Interview with Crime Writer Fabian Nicieza: S. 8, Ep. 2

This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with graphic novelist and crime writer Fabian Nicieza. His latest novel is The Self-Made Widow. Check out our discussion of his novels and the inspiration to be found in places like Northern New Jersey. :) Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe Debbi (00:54): But first, let me put in a good word for Blubrry podcasting. I’m a Blubrry affiliate, but that’s not the only reason I’m telling you this. I’ve been using Blubrry Podcasting as my hosting service for my podcast for years and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. They give great customer service, you’re in complete control of your own podcast, you can run it from your own website, and it just takes a lot of the work out of podcasting for me. I find for that reason that it’s a company that I can get behind 100% and say, “You should try this.” Try Blubrry. It doesn’t require a long-term contract, and it’s just a great company, period. It also has free technical support by email, video, and phone, so you can get a human being there. Isn’t that nice? If you want to podcast, try out Blubrry. No long-term contract, excellent distribution, and great technical support, too, by email, video, and on the phone. I’ve included an affiliate link on this blog. Download a copy of the PDF transcript of this episode here. [00:46] Debbi: Hi, everyone. Our guest this week is a comic book writer and editor who's best known as the co-creator of Deadpool, a movie I have yet to see, by the way. [1:00] Fabian: Brace yourself. [01:02] Debbi: So I've heard. He's also the author of some wickedly funny mysteries if the first one is anything to judge by, including the Edgar Award-nominated first novel, Suburban Dicks. I'm pleased to have with me today-- How do you pronounce it? Is it Fabian Nicieza? [1:31] Fabian: Ah, that was almost perfect there, Debbi. I really congratulate you. You fall under the 0.01% of Americans who pronounce it properly. The way I say it is in Spanish. It's Fabian Nicieza. In English, it's Fabian Nicieza. And often in American, it's Fabian Niconza. But you did perfectly. [1:55] Debbi: Nicieza. [1:56] Fabian: Nicieza [1:57] Debbi: Nicieza. I like the español pronunciation? [2:02] Fabian: Español. Well, I'm from Argentina originally and it's a Spanish name from Spain. Yeah. So my grandparents emigrated from northern Spain to Argentina in the early 1900s. [2:14] Debbi: Well, Fabian Nicieza, welcome to the show. And I'm glad to have you here. [2:20] Fabian: Thank you, Debbi. It's a pleasure to be here. [2:21] Debbi: Wonderful. When I started reading that first book, just based on the look inside feature, it didn't take long for me to start laughing out loud, literally. All I can say is, "God, what a first chapter!" You really know how to pull a person into the story. [2:41] Fabian: I appreciate that. I had about 20 years to make sure that I had it right. That's how long it took me to write the book from my original-- I mean, I had the original idea for the book, based on things that were happening in my real life, and I just extrapolated it into fiction. It really extrapolated as an end result. But that opening chapter quite honestly, was something that I'd already conceived of in 1995. I had the book's beginning, middle and an end, and characters really well thought out back then. I just either never wrote it because I had other paying work I had to do, or I was never confident with my own prose.