A Savage Conversation

I first published Frank Bill in the BEAT to a PULP webzine back in 2009, and have had the pleasure to do so a few more times in the years that followed. From the start, I was taken with the intensity of Frank’s characters; individuals living on the fringe of society, who, often through no fault of their own, are reduced to primitive survival. He doesn’t pass judgment on these creations; instead he props them up, warts and all, showcasing the driving powers behind desperation. His latest, The Savage, continues this raw vision.

Over the years, I’ve stayed in contact with Frank—email here, direct message there—but this interview caught me up to date, finding the Indiana writer on the cusp of new ventures as his debut novel Donnybrook is being made into a movie, currently in production by director Tim Sutton. The starry light of Hollywood’s call hasn’t changed him a bit. This back and forth Q&A took a few weeks while working around the intersection of Frank’s competing schedules: a blue-collar job where he slogs the night shift, training for the run of his life, and his writing pursuits. He remains as candid and humble as ever.

Here's my conversation with Frank at LitReactor.

Loving The Savage

Frank Bill’s The Savage feels like the desperate now. It’s not just 21st-century geopolitical fears as two world leaders seem hellbent on taking us down a real Fury Road, it’s also families throughout the American landscape being gutted by the opioid crisis, facing anxieties over losing health care, and befalling the horror of psychotic cretins shooting up music concerts and halls of worship.

Into this nightmare, The Savage doesn’t have the luxury of a slow start with the Picasso poetic likes of “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Yeah, goodbye to all that. Frank Bill delves right into it, storming the ravaged, scorched fields with these opening lines...

Please click over to Macmillan's Criminal Element blog for my full review.

BEAT to a PULP is Back!

Our sixth year begins at BEAT to a PULP (really the seventh if you count the first few stories at the very close of  '08), and I don't say this every January but I'm certain it will be one of our strongest years to date. The main reason is Scott and I are welcoming Chad Eagleton to the team and appreciate his fresh perspective in selecting stories and his eagle eye (bad pun intended). Also our web mistress, dMix, has sharpened our look with a more eye-popping site that's still easy to navigate but looks damn good if I do say so myself. Of course, there're still a few kinks to work out like adding back our ENTIRE archive. Yep, again. *GULP!* Give us a few weeks to accomplish that chore. And we have a couple of glitches to work out for those of you who prefer to read on mobile devices. Please let us know if you see any problems so we can work out all the issues.

But look who we are honored to have returning to BTAP--Frank Bill. Freshly back from distinguished excursions like Oxford American Magazine, The New York Times and Playboy.  Frank is the author of the widely acclaimed “Donnybrook" and the forthcoming, The Salvaged & The Savage.

This week Frank Bill is at BEAT to a PULP with "Life of Salvage."

Waiting to Finish Frank Bill's DonnyBrook

I was passing through New York--about two months back--when Donnybrook by Frank Bill arrived in the mail. I had just begun reading Bill's novel when I let BTAP-published poet Kyle Knapp borrow it with the idea that I'd pick it up again in four days time. Well, one thing led to another, and Kyle and I missed each other at the next junction ... and I still haven't finished Donnybrook, though I'm promised it is in the mail. Kyle posted a review on Amazon that reads:

An exemplary work of art; a raging bloodbath, that leaves you begging for more. 

Imagine Chuck Palahniuk reborn in a mental asylum to a hermaphroditic witch doctor and then loosed into the woods. He discovers there an abandoned library haunted by a ninja. Ok... maybe that's a bit much, but it is a good metaphor for what you're getting into! Frank Bill's novel has the spastic energy of a beating heart. I stayed up into the small hours night after night until it was finished, too eager to turn out the light. Friends borrowed the story jealous of who was ahead of them in line, as we all agreed that this novel was going to be the next hallmark of youth-run-amok. For a guy that grew up religiously watching Fight Club--and sneaking off into the night after a few beers with his friends to beat the hell out of each other... This is it! This is the next Holy Pyre of the Damned. Enjoy at the risk of falling in love on the battlefield!

Hell, wanna finish reading this in the worst way but have to wait for it to arrive in the mail, again!

Frank Bill Video Interview

Frank Bill with Keith Rawson on Vimeo.

Crimes In Southern Indiana Stories

Frank Bill is the laureate of the working class hero. His characters have been pushed down, stomped on, and trampled over until they've reached their breaking points, and they are striking back to claim any little piece of ground they can get. Bill’s style has been keenly compared to Woodrell, McCarthy, and Thompson. He builds on their legacy, creating an impressive, unique style all his own.

Don't miss out on this exceptional collection now available.

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Also check out Keith Rawson's Revisited—The Need by Frank Bill

7 Questions with...

Frank Bill. Right here.

Frank Bill

Publishers Weekly review of Crimes in Southern Indiana: Stories.

Crimes in Southern Indiana Stories by Frank Bill

Here's the sharp-looking cover for Frank Bill's collection of short stories available for pre-order here. And look at this impressive news. Congratulations, Frank!

Interview

New Pulp Master

Farrar, Straus & Giroux announcement

House of Grit

New Pulp Master: Frank Bill

Frank Bill's CRIMES IN SOUTHERN INDIANA: STORIES is now available for pre-order. For the few who are unfamiliar with Frank's work, I have some links below and the talented author explains his evolution from working man to acclaimed writer in It's Been a Long Road. Frank Bill is the real deal, folks. Don't miss out.


Old Testament Wisdom, Thuglit, issue #28, Oct/Nov 2008

Rough Company, Plots With Guns, issue #4, 2008

Tweakers, BEAT to a PULP, #19, April 2009

The Need, BEAT to a PULP, #20, April 2009

Acting Out, BEAT to a PULP: Round One, Oct 2010

Frank Bill's Trailer

Well this is cool. Frank Bill has created a ROUND ONE trailer and posted it on YouTube. Thanks, amigo.