Chris Rothe is a young man of ill repute from the town of Calgary, Alberta. He has been writing since he was an awkward teenager, and plans to continue doing so until the arthritis kicks in and he has to dictate all of his musings to a woefully underpaid stenographer (now accepting applications!). Despite his tendency towards introversion, he’s rather quite approachable and, if you encountered him muttering to himself on the street, would be delighted to buy you a coffee and chat about life and all that.
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, Chris. Hope to hear a lot more from you in the future!
Share with us a 60-word pitch for your debut novel, "Dirk Danger Loves Life".
Dirk Danger Loves Life is a comedic coming of age story focusing on an unnamed protagonist who is a self-confessed failure. When things seem at their worst, our hero accidentally meets Dirk Danger and the two embark on a series of ridiculous lessons aimed at self-improvement. Hilarity, mayhem, and just a dash of whimsy ensue.
According to my word processor, that was only 55 words… so I guess I’ll append that with ‘Oh, and scads of bacon.’
Why have you chosen humor/comedy over other genres? Do you plan to write in other genres? Why or why not?
It absolutely depends on the story that wants to claw its way out of my brain. I got the idea for “Dirk” when I was in the same place that the protagonist finds himself in at the beginning of the novel. I’d just moved to a new city, had work but hated it and aside from the relationship I was in at the time, felt pretty aimless. While returning home from my own excursion to the store to buy coffee and cigarettes with the pittance I had in the bank, I came across one of those ‘Lose Wight Now, Ask Me How’ fliers taped to a telephone pole and thought that it would be amusing if you called the number only to be mercilessly insulted from the other end of the line. Thinking about the kind of person who would do such a thing led to the creation of the inherently silly Dirk and the rest flowed from there.
I very much enjoy writing humour but I definitely plan to write in other genres – currently I’m working on a collection of short stories that range from grotesque to disturbing with a dash of comedy shoved in as seen fit.
What difficulties have you encountered writing comedy fiction?
The hardest thing to overcome is the uncertainty that what you are writing down is actually funny to anyone but you. The last thing I want is to be the guy in the corner laughing at his own jokes. Comedians get to hone their act night after night and learn what works, get the timing down just right. When you are putting something down on paper, one shot is all you get. You have to hope that you used the right punctuation, the right words and that the reader is as warped as you are.
It’s also hard to avoid dating the material. There were a number of jokes or situations that were excised from the book because while an idea may have been amusing when the thing was written, it categorically is not by the time publication rolls around.
How long did it take to finish the novel, and how long from submission to publication?
It took 2 years to write the book, but only because of the unfortunate need to have a day job. I would spend a few hours each night after work scribbling away a bit at a time, or whatever the typing-based equivalent of scribbling is.
After it was submitted to the publisher (the glorious Atomic Fez), there was a three year period consisting of editing back and forth as time allowed before the final product was prepared.
Has your publishing experience, working with editors, agents, publishers, etc. been positive or negative?
Highly positive so far. Ian Alexander Martin, the proprietor of Atomic Fez, is a stand up chap which comedic sensibilities that fall right in line with my own. He edited the work as well and he peppered his notes with laugh out loud jokes of his own that made the editing process far less tedious. I normally loathe editing work on my own and it’s often the task that takes the longest to complete, but working with Ian made me actually look forward to it.
The hardest part about working with someone else on your novel - your own ragged little lovechild - is that all of the flaws in your work come to light. It’s never fun to be told to cut something… you have to swallow your pride and start snipping. All in all, I think that there are 7 fewer chapters in “Dirk” than there were in the initial manuscript. Naturally, I shall pillage from these liberally when working on future novels.
What do you see happening, or plan to do in the next five years?
That’s a tough one. I’m terribly new to all of this, so I anticipate a lot of hard work ahead. Loins shall be girded, britches will be held on to and shoes will be double laced to prevent slippage.
It’s hard to see what lies ahead, but I plan on having at least two more published works to my name within the next 5 years while I focus on building a fan base and daring to step into the Internet to market my work.
I also anticipate a great deal of indigestion, insomnia and various other ominous things beginning with ‘in’.
Can you give us one word that sums up what writing means to you?
You’re always welcome to stalk him on Twitter, or read his ramblings whenever he manages to escape his raving fans and update his blog (if he hasn’t accidentally locked himself out of it) at www.chrisrothe.ca. Softened up by his interview, Chris also volunteered to be Racked. Look for even more hilarity next month when we strap him in and ask the difficult questions.
