man. Even the names of the places sound magical to me – Wyoming, Tombstone, Colorado, California, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Lincoln County etc– these are the places I’ve grown up with in the movies, and I bet I could find my way around okay since I’ve studied so many maps. I have a little charm I carved out of some wood from an ancient Oak tree – it’s in the shape of a small horse with the word “PALS” inscribed and I want to place that on Billy the Kid’s alleged grave – I know I’m romanticizing things but so be it. I can’t help it I’m the western equivalent of a Trekkie.
Watch out America, lock up your daughters and donuts because the Dobbster is coming.
MB: Were you to live here in the States, what part of the West appeals to you the most; i.e. –where do you see yourself settling down?
GD: Somewhere way out West – with mountains, meadows, deep blue streams. I could ride all day and write all night – ahh, now that would be the life. As long as I can get hold of a regular supply of coffee and donuts I’d be happy enough.
MB: Thank you, Gary for an exceptional interview. All best wishes for the future!
on July 16, 2009 at 10:03 am
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Very nice interview. I found out a few things about my friend that I didn’t know.
on July 16, 2009 at 1:03 pm
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Me too. Thanks for sharing.
on July 16, 2009 at 8:30 pm
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I definitely find the conjunction between acting and writing interesting. I’ve never been an actor but I can see elements of how an actor inhabits, and creates even a character.