Novelist Urban Waite to Speak at Brecksville Library

Who knew that writing about a nightmare could be a dream come true? 

Following the release of his debut novel, “The Terror of Living,” Urban Waite has become an overnight, mainstream success whose been praised by the likes of Stephen King and several other authors for his fast-paced prose and vivid writing style, said Cuyahoga County Public Library communications coordinator Michael Peltier. 

Waite, who also just signed a movie deal for the thriller novel, has hit the national circuit and will soon be speaking at the to discuss his work and to sign copies of “The Terror of Living.” 

Waite’s presentation starts at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10. To register for the event, visit www.cuyahogalibrary.org, or call the Brecksville branch at 440-526-1102. 

Brecksville Patch recently talked via email with Waite to discuss the novel, his rise in the literary world and what lies ahead for the up-and-coming thriller writer. 

Brecksville Patch: What was your reaction when King described your book as “a hell of a good novel, relentlessly paced and beautifully narrated. There’s just no let-up. An auspicious debut.”?

Urban Waite: As far as Stephen King goes, I was completely stunned. I opened my email in the morning to a note from my editor with Stephen King's email forwarded along. It was a little unreal. No one had even mentioned to me that he had a copy of the book, or that he was even reading it. And as he explained in the email, it seems like he receives hundreds of books every month and he just happened to pick mine up out of the slush and give it a read. I felt very lucky and I'll always be very grateful for his help this last year (he went on to recommend it as one of his best summer reads in “Entertainment Weekly”). 

Patch: Please offer a snapshot of your process as you developed and wrote “The Terror of Living.” 

Waite: The idea for the novel really originated with an idea for a character named Phil Hunt. A good-natured character that had made some bad decisions in life and lived with them everyday, even thirty years after the fact. I wanted to work with a character like Hunt and in the process of writing him, all the other characters sort of fell into place around him. I had also been reading a number of good books in the year before I actually sat down to write The Terror of Living, and I found that in theme and idea they were well suited to the plot I was trying to create. So much so that I often went back and analyzed the structure of these books while I was writing Terror. Books like “Dog Soldiers” by Robert Stone, “Poachers” by Tom Franklin, “The Power and the Glory” by Graham Greene, “No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy, and “Spartina” by John Casey. In every one of these books there was a character that I could identify with, or I could pair Phil Hunt with, and learn a little something from. I simply love a good book about a character pitched up against a past life and the hurdles of the present, while looking to the future. I always find this makes for a great narrative. 

Patch: Of the many genres to choose from, why thrillers? 

Waite: I didn't really choose thrillers as a genre. I think the genre sort of chose me. I don't think of Terror as a thriller. I'm drawn to the idea of character and not really the idea of a thrilling plot or the inherent violence of the thriller genre. I like to think my characters come first and then the situation they inhabit. If the character happens to be an ex-con like Phil Hunt, and he is smuggling drugs through the Cascade Mountains, well, he's going to end up dealing with some violent acts. It just comes with the territory. I certainly don't mind that my book ended up being classified as a thriller, I actually think it has been a real gift, because it allows readers with a similar interest to my own to find Terror and give it a read. 

Patch: Tell us about selling the film rights to the novel. Any updates? 

Waite: I'm definitely proud that the film rights for The Terror of Living were sold. Like receiving that email about Stephen King, it was just one of those things that came at me unexpectedly, but once it had arrived, I couldn't have been happier. That being said I don't have much of a clue about the process from this point on. I know that there is a screenplay in the works and that a director has been attached to the project, but other than that I don't know much else. And to be honest I don't ask questions regarding anything related to the process. I don't want to know. For the time being I'm trying to finish up work on my second novel and there really isn't anything more important than that to me. I always dreamed about being here in this place, writing novels, and doing it professionally, and I'm just trying to hold on to that. If a film is made from Terror, well, that's all just a wonderful bonus. 

Patch: Any new projects that you're working on? 

Waite: The current novel is set in an old well town on the border of New Mexico and Mexico. The oil is going out of the land and the town is going away with it. In response, the town is looking for anything that will preserve them, and in the process of this hope, they choose to ignore the fact that the money coming up out of Mexico and branching its way through the community is drug money, cartel money, and that the town's people may be just as at fault in their own livelihoods as those engaged in the more violent/illegal acts of the town. What has held my interest during this project is the idea of history and the familial generations that exist in this small town during a time of change. The title of the novel is Dead if I Don't and if I can keep on it and make the changes I'd like to make in the next month or so, I hope to see it on shelves sometime in the next year.