Dietrich Kalteis is one of the leading crime writers in the Pacific Northwest. His new novel, Zero Avenue, will be published October 2. Flash Fiction Offensive editor Rob Pierce found the book worthy of an interview, and that's what we have this week instead of our usual Thursday short story.
Dietrich Kalteis, interviewed by Rob Pierce
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RP: Zero Avenue is set in the Canadian punk scene, specifically Vancouver, 1979. You write like you were a musician in that scene. Were you? And was drug dealing as big a part of that scene as you write it, or is that part specific to your characters?
DK:
I loved the music of the time, but no, I never played in a band. I’m best kept
in the audience, but I did know people who tried to make their mark on the
music scene, and it gave me some insight. And it was the late seventies, and
drugs were everywhere. My main character Frankie del Rey runs bags of dope just
to make ends meet and to get the cash she needs to cut a record and get her
band Waves of Nausea on the road.
One
thing that sets the mood when I’m writing, I always listen to music that goes
with what I’m writing. So, for the nine months that it took to write Zero
Avenue, that’s what I listened to, punk. I got my hands on as much of the
early Vancouver sound as I could find: D.O.A, the Subhumans, Pointed Sticks,
the Dishrags, Payolas, Braineaters, Young Canadians, the Modernettes, the
Reactors. I also threw some early Toronto bands on my playlists, bands like the
Viletones, the Demics, the Diodes, the Cardboard Brains, the Mods, and the
Ugly; and also Teenage Head and the Forgotten Rebels from Hamilton. I rounded
it out with bands from the U.S. — the Ramones, Dead Kennedys, New York Dolls,
and the Stooges. And there were the great British bands like the Clash, the
Buzzcocks, the Damned and the Sex Pistols, and lots more.
RP: Your protagonist is female. You, apparently, are not. I didn't
think about this at any time while reading the book; how did you immerse
yourself so deeply into that character? Her sexuality is a major part of the
story.
DK:
At first I wasn’t sure I could pull off a lead female character, but as I
started writing, it just worked out. I really like Frankie’s character, she’s
so determined about her music, she’s good at it and won’t let anything or
anyone get in the way of what she wants. Behind her tough exterior, she does
have a sense of right and wrong, although Frankie’s senses may be a little
distorted, just like her music. For me, any character’s words have to sound
unique and natural to them, like they just flowed out. As Frankie’s character
developed, I just kept out of her way and let her be herself. When it felt like
I was just typing her words, then I knew I had it right. I think of Frankie as
part unwitting heroine, part femme fatale and part voice of reason, but
definitely not somebody you want to mess with — with or without her pink
pepper-spray gun.
RP: It's almost as though the book has a soundtrack, but unless the
reader is familiar with Canadian punk of that era, the soundtrack was strictly
your words. Were you aware of this when writing the book?
DK:
There was definitely this ‘vibe of the times’ and I tried to capture that. What
I liked about the punk scene
back then was its edge and the ‘us against them’ outlook, and how that indie
‘shake it up’ attitude threw a middle finger to the status quo. In Vancouver,
the scene made a sharp contrast to what some considered a sleepy backwater town
at the time, and it just seemed to be the perfect setting for a crime story.
RP: Although the specifics of
Frankie's situation have to do with punk and drugs, to a large degree the story
follows a traditional crime fiction trope: someone pinned into a lower-class
position who is trying to move up from that situation. Was this a conscious
decision on your part? If not, what did get you started on
writing this book, telling this story?
DK: I suppose it was a conscious decision,
which created more of a struggle for the character. I saw Frankie del Rey as
this struggling musician with a one-track mind about making her music career
happen. Her aim is to make enough money to cut a record and get her band on the
road, and she’s determined not to let anything get in her way. And she’s
willing to take some risks by running dope. The trouble is she’s running it for
Marty Sayles, a powerful dealer who rules the Eastside with a fist. So, I like
that she’s determined, yet she’s at a disadvantage dealing with Marty Sayles
and his people. All of which just raises the stakes. I like how Frankie pushes
forward, and deals with it when life pushes back. Her determination drives her,
but her choices and the risks she takes get her in plenty of trouble along the
way.
RP: Do you have future plans for Frankie or any other characters in
the book?
DK:
It’s sometimes hard to let go of some characters, and Frankie’s one of them.
And while I haven’t had any thoughts for a sequel, if the right idea comes
along, Frankie could be back.
My
next one will be out in 2018. It’s called Poughkeepsie Shuffle and takes
place in the mid-eighties and centers on a guy named Jeff Nichols. Fresh out of
the infamous Don Jail, he gets mixed up in a smuggling ring operating from a
used car lot in Toronto’s Junction. The outfit brings guns in from upstate New
York, and Jeff’s a guy who’s willing to bend the rules to get on the fast track
to riches, a guy who doesn’t let the lessons from past mistakes get in the way
of a good score in the future.
I’m
also working on a story set in the dustbowl days in Kansas. It’s about a young
married couple struggling to hang onto their farm, and they’ve got some
interesting, although not legal, ways to save their farm from the dusters,
drought and debt.:
