Dope Thief by Dennis Tafoya
Dennis Tafoya is ready to make a splash in crime fiction with his gritty thriller, DOPE THIEF (St. Martins Minotaur). Tafoya, a native of Philadelphia now living in Doylestown, has worked as a housepainter, hospital orderly and EMT before starting a career in industrial sales. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and the Liars Club, a Philadelphia-area group of professional writers. DOPE THIEF is his first novel and it's already racked up terrific reviews on PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, BOOKLIST and KIRKUS.Let's get to know him...
DOPE THIEF is your first novel. Discuss how that feels.
It's still thrilling and totally unreal, even with 30 copies of the book sitting on my dining room table. I don't know when it will actually seem real. Maybe when I see a copy of Dope Thief in a bookstore. Or someone reading the book who isn't a friend or family member.
You got an agent and a book deal in an odd way. Talk about that.
Basically, a very nice woman in California, a screenwriter and producer named Cori Stern, took an interest in my work. She read some of my stories and asked if I had a novel. I had about two thirds of Dope Thief, so I finished it in about two weeks. She introduced me to an amazing woman named Laurie Webb, who helped me get the manuscript into shape. When that was done, Cori introduced me to her manager, who agreed to represent me and who then found me an agent in New York. My agent gave me feedback on the book, and I turned it around as quickly as I could. I finished the first draft of the book in August of 2007 and my agent sold the book to Kelley Ragland at St. Martin's Minotaur in early December. As I've told friends, it felt like winning the lottery over and over, meeting each of these incredible, accomplished people who changed my life and have become my friends.
Give us a brief rundown on DOPE THIEF.
Dope Thief is about a small-time thief named Ray. He and his partner Manny steal money and drugs from dope dealers, which looks like a simple way to survive until they hit the wrong meth lab and three people die. Now they're running from a biker gang that wants to retrieve the hundred thousand dollars Ray and Manny stole from the lab, and who'll do their best to make sure Ray and Manny end up dead. At the worst possible time, Ray meets Michelle, a woman who seems to offer a different way to live. Now Ray has to protect his friends, stop a band of brutal killers, and to find a way out of the life he's chosen before it finally consumes him.
What's your favorite scene in the book?
My favorite scene is a memory, Ray reliving the day he met his high-school sweetheart, Marletta. It was fun to try to reconstruct the ways in which teenagers can be so expressive while having this incredible economy with words, and the way they reveal themselves while trying maintain a cool distance from the people they care about. Just about all my favorite scenes involved depicting Ray when he was a deeply confused and conflicted teenager.
Your characters are all conflicted in one way or another. Discuss your process for crafting a layered -and damaged--character.
I think it's our nature to be contradictory, and I think people can accept those contradictions if they see characters struggle with the dissonance those contradictions cause. Ray suffers from the impulse control common to a lot of people who end up in prison. He repeatedly acts against his own self-interest and then wonders why. I try to show both the impulsive action and Ray's guilt at his inability to lead a normal life; his present circumstances and the path that lead to his predicament. My hope is that it all works together to create a character who will hold the sympathy of the reader as he tries to make his way toward a more balanced and productive life. Like an episode of Dr. Phil, but with more cursing and stabbing.
For many authors, books are a cathartic process. Are there any confessional aspects to Dope Thief
A big part of Ray's journey is his asking how he ended up where he is, and that's something I can completely identify with. I think we frequently find ourselves in certain places in life as a result of a chain of non-decisions, rather than a consciously-chosen path. Ray has accepted the judgment of others, or he's romanticized his life in a way that betrays his immaturity. The book is finally about a wish to grow up, accept responsibility for other people and move forward rather than be stuck in a sort of dream-state where he re-lives a past of humiliation and grief. It's not a little ironic that this book also changed the way I see myself and my own possibilities.
DOPE THIEF is a crime story, a literary novel, a thriller...did you set out to cross genre lines?
