An Interview with Richard Jay Parker

Crime Stopping

An interview with Richard Jay Parker

In case you didn't know, it's crimefest this weekend in Bristol. Never one to miss out on an excuse to join in and party, I bring you a mini celebration of crime writing here on The Literary Project.

Imagine you got sent a chain email. Only instead of being threatened with bad luck for thirty seven years if you didn't forward the email, the life of a stranger was at stake. What if the person who wrote the email had already killed? What would you do?

This is the premise of Richard Jay Parker's debut novel, Stop Me. The blurb was enough to make me go, "oooh, cool!" and the book itself doesn't disappoint. The initial hook is great, then Parker's grip gets tighter and tighter the further along you read. I'd use words like "unputdownable" and "page turner", but you'd mock me. Just, you know, read it.

Richard has taken the time out to answer a couple of questions about Stop Me and his writing in general. I apologise in advance for distracting him from his edits. I want to read his next book, so I promise to leave him alone until it is all done!


Hi Richard! Talk us through your path to publication!

I spent about fifteen years writing TV scripts as well as script editing and producing. I started by submitting material on spec to the BBC and built up a chubby folder of rejection slips. I eventually got a few pieces picked up, however, and that led to commissions and eventually a more active role in production. Although TV is a rewardingly collaborative process I wanted to put my name more in the firing line so thought I’d tackle a novel. I made the decision to leave my TV agent and started from scratch. I got an agent with my first book but I think this lulled me into a false sense of security. My work didn't get picked up for some time but this was good in one respect as I was still working out what sort of material I wanted to write – which pigeonhole I would be comfortable in. I started writing thrillers but it was a couple of other agents, eight manuscripts and a lot of near misses later before I got an offer.

How long did it take you to write Stop Me from conception to polished manuscript? How long between that and publication?

It took me about half a year to write and polish a first draft for my agent. It was then passed to an in-house reader and I did a slight re-write on the back of that report. My agent submitted it and, after the first round of publisher rejections, there was one common criticism about it flashing back too much. I made the story more linear and it then got picked up for publication on the second round of submissions. Whole process probably took just under a year.

Tell us about Stop Me

Global murderer, The Vacation Killer, sends a spam email to a multitude of recipients describing a girl. If the email ends up back in his inbox he won’t slit her throat. The email doesn’t get back and her boiled jawbone is sent to the police. Leo Sharpe finds one of the emails in his inbox but doesn’t forward it. Days later his wife, Laura, vanishes during a Christmas shopping trip. Her remains are never found though and he wonders if she is actually a victim of the Vacation Killer. Then he engages with John Bookwalter on the Internet. Bookwalter lives in New Orleans and runs a website where he declares himself to be the Vacation Killer. He claims to have Laura alive. Bookwalter has been dismissed as a crank by the police. Should Leo accept his invitation to go find Laura or is the fact that Bookwalter is the last person to talk about her in terms of being alive severely clouding his judgement?

I love the MO of the Vacation Killer in Stop Me; it makes me think of those old school urban legends mixed up with a psychotic spambot. What sparked that? Did the idea for the plot come first, or the characters?

I had a handful of ideas written down for books but when I started work I ended up using all of them in STOP ME. The SPAM email idea was one of them. I get SPAM on a daily basis and it struck me how bizarre the idea of not being happy or wealthy if you don't forward an email to ten friends is. Usually the contents are pretty harmless which makes the threat seem quite unsettling. It got me thinking about what people's reaction would be to the email if someone's life depended on it being forwarded. Would they still ignore it or would they be more inclined to send it on just in case? It's certainly sparked a debate amongst readers.

What type of writer are you?

I tend to write in solid bursts. I think about an idea for a long time, make copious notes and only sit down when I know where I’m headed and what the ending is. It means you can have more fun along the way – exploring different routes but knowing that you have a definite destination. Getting the pages filled is the hardest part for me. Once that’s done, however, I’ve always loved the editing process and am pretty ruthless with my own work. I like to take a break from the first draft and then go in and edit it as if somebody else has written it.

What are you working on now?

Am rewriting second book. It’s another dark, stand alone thriller which I hope has some 21st Century resonance as well as a bigger twist than STOP ME. I should have the new draft finished by June.

Why do you think there is such a large appetite for crime fiction?

I think it’s because crime is grounded in reality. It requires less of a suspension of disbelief and people are fascinated because it’s something that could or has touched our lives.

Has anything about the publishing industry surprised you? If you could go back and start again, is there anything you would do differently?

I was actually surprised at how quickly my book hit the shelves. I had an offer from my publisher in October 08 and it was published August 09. This isn’t typical but it was a relief not to have to wait.

And finally, what advice would you give to someone wanting to break into publishing as a crime writer?

Obvious advice about the importance of perseverance aside (and it is a very relevant piece of advice) I would say that moving on to your next project is crucial. Don’t ever rush into writing anything but I think it’s vital to get yourself fired up about something new while you await feedback. If your last project doesn’t go the distance it means you’re already ahead of the game.


Many thanks to Richard for answering my questions. If you are now desperate to run out and buy a copy of Stop Me, you can always grab one here. If you'd like to learn more about Richard and his writing, then head on over to his website. Just make sure you check your spam emails before you do anything else, though. Can you really afford to just delete them?