Interview – Duane Swierczynski

G.I. Joe: Tales from the Cobra Wars* was a fantastic read (review here), and today we have a treat as “Speed Trap” author Duane Swierczynski (blog, Twitter) took a little time to answer a few quick questions about his story.

Why Skidmark? Was this little-known G.I. Joe character your choice, or were you sent a directive on which character to use? I have to admit that I had to search online to even figure out if Skidmark was a recent creation or an obscure character, so I was kinda surprised that my favorite story in the book featured a character like Skidmark.

When I was first approached to contribute a story, I had a certain idea in mind — a beat-the-clock road-race from hell. Then I went searching for the right Joe for the job (an ace driver) and soon I came across a reference to Skidmark. The fact that he *was* obscure made it hugely appealing to me, since I could fill in some of his backstory. And the bits of biographical detail I *did* find — namely, that he was a straight arrow until he got behind the wheel of a car — really set my imagination on fire. I knew this was the kind of Joe I could have a lot of fun with. (And did.)

The story keeps up a fairly fast pace. To demonstrate just how little I know of your work (disguised as a “for those who have only read your G.I. Joe story”), and to give you a chance to talk about your non-Joe fiction, is “Speed Trap” fairly representational of your other work, or is this pace faster than is usually found in your stories?

With my novels, I do like to keep things moving fast. If you open one of my books, I want to *own* you for the next 200 to 300 pages, giving you every reason in the world to keep going.

With “Speed Trap,” I did consciously hit the accelerator a little harder. I had 15,000 words to play with, so I tried to pack an entire novel’s worth of action (for me, usually 60 to 75,000 words) into that shorter word count… just to see what would happen. I was also inspired by the compressed action and pulp poetry of two of my favorite contemporary crime writers, Ken Bruen and Don Winslow.

Was writing the story fun, or was this a case of “gotta get this damned job finished?” In reading the story I had the impression that you were having a blast with the writing, but it’s possible that you’re so damned awesome that you concealed a lot of “this? again? hell” moments when writing. I guess the best answer could come down to a yes or no to: Would you write another G.I. Joe short story or novella?

Hell yes. I had a blast with “Speed Trap,” are you kidding? I wrote while on a cross-country drive with my family, so most of the road detail you see in the story is what I’d experienced that very day. It felt strangely like a film shoot — recording certain details as I drove — then writing and editing new sections that same night in a hotel. It was an exhilirating experience. Namely because I knew I could crash and burn at any given moment.

Thanks, Duane, for taking the time to answer these simple questions. I know that life as an author involves a lot of writing, so taking time to put down some words for no pay at all was quite generous . . . and I’m willing to bet that I’m not alone in appreciating you taking a little time to chat about your G.I. Joe short story.

If anyone out there enjoys “Speed Trap” and wants to read more by Duane Swierczynski you may want to give The Wheelman* a shot. When I asked Duane (on Twitter) for a suggestion on which one of his books to try he recommended that since I had fun reading “Speed Trap” I next read “The Wheelman.” So I’m sharing that recommendation since I suspect I’m not alone in wanting to try more of his work.

And for even more of Duane’s fiction don’t miss his blog where you can find links to his different projects.