what is your name?
Patrick Blennerhassett.
how would you describe what you do?
I’m a fiction novelist. A writer. A journalist. Also unemployed.
what are you currently working on?
I’ve finished my second novel Random Acts of Vandalism, currently looking at a few prospective publishers but it’s like trying to get blood from a stone. Whoever said it was easier the second time around lied to me, profusely.
what has had the greatest influence on your work?
My own life, and the life of those around me.
what is the greatest misconception about you or your work?
That I’m the main character in my novels.
what do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of the medium you work in?
I don’t think enough young people are reading books anymore. I still plow through books on a weekly basis, but everyone I know only wants to talk about Tiger Woods gallivanting around or Jersey Shore. They’re missing out on some great fiction novels. I do think books have a better ability to stay with you for a longer period of time. The really exceptional books I’ve read, they’ve changed me as a person.
how has technology impacted upon the work you do?
It’s made it easier to harass people in positions of power within the publishing industry. I hope that one day the internet will level the playing field in terms of art. Take the record companies, the publishing companies, all the middle men out of it. If you like someones book, CD, painting, you go to their website and order it. You attend their shows, readings because of that, you make a direct business connection with the artist. There’s no Chapter’s or MTV or Ivory Tower critics telling us what we should and shouldn’t listen to. Just the socialist voices on the internet propping up those who deserved to be propped up in terms of artistic expression by sheer word of mouth based on their art.
what’s the greatest piece of advice you would like to pass on?
Don’t get a credit card, ever.
where can we find you online?
what are you reading at the moment?
The Lie by Chad Kultgen
what are you listening to at the moment?
Sisterworld – Liars; Odd Blood – Yeasayer; Old Crows/Young Cardinals – Alexisonfire; Julian Plenti… Is Skyscraper – Julian Plenti; Heligoland – Massive Attack; Whitney Anderson
anything else we should know?
That unknown artists in this country like myself do not, and can not make a living at what we do. The federal government offers little incentive for us to be creative, for us to write/make the movies/record the CD’s you love to enjoy. We are drowning slowly.
Hey, Patrick:
Enjoyed your interview. Irreverent, thoughtful and practical. Let me get the scissors for my credit card. You’ve heard this from me before, so may I say to the world at large that I really liked your prose and the outrageousness of your protagonist in “Monument”, and know that it won’t be long before “Random Acts of Vandalism” is in print as well. And I say this as one of the select few who was privileged to read a copy of the manuscript. An excellent read from beginning to end.
Ciao – Trevor
Good luck getting your next book out Pat — let us know how it’s going on FB. Good advice too, wish I’d never boarded the Good Ship Visa.