Paul A. Toth

PAUL A. TOTH is a writer on the rise. He's currently got two published novels: Fizz and Fishnet. You can find him online in multiple places: his website, his blog, and he also hosts podcasts which feature interesting online readings, music, and even interviews. (One of his interviews was with Matthew St. Amand, who you might recall from a previous interview here.)

Paul's short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best American Mystery Stories. He received honorable mention in the Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2003, and it can be found extensively on the web.

Both Fizz and Fishnet earned high critical acclaim for their offbeat characters, skewed humor, and unexpected choices.

Fishnet is described as a comically dark fairy tale for adults
more Brothers Grimm than grim. What it's about:
Maurice Melnick's imagination has forever painted an underwater world more exotic yet safer than the one above. Meanwhile, his strange town of Mercy, California heads toward a fateful day. In the ruins of his life, Maurice finds a way back to the world he left behind... but not before losing everything.


Here's Paul A. Toth:

1) Who are some of your favorite writers, and how do you think they've influenced you?

I'm going to skip the usual names I mention, as I've mentioned them so often that it's getting on my own nerves. I'll start with Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, which I finally read last month. This is a near template for what I see as the writer's role. Everything is contained within this book. I would go so far as to say that had politicians taken this novel seriously, read it as though it were some policy tract written by CIA operatives, they might have better guessed what was coming to the world. Yet Rushdie never forsakes his humor, nor is this novel tied to specific current events. Nevertheless, it comments upon our times. How does he do it? Well, if I were Rushdie, I wouldn't give away my secrets, and since I'm not, I can't do it for him. The novel influenced me by supporting my belief that main characters need not be wholly sympathetic, no matter what agents and publishers claim. It signified to me that no matter how serious one's intentions -- and Rushdie's are clearly serious -- humor remains a viable tactic. It's only the kind of whipped-cream humor that has begun to aggravate me. That's not even a dessert, only a topping. For many of these reasons, I also enjoy David Mitchell's work. Finally, I will repeat Haruki Murakami as a living influence. All tell me that the market will bear novels about something other than rehabilitation memoirs and glorified romance novels. It takes courage to write them. It takes another kind of courage to publish them. I'm trying to hang on to that courage, and these writers inspire me. I don't claim to possess their talents, only their motivations.

2) What do you think is your greatest strength or asset in your writing? Your biggest weakness or flaw?

I think the quality of the writing itself has strengthened. Certain events in my life have clarified my purpose and enlarged my themes, yet simultaneously tightened my focus. My weaknesses and flaws are probably tied to the market. I can't quite -- I don't want to sound like Madonna trying to sound British -- suss what they want. An "edgy" publisher suddenly reveals it really wants mass-market women's novels. Nothing against mass-market women's novels, but, er, what? Again, sympathy arises as a fortress, though to me, my characters are sympathetic. They share traits with all of us. Now that I think of it, perhaps that's the weakness: Readers don't want to be reminded of themselves and their world but rather anything EXCEPT that. I've been thinking about this a lot. If there is a wall that prevents my proceeding to some next level, that would be it, but if I "succeeded," would I only vault into a landfill? I think I will keep doing what I do and hope this trend (whatever one calls it, though "combination tent revival/circus" comes to mind) abates.

3) Your novels are generally populated with eccentric/troubled and imperfect characters. Do you start with strange, flawed prototypes or do you sort of build the flaws/quirks out of the individual characters?

I usually start with the voice, and that tells me the flaws and quirks. In Ray's case -- Fizz began as a short story -- I just wanted to portray a man who had almost literally become a cartoon character, who sees and lives in an animated world. When I decided to expand the story into a short novel, I sensed vulnerability in his voice, and so I constructed his back story and motivations from that. For me, the voice comes first, even if provided by a third-person narrator.

4) Of Fizz and Fishnet, which one are you most proud of/pleased with?

Good question. Fishnet ran a gauntlet of agents whose advice was, at best, contradictory. I'm still happy with it, but on second thought, I would have taken one more break, one more long, deep breath, and revised it. Fizz was meant to be raw and "unsophisticated." Part of the pride I take is that its sophistication is buried. There's more going on than meets the eye, what I would call almost subliminal effects. Some readers like one of my styles more than the other; I suppose it depends on which side of my nature a reader prefers. However, Fishnet was written with a wider audience in mind. I considered it a novel that would especially appeal to women, but this has not translated to sales. For that reason, in some ways I regret having bothered trying. So, in short, I would say Fizz suffered the least compromise. But there are better things to come.

5) What do you find to be the most difficult part of writing and/or publishing? What's the greatest reward? Is it worth it? Or is writing something you'd do even if there was zero payoff?

I'll work backwards. If book purchasing were outlawed, I would still write. For instance, my blog is pure release. It may or may not serve promotional concerns; if anything, the content is guaranteed to infuriate nearly anyone. Writing is certainly worth the trance state in which I sometimes find myself. Like a piano player, I would enjoy running the keys even if I were banned from concert performances. The greatest reward? The stray email: "I really enjoyed your book." The second greatest reward is a check. It's a distant second if only due to the spacing of the checks. As for the first question, the most difficult part is the market analysis used to shut out anyone who wouldn't inspire Oprah's Angel Network.

6) Stock question: Dinner with anyone, dead or alive. Who is it?

Charles Darwin.

7) One CD, one book, one DVD and a desert island. What book, CD, and DVD do you take?

Book: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
CD: Possible Musics by Jon Hassell
DVD: 2001

8) When did you first get the feeling not that you wanted to write, but that you could be so successful at it? What are you working on now?

Third grade. The principal came to class and read my story; he was probably drunk. It wasn't very good, but, you know, in comparison, I suppose it was okay. I've yet to have the feeling that I'm successful. There are a couple goals I've set for myself before peace can reign in TothWorld. However, I suspect I'll change the goals, should I ever reach them. I'm not built for contentment. It's overrated.

Right now, the third novel is enduring the sadomasochistic streets of New York's publishing "industry," and I'm working on the fourth. The third is, I think, my best, and the fourth will far surpass it. I've added this tool called "patience," and I think it will assist in strengthening the writing, if not its "marketability."

9) Suppose you can't have both: Would you rather have respect from your peers and critical acclaim (but not making cash from writing), or would you rather be a bestselling author with the fat coin?

I would rather have respect from my peers and critical acclaim. Most bestsellers fall off the charts and turn yellow in used bookstores, and the money doesn't last, either. At the end of my remaining years, I want to die with what little self-respect I can regain.