by Jason Beech
BRUNI: POOR BASTARDS AND RICH FUCKS is a tale about class warfare in the future. A bunch of rich fucks kidnap some poor bastards that society won't miss--prostitutes, the homeless, people like that--and pit them against each other in a battle to the death with a prize of $1 billion to the winner. The rich fucks have been doing this for many years, but this time around, there are a few complications. Two of the poor bastards are actually the children of some of the rich fucks, and there is also a ringer. In addition, one of the rich fucks likes to hunt down the contestants himself, just for the thrill of the hunt. And then there is the journalist and his rebellious friend who are out to expose the whole thing to the world. It's a tale of violence, betrayal, corruption and the desire to do good in a fucked up world (and what that will get you in the long run). Like with Captain Meth-Mouth, this one has a very memorable villain in the form of Richard Coppergate, who graces the cover of the book in all his decrepit glory. I'm curious, though. What is Rich Fuckers about?
NEWMAN: Fantastic synopsis. I can't wait to read that book. Rich Fuckers is about an international Swingers club. A secret club who meet once a year tropical locations and swing, they hire a local prostitute to add some spice to the event. Problem is things get out of hand and the hooker dies in the swimming pool. Like Bryan Jones, she was a good swimmer so questions are asked. Fingers are pointed. It’s a novel about greed and the lack of respect for the poor by these rich fuckers who grow up thinking they are better than anyone who doesn't evade tax. Jason, do you have a new project to share?
BEECH: Those projects sound nuts. I'm working on Moorlands, a novel about a former council estate kid, Larry, on his uppers as an adult. The novel starts with him breaking into his old house for an old ring he stole from a neighbor years before, after finding out its value. He can't find it under the well-fingered floorboard where he hid it as a boy. His step-dad, Bill, an ex-cop, bangs on his door the next day, rolling the jewelry between his index and thumb. Larry's eyes show the fire revealing his cool reaction as bullshit. He can have it - if he looks for his estranged sister, who's gone missing. The search will make Larry confront his past, question the incident in the woods where he left her alone with friends all those years ago, and ask whether he really wants to find her. It will have action, murder, and desperation. I'm half way through the bugger.
NEWMAN: Sounds good, man. We should talk about influences here. I recently did a podcast thing where I talked about reading as much as you can before and during the fiction writing thing. It occurred to me that a writer is influenced by all kinds of shit. What are your influences? - mine are as follows: William Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, Jack Daniels, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Grey Goose Vodka, Hugh Gallagher, LM cigarettes, Kevin Cummings, Dashiell Hammett, John Daysh, Patrick Hamilton, Florida lemon juice, Coke a Cola, Edward Bunker, James Hadley Chase, Honduran cigars, Lou Reed, real ale, Luke Haines, Patty Smith, great hornbills, treefrogs, rare predatory moths and Bangkok City.
BRUNI: Wow, I have so many influences; it would take forever to talk about them. Obviously, I wouldn't be here without Stephen King. To a certain degree, I wouldn't be here without Joe R. Lansdale or Richard Laymon, either. Richard Matheson had a pretty strong hand in my make-up. But I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be doing any of this without Franklin W. Dixon, the conglomeration of authors who wrote the Hardy Boys books. These books were the ones that made me want to write when I was a little kid, THE HAUNTED FORT in particular. Also, Nick Cave helped a great deal with his book, AND THE ASS SAW THE ANGEL, which is my favorite novel of all time. If you haven't read it, you should give it a shot.
NEWMAN: Nick Cave? My friend and fellow author/publisher Tom Vater met him and had dinner with Cave in Indonesia at a festival a while back. He is also been shortlisted for the movie soundtracks of the best book movie adaptation of all time (that has yet to be made). Cave's book, I read, enjoyed, but felt that I would have gotten more from it if I had read the Bible in more detail than I have. Looking forward to the new Cave biopic. So time to switch the jukebox. Red Right Hand, gets my vote and my coin so that's it slotted.... Murder Ballads. Great record - like Miss Marple on crystal meth. Jason, what writers or film-makers float your boat?
BEECH: I've always wanted to write, but I didn't know how far a writer could go until I read James Ellroy's American Tabloid and Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory. They're completely different, but they both sparked my engine. I'm loving Niccolo Ammaniti's books. His As God Commands and I'll Steal You Away are as wild as they come. I've never read a Stephen King book. I feel I should walk on glass and lash my back with a broken stick for saying so. Recommend something and I'll get on it. I'd like to say I drink hard liquor reading all that, but it's usually the black stuff. Either a stout, or a cracking cup of tea. I'll drink those watching Shane Meadows movies, such as Dead Man's Shoes. Christopher Nolan is always great, and when the Coen Brothers make something like Miller's Crossing, I'm there.
And with those wise words the three authors proceeded to drink the hut dry while swapping unspeakable tales of the undead.
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