Chuck Dixon Doesn't Need Your Permission To Write

Sure, most of you may know Chuck Dixon as one of the greatest Batman and Punisher writers alive today, but what you may not know is that he is also a best-selling novelist and author of both the Levon Cade action/adventure series and the Bad Times series.

So, in an effort to help share the word about his latest prose work, I was lucky enough find that he had some time to devote to an interview for the ol' blog here.
 
Tell us a bit about your latest work.

Chuck Dixon: It's called Levon's Run. It's the third book in my series about Levon Cade. He's a military vet who inadvertently becomes a vigilante crime fighter. In this book he's on the run from an alphabet soup of federal law agencies and he has his eleven year old daughter along. The series kind of scratches my Punisher/Death Wish itch.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

Chuck Dixon: I never write to themes. Themes are for others to find in my work. I'm drawn to action stories set in almost any genre. My novels have included military action, apocalyptic survival, time travel, zombies, and I'm working on a western.

What would be your dream project?

Chuck Dixon: I'm living the dream right now. E-books offer me freedom from the gatekeepers. No pitches. No meetings. I don't need permission to write. I have a ready audience and I wake up every morning eager to entertain them.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

Chuck Dixon: If I were writing the Punisher again I'd provide him with a law enforcement antagonist, a Javert who's always hunting for him. It';s the one element I think was missing from my Frank Castle stories.

What inspires you to write?

Chuck Dixon: I can't help it. It's a compulsion. And comics taught me to write even when I don;t feel like it. I'm closing in the last chapters of a novel now and can't wait to work on them. I hope I instill that enthusiasm in the reader.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Chuck Dixon: Donald Westlake and Edgar Rice Burroughs are tops. Westlake for pacing and humor. ERB for action and sense of wonder. There's also Ben Haas who wrote westerns under the name John Benteen. That guy could write compelling action with a clarity that allowed you to see it happening. There are others. Lots of others. I've always been a compulsive reader.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

Chuck Dixon: I'm not sure what writing is that continuum. It's certainly a craft. I never think of it as an art. I have a quote from Stave Martin hanging on my wall. It's my sic transit gloria. He said, "Entertainment can be art. But if you set out to make art you're an idiot."

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

Chuck Dixon: My fifth Bad Times novel, Sons of Heaven, will be out in May.

For more information, visit: http://www.amazon.com/Levons-Run-Levon-Cade-Book-ebook/dp/B01AWXK6H6/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458844053&sr=1-14&keywords=chuck+dixon