Writing the book, alone in my basement, I thought I was writing a literary novel with criminals in it. It was my agent, Alex, who said, no, this is a crime novel. I realized the moment he said it that it was true, and it freed me to play with the conventions with a little more confidence. That said, I don't know that I'm ever going to write a straight-forward thriller. I'm interested in damage and compulsion and desperation and the ways those things play out in our lives, so I'm drawn to crime stories. That said, what I really love writing, and what I think I do well, are the odd glimpses of personal history, and those moments where somebody gets a small revelation of their place in the world or their own character.
In the months leading up to the release of DOPE THIEF you've jumped into the writing/publishing world with both feet. Talk about that.
I'd say that once again I've just been really lucky. I've met a bunch of really generous folks, most of whom are my friends in the Liars Club, a Philly-based group of writers who have shown me the ropes and taught me a ton about how to get my name out there, establish a web presence, go to the conferences, all of that stuff which is both really important and mostly a lot of fun. I would say that the only really useful advice I have to newly published writers is - meet other working writers, as fast and as many as you can. They know what to expect, and they're usually only too happy to guide somebody new to the process.
How are the realities of being a published author different than your early expectations?
I had no idea what being an author meant, other that my certainty that I'd be interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air where I would be devastatingly charming. I'm still waiting for Terry to call, but the biggest adjustment has been realizing that publishing is a business, just like every business I've ever worked for. It's concerned with the quality of the work, of course, but it's also sales and marketing, contacts and networking. For years, writing was my antidote to the business world I was in every day. Now, if I want to be successful at it, I have to treat it like a profession.
How did the book evolve once it was under contract?
Well, I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I rewrote the last third of the book after it was sold, before my editor even gave me notes. I just knew that the book in its original form was not likely to satisfy anyone who picked it up in the Thriller section of the bookstore. I had to reshape the end to deliver more of a punch. Based on the reactions I've gotten, I think it was the right decision. Personally, I enjoy this version much more.
How much did you know about your subject matter going in and how do you deepen your well of knowledge?
This is a tough one. I grew up in a pretty standard middle class household and went to a Quaker prep school, so I have no claim on the mean streets. I did make some of the standard bad decisions of adolescence; along with some friends who mostly pulled up on the rudder before anything really dire happened. But some of my friends did end up drifting, and though none of them were making decisions nearly as bad the characters in my book, it wasn't a huge leap to see how a little more bad luck at the wrong moment could have lead to some pretty dismal outcomes. I also had friends and relatives who were ADAs or cops or corrections officers and fed me some great stories, and I've always read compulsively about crime.
Tell us about your next book.
My second novel is another stand-alone, about a heroin addict trying to solve a murder. The book is set in Philadelphia, and I've had a lot of fun wandering around the city and imagining dope deals and gunfights set in all of these great Philly neighborhoods. My mom would like my next book to be a cozy about an eccentric vicar from the Midlands who solves crimes with the help of a psychic sheepdog, but it will probably be more razor-toting junkies making catastrophic life choices. As Woody Allen put it, death and danger are my various breads and various butters.
Find Dennis online at www.dennistafoya.com
JONATHAN MABERRY is the multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning of
PATIENT ZERO (St Martins Press, March 2009), ZOMBIE CSU (Citadel Press)
and WOLVERINE: GHOSTS (Marvel, April 2009). Visit his author website: www.jonathanmaberry.com
My favorite scene is a memory, Ray reliving the day he met his high-school sweetheart, Marletta. It was fun to try to reconstruct the ways in which teenagers can be so expressive while having this incredible economy with words, and the way they reveal themselves while trying maintain a cool distance from the people they care about. Just about all my favorite scenes involved depicting Ray when he was a deeply confused and conflicted teenager.
Your characters are all conflicted in one way or another. Discuss your process for crafting a layered -and damaged--character. I think it's our nature to be contradictory, and I think people can accept those contradictions if they see characters struggle with the dissonance those contradictions cause. Ray suffers from the impulse control common to a lot of people who end up in prison. He repeatedly acts against his own self-interest and then wonders why. I try to show both the impulsive action and Ray's guilt at his inability to lead a normal life; his present circumstances and the path that lead to his predicament. My hope is that it all works together to create a character who will hold the sympathy of the reader as he tries to make his way toward a more balanced and productive life. Like an episode of Dr. Phil, but with more cursing and stabbing.
