Q and A

Richard Jay Parker is interviewed by John R Bookwalter late afternoon in Laveau’s Chicken Shack, New Orleans.

JRB:

So, STOP ME definitely isn’t your average thriller then…

RJP:

I hope not.

JRB:

What sets it apart then?

RJP:

A lot of serial killer stories are presented from a police perspective so my thinking was – there’s a lot of great books written in that way, maybe it would be interesting to tell it from the victim’s point of view.

JRB:

But is Leo Sharpe actually a victim though?

RJP:

That’s obviously something that the character is frantic to find out. Not knowing why his wife has vanished and if she is a victim of the Vacation Killer is actually worse than having closure…however difficult having to countenance losing someone in that way would be.

JRB:

So is this you establishing your story writing style for future books?

RJP:

The new thriller I’m working on at the moment encompasses a lot of the same themes and, no, it’s not presented from a police perspective either. It’s not something I’m ruling out as the intricacies of police procedure can be fascinating but I think the reader can immediately plug into a pedestrian character - bizarre events impacting on ordinary lives is the territory that interests me the most at the moment.

JRB:

Are you thinking of ordering food here?

RJP:

I had a glance at the menu.

JRB:

Do you like seafood?

RJP:

Hell, yeah.

JRB:

Let’s go to King Crawdaddy’s then. You have to taste their shrimp etouffee. I’m buying.

RJP:

Shall we finish the interview first?

JRB:

Yeah sure. (Shifts uncomfortably in his plastic chair) STOP ME explores the phenomena of internet celebrity and stalking. Do you really think it’s possible for a dangerous sociopath to hide in plain sight on his own website?

RJP:

You’re more qualified to answer that question than me but the internet is certainly a pretty intangible place. People can pretend to be what they’re not – good or bad. There’s a real see-saw of good and evil out there. Twitter is probably one of the best examples of humanity on the internet. I've met a lot of interesting people through that. The dark, macabre stuff we know enough about - the ability for an individual to be sequestered in one remote place but have access to people’s homes worldwide has enormously sinister potential. It’s something that nobody has quite come to terms with yet. The internet is still evolving as an independent entity.

JRB:

Yeah, there’s a hell of a lot of things being done to people legally on the Internet. You’ve only got to do a quick search of the BDSM sites to get a flavour of what’s permissible…even within our own shores.

RJP:

Policing it is virtually impossible and that’s something I’m examining in my next book.

JRB:

Will I be returning in any stories in the future?

RJP:

(Shifts uncomfortably in his plastic chair) May be difficult, John, but nothing is out of the question.

JRB:

Well let’s move away from you promoting your next book without me in it and concentrate on the Vacation Killer. Allowing people to save the life of a victim by getting them to forward an e-mail is something that can clearly provoke online hysteria.

RJP

It will be interesting to see what happens with the e-mail we’re sending out from the website. (Click here to send an email from the Vacation Killer) It will be a fun experiment and, of course, the person who sends it to the most recipients can win a signed copy of the book.

JRB

How do they go about doing that?

RJP

Easiest way is to go to the Send An Email From The Vacation Killer page, send it to themselves and then block e-mail it from their address book. They can then send an e-mail to me at richard@richardjayparker.com , paste in their block of recipients and submit it to me. The winners with the biggest blocks of recipients will receive a signed copy of STOP ME.

JRB

What about boiling the jawbone of the victim and sending it to the police?

RJP:

I don’t really want people to do that. Postage is so expensive. Are you still listening? I can get a waitress to bring over the specials board if you can’t read it from here.

JRB:

No, let’s just get a drink here.

RJP:

OK. How about a couple of gin martinis?

JRB:

I don’t drink alcohol.

RJP:

Now I know that’s not true.

JRB:

OK – maybe one to be social. This your first time in N'awlins?

RJP

I came to Mardis Gras in New Orleans some time ago. I also saw the gay Mardi Gras in Sydney when I was working on a TV show there and that was quite an eye-opener but I love all the history behind the Louisiana event - the Boeuf Graf Society, Fat Tuesday etc. I was wandering round the French Quarter and in Bourbon Street for a few days after the parade and New Orleans had one hell of a hangover. Leo Sharpe doesn't have a good time in the States in STOP ME but I've always had a ball. Loved touring the swamps and Mississippi River. What was odd though was I stayed in New York a few days prior to flying to New Orleans in a hotel opposite the twin towers that no longer exists. After I came back from the trip a ship hit the jetty in New Orleans. Just don't invite me anywhere you cherish.

JRB

Let's go for a drive now...if you trust me enough to get into a car with me.

RJP:

Implicitly. Any more questions before we go?

JRB:

Yeah. Last one. What’s it like being grilled by one of your own characters?

RJP:

Wait. Do you think anyone would have read this far?

JRB:

Unlikely. Would it restore your faith in internet prose if anyone has?

RJP:

It would but that’s maybe something to discuss over the shrimp etouffee.