William F. Nolan

William F. Nolan is an acknowledged master of science fiction and horror. He is the co-author (with George Clayton Johnson) of Logan’s Run, the co-writer of the Burnt Offerings screenplay, and author of more than 80 books of fiction and nonfiction. He is currently working on a number of new projects, including more material set in the world of Logan’s Run. Rocket Ride Books has just released a new collection of stories involving Nolan’s paranormal investigator, David Kincaid.

Mr. Nolan was kind enough to take a few moments to talk to Horror World about Kincaid, Logan, and the state of the short story today.

HORRORWORLD: Rocket Ride Books recently released Kincaid: A Paranormal Casebook, a collection of stories about paranormal investigator David Kincaid. For those not familiar with the character, tell us a little bit about him.

WILLIAM NOLAN: Back in 1972, Dan Curtis, of the series Dark Shadows, asked me if I’d like to work for him. I told him I’d like to write for him, but not work for him as a producer. I wrote a script called The Norliss Tapes and thought that was the end of it. Many years went by and I had another idea for the character, so I wrote it and changed the name to David Kincaid.

Kincaid is a private investigator. He’s not a straight hardboiled detective like Sam Spade – he works on cases involving the paranormal. But he’s not convinced that the paranormal aspects of the cases are necessarily true. He’s a skeptic, not a true believer, and that’s what makes him interesting.

HW: There seems to be a lot of characters who draw from what you did with Kincaid.

WN: There are a lot of paranormal investigators out there now. It’s a fresher way to approach the private eye. I’m a big private eye buff. I’ve written books on Dashiell Hammett, and I’ve written several straight P.I. novels myself. The paranormal approach gives it another dimension.

HW: The stories in Kincaid are all reprints – are you working on anything new with the character?

WN: No, I don’t think so. Although, after I wrote the first story, I thought that was the end of it. But then I get new ideas. I went to the Winchester House (NOTE: The home of Sarah Winchester, whose husband’s family manufactured the Winchester repeating rife. Sarah spent the years following the deaths of her child and husband ordering haphazard additions to her house in order to confuse and appease the spirits she believed haunted her.) and mentioned to the curator that there must have been a lot of stories written about the place, but he said there had not been. I thought, well, I’ll have to! So I wrote a Kincaid story featuring the house. So, I don’t think there are new stories about Kincaid coming, but I’ve thought that before.

HW: When you write about a real-world profession like investigating, are you trying to work in a lot of procedural detail, or get just enough right about the profession to make the story believable?

WN: Just enough to let the story take over. I’m not a forensics expert, and I don’t call myself one. I do the research, but I use science to move the story along.

I’ve got a friend – I won’t name him here – who researched and wrote an autopsy scene for a book. It goes on for ten pages. It’s completely accurate, it’s exactly what they do in an autopsy, but it’s boring as hell. I told him he should cut it, but he wouldn’t listen, and they’re going to print it like that.

You’ve got to keep the reader engaged, keep them reading.

HW: Logan’s Run is the novel that you are most closely identified with. What is it about that particular piece of work that continues to resonate today?

WN: Well, it’s not just Logan’s Run. I wrote that with George Clayton Johnson in 1965. I followed it with two solo novels, Logan’s World and Logan’s Search, and I’m working on two others, Logan’s Journey and Logan’s Fall. It’s a concept that continues to speak to the psyche. Everybody wants to life a long and full life. The concept of being dead at 21 is a very frightening concept to us.

(In the original novel) Logan becomes a “Sandman” to avoid dying at 21, a “Sandman” being someone who finds people at that age and literally puts them to sleep. He uses his knowledge as a “Sandman” to rebel against society. Those things, living a long life and rebelling against society, are things that continue to speak to people today.

It’s a cult classic, which I’m very pleased about. We didn’t set out to write a cult classic, though. We just set out to write another book.

HW: There’s a remake of the 1975 film in the works. What are your thoughts on that, and are you involved in any way?

WN: I want to be on the set! I hope to be a consultant or involved in some way. I’m glad they’re doing the remake. There are a couple of things about the original that just didn’t work. For one, in 1975 we didn’t have the special effects we have now. What they were able to do then was really lacking as far as what the novel offered. For another, in the middle of the movie they just threw the novel out. The second half was just ridiculous and illogical. I hope they will stick closer to the original work this time.

I know there is casting being done and people are on board. But they (Warner Bros.) have bought the rights, so I don’t know if I’ll be involved. I would like to be.

Unlike a lot of remakes, I think this one is needed. There are so many unnecessary remakes. True Grit should not have been remade. John Wayne was great in the original.

HW: You’ve been involved in continuing the story of Logan’s Run in comics as well. Tell us a little about that.

WN: About a year ago, Bluewater Productions moved to Vancouver, Washington, where I live. A friend hooked me up with them, and they said they were interested in doing a Logan’s Run comic. I said okay, but I wanted approval of the concept. I didn’t want another MGM movie.

They gave me complete control. I designed some stuff for it, like a helmet for the “Runners,” the ones hunting down the people who have come of age. You can’t go after these people to kill them and not have some kind of armor – they’ll be fighting for their lives! It’s been getting great reviews.

HW: Do you read any of the current crop of science fiction writers?

WN: I’m not a fan of much of the current work being done in science fiction. It’s been replaced by high fantasy, it’s all swords and dragons. Thank God we still have the works of Philip K. Dick. I have 40 or so of his books, and I still dip into them from time to time. Albert Bester’s The Stars My Destination is the finest science fiction I’ve ever read. I prefer the Arthur C. Clarkes, the Theodore Sturgeons. That was the “Golden Age” of science fiction. I think we’re in the “Rusted Age” of science fiction right now.

HW: What would you tell these current writers to do to improve the work they’re doing?

WN: Go to the bookshop and read Philip K. Dick. Understand him, analyze him and what he does. He’s a master .

HW: There are many people who would refer to you in the same way. How do you feel when people refer to you as a master in your field?

WN: A few years ago, the Horror Writers Association voted me as a “Living Legend.” When I accepted the award, I said it was better than being a dead legend. I’m just a hardworking man doing the best I can. I guess if you’re around long enough, you’ll eventually get attention.

I’m working on a collection of pieces I wrote about Ray Bradbury, and the publisher put together a bibliography of his basic books, and put one together of my books as well. He’d written 67, I have 82. I was surprised to see that! But, you have to keep working. People want to become Stephen King over the weekend. It takes ten years, writing every day, learning character and structure, to become a writer. I wrote over 200 stories before submitting anything. It takes patience. You have to sit for the long grind and work at the craft.

HW: Do you sense that this patience is in danger, that the attention to craft may be in danger, because of the ease of self-publishing we see these days?

WN: I think we’re in a dark period of professional writing. The markets are gone. Markets are dropping fiction in favor of nonfiction. This is the dark ages for the short story, which is sad. There’s really not better, no more beautiful form of communication than the short story.

HW: What projects do you currently have in the works?

I’m working on 13 books right now – the Logan books, a book on Hammett, a new suspense collection…If you want to write, you write. There are no excuses. Read a lot, and write a lot. Read across the board, from the classics to the comics, and write every day. Do that, and if you have any talent you’ll eventually break through.

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