"YOU CAN DO CRAZY IF THE CENTER HOLDS...": HATCHET GIRLS' JOE LANSDALE

Joe Lansdale brought back his boys Hap & Leonard this summer. The two.find themselves up against a vigilante cult known as The Hatchet Girls due to the weapons they are skilled in. We caught up with Joe to talk about the book.

SCOTT MONTGOMERY: How did The Hatchet Girls come about as antagonists?

JOE R. LANSDALE: I read an article somewhere about something similar that didn't turn deadly, and tucked it away for future use. I can't remember the exact source anymore, as it was back in the brain for  years before I used the impulse it had given me.

S.M.: You place as much importance on Hap and Leonard moving into a house, Leonard's upcoming marriage, and the possibility of the two of them buying a gym as the Hatchet girl plot.  Why are these elements as important to the genre ones?

J.R.L.: I write genre, but I try to write it in a way that has some literary merit, characterization. I want the people to feel real, to have real concerns, strengths and failings. Everyday life provides that.

S.M.: One of my favorite passages in the book reminded me of the famous Indianapolis speech in Jaws, where because the books are told from Hap's point of view, Leonard relates a close call he had with The Hatchet Girls. How do you approach building a something that feels so harrowing through dialogue? 

J.R.L.: I come from a long line of storytellers, so listening to riveting stories was something I grew up with. The right description, completely accepting what you're telling as fact, makes it work. Or I

like to think it does.

S.M.: Brett has become more prominent with each book. What do you enjoy writing about her?

J.R.L.: I like her. She is a combination of women I've known, including my wife. She's strong, independent and not trying to fit a mold.

S.M.: As crazy and funny as these books are, I still always fear for these guys. Is there anything you try to be aware of when mixing those tones?

J.R.L.: You can do crazy if the center holds, if it's solid. Characters ground things that would otherwise be ungrounded.

S.M.: You also have a story in The End of the World as We Know It; New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand. What can you tell us about your tale?

J.R.L.: I'll just say it has some personal experience with hogs in, it.