I read Dirk Danger, and loved it, so I was excited when Chris agreed to an interview. I think what I enjoyed most about his writing is how the comedy is definitely there, but doesn't overpower the story.
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Renee Miller Sunday, 29 Jan 2012 01:54 PM
And I have nominated the pic used in this article for the best publicity photo ever.
Accomplishment: Author, "Dirk Danger Loves Life"
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, Chris. Hope to hear a lot more from you in the future!
Share with us a 60-word pitch for your debut novel, "Dirk Danger Loves Life".
Dirk Danger Loves Life is a comedic coming of age story focusing on an unnamed protagonist who is a self-confessed failure. When things seem at their worst, our hero accidentally meets Dirk Danger and the two embark on a series of ridiculous lessons aimed at self-improvement. Hilarity, mayhem, and just a dash of whimsy ensue.
According to my word processor, that was only 55 words… so I guess I’ll append that with ‘Oh, and scads of bacon.’
It absolutely depends on the story that wants to claw its way out of my brain. I got the idea for “Dirk” when I was in the same place that the protagonist finds himself in at the beginning of the novel. I’d just moved to a new city, had work but hated it and aside from the relationship I was in at the time, felt pretty aimless. While returning home from my own excursion to the store to buy coffee and cigarettes with the pittance I had in the bank, I came across one of those ‘Lose Wight Now, Ask Me How’ fliers taped to a telephone pole and thought that it would be amusing if you called the number only to be mercilessly insulted from the other end of the line. Thinking about the kind of person who would do such a thing led to the creation of the inherently silly Dirk and the rest flowed from there.
I very much enjoy writing humour but I definitely plan to write in other genres – currently I’m working on a collection of short stories that range from grotesque to disturbing with a dash of comedy shoved in as seen fit.
What difficulties have you encountered writing comedy fiction?
It’s also hard to avoid dating the material. There were a number of jokes or situations that were excised from the book because while an idea may have been amusing when the thing was written, it categorically is not by the time publication rolls around.
How long did it take to finish the novel, and how long from submission to publication?
It took 2 years to write the book, but only because of the unfortunate need to have a day job. I would spend a few hours each night after work scribbling away a bit at a time, or whatever the typing-based equivalent of scribbling is.
Has your publishing experience, working with editors, agents, publishers, etc. been positive or negative?
Highly positive so far. Ian Alexander Martin, the proprietor of Atomic Fez, is a stand up chap which comedic sensibilities that fall right in line with my own. He edited the work as well and he peppered his notes with laugh out loud jokes of his own that made the editing process far less tedious. I normally loathe editing work on my own and it’s often the task that takes the longest to complete, but working with Ian made me actually look forward to it.
The hardest part about working with someone else on your novel - your own ragged little lovechild - is that all of the flaws in your work come to light. It’s never fun to be told to cut something… you have to swallow your pride and start snipping. All in all, I think that there are 7 fewer chapters in “Dirk” than there were in the initial manuscript. Naturally, I shall pillage from these liberally when working on future novels.
What do you see happening, or plan to do in the next five years?
That’s a tough one. I’m terribly new to all of this, so I anticipate a lot of hard work ahead. Loins shall be girded, britches will be held on to and shoes will be double laced to prevent slippage.
It’s hard to see what lies ahead, but I plan on having at least two more published works to my name within the next 5 years while I focus on building a fan base and daring to step into the Internet to market my work.
I also anticipate a great deal of indigestion, insomnia and various other ominous things beginning with ‘in’.
Can you give us one word that sums up what writing means to you?
Catharsis.
Chris Rothe’s first book, “Dirk Danger Loves Life” is now available from Atomic Fez Publishing in both paperback and e-book format.
You’re always welcome to stalk him on Twitter, or read his ramblings whenever he manages to escape his raving fans and update his blog (if he hasn’t accidentally locked himself out of it) at www.chrisrothe.ca. Softened up by his interview, Chris also volunteered to be Racked. Look for even more hilarity next month when we strap him in and ask the difficult questions.
Sunday, 29 Jan 2012 01:53 PM
I read Dirk Danger, and loved it, so I was excited when Chris agreed to an interview. I think what I enjoyed most about his writing is how the comedy is definitely there, but doesn't overpower the story.
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Sunday, 29 Jan 2012 01:54 PM
And I have nominated the pic used in this article for the best publicity photo ever.
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