Ash Clifton
Twice The Trouble
DOSSIER: Your blog at ashcliftonwriter.com is a lot of fun that will make a lot of heads nod in agreement over your musings about movies, music, and millennials. Given the strong focus on music, why did you major in English instead of front lining a band to tour all the hot spots along the Florida coast?
CLIFTON: Growing up here in Gainesville, Florida, I was very much aware of the out-sized connection this area has with great rock music. Tom Petty was from here. So is Don Felder of the Eagles. Like a lot of guys, I always fancied myself a future guitar god, in the mode of Jimmy Page (but with better hair). The only thing holding me back was a total and absolute lack of music talent.
But seriously, I am one of those people who are deeply affected by music (and film, and books). I was never obsessed with music, though. I already had an obsession: writing stories. So, when I went to college, the only major that really appealed to me was English. Then I took writing classes with the great Harry Crews, and I was hooked on the craft of fiction.
DOSSIER: With a background in law enforcement, The Dossier guy is interested in knowing what it was like for you to grow up with your dad being the police chief in a college town like Gainesville, FL. Were there story ideas you were able to glean from all the cop talk and later incorporate into your writing?
CLIFTON: Your knowledge of law enforcement and the culture is surely a lot deeper than mine. My main impression of cops when I was growing up was that they were funny, amiable, strong people (mostly guys) who were also fearless. Fearlessly loyal, especially to each other. Most of them are just good, decent, blue-collar workers who have a dangerous and demanding job to do. They’re physical people who work with their hands and bodies.
I did get a few ideas from my time hanging around cops and listening to their stories. Specifically, stories about some extremely dedicated, effective, and inventive cops from my father’s generation, the previous generation, and the younger generation, too. The character of Noland is based, as well as I could, on one or more of these driven, smart cops. (Of course, Noland gets a bit off-track.)
DOSSIER: When and where do you write, and what kind of environment do you prefer? (Coffee house/the student section of “The Swamp” on opening day?)
CLIFTON: Attending the Swamp on opening day—or any game day—is a sublime and life-changing experience, but it is not very conducive to any kind of thoughtful work. (Or any kind of thought, period, other than, “Come on, Gators! Get up and goooooooo!!!!!”).
Rather, I have two writing modes: work-week mode and weekend mode. On the weekend, I like to go to campus or somewhere outside during the morning and type for a bit. During the work-week, I like to go out at night around 8:00, after the distractions of the day have ebbed a bit and I can just focus on the writing. If I am tired, I go to a coffee shop. If I am stressed-out, I go to a bar.
DOSSIER: Your novel, TWICE THE TROUBLE, is a wild ride where your main character goes from one place to another finding some crazy stuff you don’t see coming. How much of Noland Twice’s character (or story) is built from your imagination and how much came from real people (or situations) you’ve run across?
CLIFTON: Besides the smart, semi-legendary cops that I mentioned above, Noland is partially based on a former Florida Gator football player I once met, who looked like he could still run out on the field and play at any moment. If you’ve never been around an elite athlete, they’re kind of amazing. They can do things other people just can’t do. The sad part, of course, is that most of them have very short careers. Very limited glory days. Noland Twice has an especially tragic end to his football career. I became interested in how that kind of misfortune might change a basically good person. Make him dark.
The rest of Noland, and the book, is just my imagination playing with the very real madness of Florida as a whole.
DOSSIER: Given the interesting atmosphere in and around Orlando, FL, were there any other locations you considered setting your story for TWICE THE TROUBLE? Having lived there for a while must have had quite a creative impact, right?
CLIFTON: I haven’t traveled that much, but I would guess that Orlando is one of the strangest places on earth. It’s got so many contradictions. It’s where the Deep South meets South Florida, where cracker culture meets Latin culture. And, of course, it’s got Disney World. The Mouse came in and made this hitherto sleepy railroad town into a bustling city. In addition to D-World and the theme parks—actually, because of them—Orlando has a huge business in corporate conferences, which means that there are always a lot of people on the prowl at night looking for booze, drugs, and sex. So, you’ve got tons of bars and strip joints and drug dealers. You also have a huge underground workforce of exploited, undocumented immigrants cleaning hotel rooms and flipping burgers and generally cleaning up the mess.
When I was living there, I had a job as an I.T. specialist, so I met a lot of people in various businesses. Some of these were rather shady. I did some work for a construction firm that I was convinced was a front for the mob. Fortunately I liked the guy who owned it (a big, affable, dangerous-looking dude) and that’s probably where I got the idea for the crooked construction firm in my book. I also met a ton of generally sleazy business types. They went in there, too, in various forms.
Having said all that, let me state emphatically that Orlando is one the coolest places I’ve ever lived in. It’s endlessly fun and interesting. I love going back. Heck, I even love Disney World.
Website: Ash Clifton | Amazon Page
Jeff Circle 