Steve Jaxon welcomed Carl Hiaasen on The Drive today. Here is a complete transcript of their conversation. For more information about Carl Hiaasen, visit his website, http://www.carlhiaasen.com/index.shtml.
Steve Jaxon: I’ve wanted to talk to this guy for many many years. The great Dave Barry, who was in the studio with us not too long ago, will be back in town on Monday, as part of the Copperfield’s Books series, the author’s series, he’ll be at the Montgomery Village Copperfield’s. But tomorrow night at the Central Library, Copperfield’s is presenting one of my favorite authors of all time. I have read all but one of his books and I plan to, spend time this weekend not watching movies or looking at my phone and I’m going to read the new one, Razor Girl. I can’t wait. He is the author of 13 novels, including Bad Monkey, Star Island, Nature Girl, Skinny Dip, one of my favorites, Sick Puppy, oh I love that one, Basket Case, I think was one of the first Carl Hiaasen books I read, but (I’m) just a huge fan and it’s an honor to have him on the show, Carl Hiaasen. How are you sir?
Carl Hiaasen: Hey Steve, how are you? Thanks for having me.
SJ: Hey, it’s our pleasure, as I said, I’m just a huge fan. Give us some of the background before we get into talking about the new book, but you’re still doing a Sunday column for the Miami Herald, right?
CH: Yeah, I’ve still got sort of one toe in the newspaper business. I’ve been there a long time and it’s hard to give it up and so I get a fair amount of material for the books just coming in off the transoms in Florida, you know, “The Punch Line State” as Dave (Barry) would say.
SJ: It really has become one of the Punch Line states, there’s no question. Yeah, born and raised in South Florida, right? And you were just a kid when you first started at the Miami Herald.
CH: Yeah, I was, I won’t tell you when it was, yeah, I’ll tell you, it was ’76 when I started, so I kind of grew up in the newsroom and it does get in your blood a little bit, what’s left of the newsrooms in this country, sadly. But, you know, I do the one column a week in the Herald and the rest of the time I work on these disturbing novels.
SJ: They’re just delightfully, wonderfully disturbing and it’s right in my wheelhouse, which is why I’m one of your biggest fans. But I …
CH: Thank you so much, thank you.
SJ: The characters are so amazing and I don’t know how you come up with (them), it just blows me away. Skink was one of my favorite characters.
Characters drive plot development
CH: Yeah, he’s the old ex-governor of Florida. He pops in and out of several of the novels. He’s one of my favorites too and certain scenarios call for him to show up and then I give him a rest for a while. But I get a lot of mail about that one and especially with the state of politics being what they are in Florida and the rest of the country right now. But he’s one of my favorites. Characters are… I start with a list of characters but I don’t start with a plot and the plot sort of happens, but it’s because of the characters, sort of the reverse way that a lot of writers do it. But it’s fun for me.
SJ: What was your childhood like? I mean, you know, how did these, how did this all come to be that you could think up these amazing stories?
CH: You want a psychiatric explanation?
SJ: Yeah, exactly!
CH: Well, I was a pretty normal child. I mean, we, I grew up on the edge of the Everglades, west of Fort Lauderdale, I mean I spent all of my time outdoors fishing and catching snakes and all of the things that kids do when they’re young. So it was a special place to me and a lot of it disappeared under concrete when I was (young) so I guess I got a little pissed off, and as early as I can remember I was so angry about seeing some of these beautiful places wrecked that I, you know, that fuels a lot of humor. And I think Dave will tell you this too. A lot of humor, especially satire, comes from sort of a deep seat of anger or outrage over something and humor becomes not only your therapy but your weapon.
SJ: Yeah, I can see that as therapy but also as a weapon. That’s well put. Well, these books are amazing and I know I’ve been hearing from a lot of people since we made the announcement earlier in the week that you were going to be with us today, so there’s a lot of folks listening and very excited, and about the new book, Razor Girl. Like I said, Copperfield’s dropped it off yesterday so I’m going to start tonight and I can’t wait. Give us a little rundown on Razor Girl.
