Richard Fulco’s new novel, There Is No End to This Slope, is out today. We are excited about the new book from Fulco, who is the founding editor of the wonderful online music magazine Riffraf. The novel, published by Wampus Multimedia, tells the story of John Lenza, a struggling writer haunted by the death of a woman who was his best friend.
Before we get to your upcoming novel, tell our readers a little bit about yourself.
I’m a New Yorker who has a vehement love/hate relationship with his hometown. I moved (not very far) to Montclair, New Jersey but occasionally dream of moving back home. I’ve been a singer, electrical apprentice, high school English teacher and playwright. Now, I’m a father of twins, founder/editor of Riffraf.net (a music blog) and my debut novel There Is No End to This Slope is being published by Wampus Multimedia.
That’s a lot on your plate. What made you decide to write There Is No End to This Slope?
I never consciously decided to write a novel. In 2005, I wrote a bunch of poems and a one-act play that were based on a full-length play I had in the New York Fringe Festival. My harrowing experience at the Fringe was enough to send me into hibernation where I embarked on the novel, which took seven years to write. After two years of teaching myself how to write a longer work, I committed to the project and slogged away. I’m still not sure that I know how to write a novel.
I think many writers would agree with you about the writing process. Where did you come up with the idea for There Is No End to This Slope?
Have you ever consciously made a poor decision, knowing full well that the outcome would be disastrous? I made so many of them from 2002-2007 that it had become a lifestyle.
I think that is a part of life and growing. From the description of the book, the novel seems to address some important themes about death and loss. Have any other books influenced how you think about those issues?
A partial list of works that influenced the writing of There is No End to This Slope includes: Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, Michael Thomas’ Man Gone Down, Frederick Exley’s A Fan’s Notes, Charles Bukowski’s Post Office, J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting For the Barbarians, Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer, Samuel Bekett’s Waiting for Godot and Endgame, Harold Pinter’s Birthday Party, Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and The Castle, Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road, Joshua Ferris’ Until We Came to the End, William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the poetry of Robert Desnos, the songs of Lennon and McCartney, George Harrison, Jeff Tweedy, Bob Dylan, Paul Westerberg, Jagger and Richards, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder and Lou Reed.
That’s a great list. And we have seen some of those artists discussed on your music blog at RiffRaf. Did your work on the blog influence There Is No End to This Slope in any way?
I can’t escape music. It’s what sustains me. Well, a good book excites me too, but nothing gets my juices flowing like a great guitar riff or drum fill or lyric.
The novel’s protagonist, John Lenza, played guitar for a short-lived band in high school. As an adult, his guitar sits in its case inside a closet, buried underneath boxes of his wife’s journals just gathering dust. Depressing, isn’t it?
Yeah. Unfortunately, that happens a lot to musicians as they grow older and get overwhelmed with life’s other demands. I’m interested to see how it comes out in the novel. Where will we find the book when it comes out?
Amazon
I look forward to reading it. Finally, I’m always interested in the writing process. While writing your novel, how did you balance other commitments? Did you follow a set schedule or work on the book as you found time?
While I was teaching, I wrote mostly at night and on the weekends. When my twins were born, I had to be more flexible. I wrote in the morning, during their afternoon nap and when they went to bed.
Thank you for your time Richard, and good luck with the novel. We look forward to reading it.