Interview: T. Fox Dunham

T. Fox Dunham resides outside of Philadelphia PA—author and historian. He’s published in nearly 200 international journals and anthologies. His first novel, The Street Martyr was published by Gutter Books and is being made into a feature film by Throughline Films. He’s a cancer survivor. His friends call him 'Fox', being his totem animal, and his motto is: "Wrecking civilization one story at a time."


When did you know you wanted to become a writer?

FOX: I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. As a boy, I wrote simple stories and made my own books with construction paper covers, drawing my own basic illustrations. I kept writing, using my dad’s computer, having the luxury of a word processor. It was more than an art. It was my function.

How did you pick the genre/setting/era you (usually) write in?

FOX: Success. I cast a wide net, writing in all genres, but I focused my energy on the genres where I sold the most stories: horror and crime. I am a member of the HWA now and I continue to receive the most solicitations in both markets.

How did you come up with the idea for your story in History and Horror, Oh My?

FOX: I love combining my addiction to history with my fiction, and I wanted to write a story set in World War II. I also wanted to do a new take on a zombie story. The rest kind of happened on its own. I created a conflict, a desperate man, and the rest wrote itself

Did you encounter any obstacles in researching the setting?

FOX: It’s always a battle to write historic fiction, to bring a dead time back to life. History books give us the major details, the dates and places, but the little things are never mentioned: what a voice sounded like or the smell of a uniform. Fortunately, I’ve had a decade to create an erudition for the setting, so I had many of the details I needed.

Do you have a favorite historical period you enjoy reading or writing about?
 
FOX: Again, I write often about World War II or generally the 20th century. I love modern history and often focus my work there.

Who is your favorite author, and what really strikes you about their work?

FOX: I can’t just pick one. You’re killing me here. I love the literary authors of the last century: J.D. Salinger, Hemingway, Truman Capote. Their passion compels me. Literary really is the hardest genre to write in since you don’t have all the material of space ships or vampires. You have to write purely about the human condition, emotion, and these authors explore it.

What are you working on now?

FOX: I am finishing my book about Andy Kaufman, Destroying the Tangible Illusion or Reality or Searching for Andy Kaufman for Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing. It’s a novel about the lost son of Andy Kaufman who is dying of cancer and goes on a search for his father. It is about my own battle with cancer and how reality becomes an illusion as you are dying. I am also finishing up a number of short stories and doing a horror novella about time. In addition to all this, I am working with the producers at Throughline Films and the scriptwriter for the adaptation of my crime noir novel, The Street Martyr, which will start filming as a major motion picture in 2015.

Okay, so you're an author. What do you enjoy reading?

FOX: Lately, it’s been Doctor Who novels and Stargate Atlantis, but that’s because I need a break. I love history books and good modern literary novels. I love finding new authors, and I’m always on the search. Reading has become relaxation for me.

My novella, Doctor Kevorkian Goes to Heaven, was recently released from PMMP. It’s a mixture of Twain, Vonnegut and Fox, a story of why we need to have death as a species to grow. It’s also my own story of my battle with cancer.

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Want to learn more about T. Fox Dunham?

Visit his website at www.tfoxdunham.com and his blog at 
http://tfoxdunham.blogspot.com/ . You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter @TFoxDunham. 

Don't forget to check out his story, "Comfort from Lies about Heaven and Hell",in History and Horror, Oh My! which is now available in ebook formats on Smashwords and in print and Kindle formats on Amazon.

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