CH: Well, it’s the first time, Steve, that I’ve ever taken a protagonist from the previous novel and put them in this consecutive novel and in this case it’s a guy named Andrew Yancy who was in Bad Monkey. I ended up liking him enough and I kind of felt sorry for where I left him at the end of Bad Monkey and he’s a cop, an ex-cop who got busted down to roach patrol, a restaurant inspector. And he’s trying to do the honorable job and at the same time fighting to get his real badge back and I sort of left him in that sort of unsavory position and I just thought he was interesting to me, so I thought I would just continue with him. I’ve never done it before, so it’s kind of experimental but I had fun. I haven’t grown tired of him and he gets in enough trouble to keep me amused too.
SJ: Yeah, and everyone else, when they read it. I love your names that you always come up with. We mentioned Skink, but Lane Coolman, Buck Nance and Blister, a street psycho known as Blister, these are all in the new book. And the plot itself, well, it’s another south Florida-based novel, right?
CH: Right, it starts out with a very unusual car accident, which was based on something that really happened down in the Keys. And then I sort of took that idea and ran with it. And it becomes not an accident at all but an intentional crash and they grab, Lane Coolman is a Hollywood agent who represents a redneck reality TV – and I can say “redneck” because I’m from south Florida – but I mean, a redneck reality TV star named Buck Nance who has gotten in some trouble down in Key West… they couldn’t find enough authentic rednecks so they had to hire a bunch of “other” necks for the reality show. So that’s why he’s not really a redneck but he now thinks he’s one.
SJ: And the detective Yancy, I’m just reading from the liner notes here, he got busted down to the Roach Patrol, he’s been with a duster.
CH: Yeah, that was in Sad Monkey, he was trying to do something chivalrous, he thought she was being hurt by her then-husband and the only tool he had was a Dust Buster but it was a somewhat proctological aspect to the assault and so Yancy got into trouble and that led to his being, you know, ending up on, you know, restaurant inspection detail. In Florida, all the restaurant inspections are posted on line, the results of them. They can be harrowing. I don’t recommend anybody who is going to Florida necessarily read them, but that’s the sort of research I did to discover what these people who do this very difficult job had to put up with.
SJ: Also, the title character, Razor Girl, it says she’s named for an eye-popping twist on an otherwise unexciting scam.
CH: She actually turns out to be one of my, she sort of takes control of the novel for a while. That’s always fun for a writer, when a character surprises you and you sort of end up falling for them and she’s a, I really liked her too, so I had fun writing it and I hope people will (have fun reading it too).
SJ: I’m sure we will. The great Carl Hiaasen will be in town tomorrow at the Main Library downtown beginning at 7, it is brought to you by Copperfield’s Books and the Sonoma County Library and some of the proceeds will go to help fund the Sonoma County Libraries. And they’re going to have a pop-up bookstore set up at the event, where you can buy a copy of Razor Girl, as well as most of other of Carl’s books. You’re going to talk then obviously a Q and A and book signing.
CH: Yeah, that’s the fun part, is the Q and A. I don’t read a lot from the books, I just talk generally about where they got started and the characters and tell some true life stories from Florida and then we’ll have a Q and A, it will be great. It’s a great store and a great locale. For me it’s always fun to come to California.
SJ: And Dave Barry following you on Monday, that’s going to be cool too.
CH: Yeah, it’s like an overdose, I apologize in advance, poor California, you’ve got to listen to Florida stories for two days. We’ve got plenty of them, though. This election year it’s just, it’s even more spectacular if you write satire for a living.
SJ: Exactly. The wonderful Carl Hiaasen, the new book is Razor Girl, available everywhere, but better yet, help support the County library and go tomorrow night. Doors open at 6, the event starts at 7. First come, first sit general admission, so you can go to events @ copperfieldsbooks.com and make sure you go to carlhiaasen.com and get a copy of Razor Girl. I’ll review it and talk about it a little more Monday or Tuesday when I finish it because that’s about all I have planned for the weekend, is to read Razor Girl.
CH: Well, I sure hope you like it. It’s pretty twisted. I think it’s right up your alley.
SJ: Exactly. Actually I’ll see you tomorrow night, Carl and I’m looking forward to meeting you in person.
CH: Yeah, that will be fun. Thank you!
SJ: All right. Carl Hiaasen, tomorrow night. Thanks, Carl!
CH: All right, see you guys then.
SJ: All right, take care.