For many authors, books are a cathartic process. Are there any confessional aspects to Dope Thief
A big part of Ray's journey is his asking how he ended up where he is, and that's something I can completely identify with. I think we frequently find ourselves in certain places in life as a result of a chain of non-decisions, rather than a consciously-chosen path. Ray has accepted the judgment of others, or he's romanticized his life in a way that betrays his immaturity. The book is finally about a wish to grow up, accept responsibility for other people and move forward rather than be stuck in a sort of dream-state where he re-lives a past of humiliation and grief. It's not a little ironic that this book also changed the way I see myself and my own possibilities.
DOPE THIEF is a crime story, a literary novel, a thriller...did you set out to cross genre lines?
Writing the book, alone in my basement, I thought I was writing a literary novel with criminals in it. It was my agent, Alex, who said, no, this is a crime novel. I realized the moment he said it that it was true, and it freed me to play with the conventions with a little more confidence. That said, I don't know that I'm ever going to write a straight-forward thriller. I'm interested in damage and compulsion and desperation and the ways those things play out in our lives, so I'm drawn to crime stories. That said, what I really love writing, and what I think I do well, are the odd glimpses of personal history, and those moments where somebody gets a small revelation of their place in the world or their own character.
In the months leading up to the release of DOPE THIEF you've jumped into the writing/publishing world with both feet. Talk about that.
I'd say that once again I've just been really lucky. I've met a bunch of really generous folks, most of whom are my friends in the Liars Club, a Philly-based group of writers who have shown me the ropes and taught me a ton about how to get my name out there, establish a web presence, go to the conferences, all of that stuff which is both really important and mostly a lot of fun. I would say that the only really useful advice I have to newly published writers is - meet other working writers, as fast and as many as you can. They know what to expect, and they're usually only too happy to guide somebody new to the process.
How are the realities of being a published author different than your early expectations?
I had no idea what being an author meant, other that my certainty that I'd be interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air where I would be devastatingly charming. I'm still waiting for Terry to call, but the biggest adjustment has been realizing that publishing is a business, just like every business I've ever worked for. It's concerned with the quality of the work, of course, but it's also sales and marketing, contacts and networking. For years, writing was my antidote to the business world I was in every day. Now, if I want to be successful at it, I have to treat it like a profession.
How did the book evolve once it was under contract?
Well, I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I rewrote the last third of the book after it was sold, before my editor even gave me notes. I just knew that the book in its original form was not likely to satisfy anyone who picked it up in the Thriller section of the bookstore. I had to reshape the end to deliver more of a punch. Based on the reactions I've gotten, I think it was the right decision. Personally, I enjoy this version much more.
How much did you know about your subject matter going in and how do you deepen your well of knowledge?
This is a tough one. I grew up in a pretty standard middle class household and went to a Quaker prep school, so I have no claim on the mean streets. I did make some of the standard bad decisions of adolescence; along with some friends who mostly pulled up on the rudder before anything really dire happened. But some of my friends did end up drifting, and though none of them were making decisions nearly as bad the characters in my book, it wasn't a huge leap to see how a little more bad luck at the wrong moment could have lead to some pretty dismal outcomes. I also had friends and relatives who were ADAs or cops or corrections officers and fed me some great stories, and I've always read compulsively about crime.
Tell us about your next book.
My second novel is another stand-alone, about a heroin addict trying to solve a murder. The book is set in Philadelphia, and I've had a lot of fun wandering around the city and imagining dope deals and gunfights set in all of these great Philly neighborhoods. My mom would like my next book to be a cozy about an eccentric vicar from the Midlands who solves crimes with the help of a psychic sheepdog, but it will probably be more razor-toting junkies making catastrophic life choices. As Woody Allen put it, death and danger are my various breads and various butters.
Find Dennis online at www.dennistafoya.com
JONATHAN MABERRY is the multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning of
PATIENT ZERO (St Martins Press, March 2009), ZOMBIE CSU (Citadel Press)
and WOLVERINE: GHOSTS (Marvel, April 2009). Visit his author website: www.jonathanmaberry.comThrillerFest
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