This Man Invites You to Lick His Razor

For some, the full-tilt angsty boogie is somehow more justifiable in print. Happy Halloween.

Partying frat boys slipping on intestines, monsters that lick the skin and muscle off your bones and diseases that seal up your bottom. It’s all there in D.B. Tarpley’s splatterpunk debut, “Lick The Razor,” published by Germinal Press down in Australia. The best description of the work I’ve found has been by J. Chris Lawrence, who called it a “A fifteen story collection of anus-fracturing Lovecraftian evil.” That it is.

Mr. Tarpley allowed The Brophisticate to enter his giggling house of horrible by letting us ask him a few questions.

Spun Counterguy asks, “What prompted the name “Lick the Razor”?

DB Tarpley: I had originally written a screenplay for a horror anthology called ‘Scare Me.’ It had the wonderful wrap-around story of a dead used car salesman talking to Lady Death and challenging her to a scary story-off as a sort of chance to live. He of course wins and is returned to life as he died with his ribcage all exposed and his guts half eaten away… so in a way he loses. Anyway, it had 4 horror stories in it, I have always loved the anthology format, and one of the stories was about a vampire confronting a bunch of wannabe posers who would in fact, ‘lick the razor’ to promote their blood sucking. I loved the title and have always wanted to use it as a base for an anthology. With this book I was lucky enough to make that happen.

What attracts you to the horror genre?

DBT: I try to attack all different genres. And I honestly do have stories in the collection which are not strictly horror. But time and time again I do find myself gravitating back to the horror genre. Largely, I think, because it is most interesting to see how my characters will react in these horrific scenarios I place them in. As a writer, I feel it is my responsibility to place my characters in as much trouble as possible. And the horror genre most plainly affords me that possibility.

Many of your stories seem to mock people who have hope, be it via convention, romanticism, religion, the American Dream, etc. Maybe to those who cling to these kinds of things, it might seem the narrator is the real horror, a threat to their method of coping, be it logical or an illusion. Is that assessment true and if so, where do you think in yourself it comes from?

DBT: Wow, sounds like a dissertation on my own book. Um, dunno. I seriously don’t put that much thought into the subtext. As a writer I try to put story first, even though there are certainly plenty of passages which appear to be narcissistic rambling at the time I am writing them they all seem relevant to the story. I am aware of a certain amount of subtext and much of it being bitter. But an underlying theme of people with dreams being stupid I was not aware of. Speaking specifically to the issue of religion I try to not mock any religion even as I am sure some who read my work might shout ‘Foul!’ Take my story “Religulon”, the protagonist of the story is an atheist but is not immune to the religious zealotry presented by the drug. I did this on purpose so that the character’s opinion might not be taken above all others. There is a flaw in all zealotry. And speaking to that, I am a White Heterosexual Atheist Male. That is the voice I will most likely speak in much as a black man might write in the voice of a black man… or a gay woman might write in the voice of a gay woman. I do personally think there is certain escapism in dreaming and social conventions which encourage the absence of reality in the thought surrounding them. That does not mean you shouldn’t follow your dreams. I want to be a successful writer and I work hard at it. That doesn’t mean I am not extremely aware of the fact that I could work day in and day out hard as I can and never make it. You should try, but keep a realistic tint on your glasses at all times. I am more likely to fail than succeed and trying in the face of this I think is a beautiful thing.

Reality bites…hard

I read an essay once that asserted the more the world becomes more ‘rational’ and it becomes used an oppressive tool, the more the population seems to be drawn to the ‘irrational’ tales of ghosts, monsters, gods and such. At the same time I remember when I had a movie rental place, so many students and professors from the science and research departments of local universities were always renting horror films by the boatloads. What do you think of these observations and phenomenon?

DBT: Basically, I feel that people enjoy watching others in pain because it makes them feel warm, fuzzy and safe. For males there is the added attraction of torture porn, that is the animal in us becoming sexually aroused at the sight of a crying woman. It is deep and it is dark but it is there in all of us.

Do you ever worry that others will shy away from you and be unable to separate your imagination from the actions that make up the physical DB Tarpley?

DBT: Most people within my small circle of friends know me first as a person and may or may not be familiar with the content of my writing. I think that in this age of celebrity, anyone who does not already know me will have a hard time becoming my friend if I ever gain any degree of notoriety. If every artist were to be judged solely by their art, then none of their friendships would ever be genuine. No one person can be summed up in the span of their artistic endeavors. So no, I do not worry about fans misjudging who I am. Those who know me know me to be a very kind and giving person.

Phi Beta Slaughter House

Your writing style seems to read like a script, at least in it’s ‘to the point’ descriptive manner. How did you choose this style?

DBT: As to my writing style, I am one of those few writers…and I know I’m gonna catch hell for this…I am one of those few writers who doesn’t read…ever. I almost can’t sit down and finish a book. I desperately want to because there is so much I want to read but the closest I can come are graphic novels. So I watch a lot of movies- a second passion of mine- and hence my writing tends to be more cinematic in nature. I think it makes for a very fast and engaging read. Perfect for the short form. We will have to see how I will do with my up coming novels though.

‘Apples to Oranges’ is at first hard to follow because of the constant change of tenses but I find it to be the most interesting of your stories. What lead you to write it in such a way?

DBT: I am very proud of that story. And yes, it can be hard to follow until you get into it. The narrative struggle is deliberate as I am sure you know it reflects the dichotomy of the protagonist’s reality and his perception of such. There is also the conceit of making his real self retarded, and his imaginary self sagacious.

‘Everybody knows’ portrays the stereotype of a hedonistic frat house ala Animal House, yet ends up with your signature horrific end. Where did this story spring from?

DBT: This is my Catcher in the Rye tale as odd as it seems. I wanted a protagonist in the middle of awakening to the fact that his surroundings were ludicrous as so many of us do during the course of collegiate growth do. I also wanted this to be my primary Splatterpunk story. I think I succeeded in both endeavors, and this tale is one of my favorites. This is the first story I ever wrote that once I was finished I said, ‘Yes, that is exactly how I want it to be.’

Blood on the industry floor

It seems every few years something/somebody comes along that reenergizes the genre for the general public. The Exorcist, Stephen King, Wes Craven, Anne Rice, Twilight and so on. What do you think of some of these trendsetters and what do you think about the current state of horror, both in literature and film?

DBT: I think all that matters in terms of trendsetters is who personally resonates with you. I will not jump on the bandwagon and pounce on the Twilight/ 50 Shades of Grey poorly written popular fiction, which is at present top dog. The horror genre is a wide-open expansive and all-inclusive field. If those ladies are making crazy money writing those books then more power to them. I grew up devouring everything King wrote and I still enjoy his prose when I can. But the people who have inspired me are those who have caught me off guard: Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, Rex Miller, etc. I think that horror is all about being scared and or touching on some raw psychological nerve we perhaps never knew we had. To that end, the films of Cronenberg, Lynch, and Romero’s lesser-known works resonate with me on a very personal level. There will always be popular fodder within any genre… but the really inspiring stuff will almost always be on the fringe, just barely visible out of the corner of our eye.

How did you get hooked up with Germinal Press and how’s it been working with them?

DBT: Germinal Press was actually a friend of a friend and I was informed they were looking for new alternative novel ideas. I had a completed manuscript for my short story collection so I struck up a conversation with them and we both found we were coming from the same place. I think so far we are fitting like a glove and I am looking forward to a long lasting relationship with them. I am not greedy or unreasonable and they are honest and supportive.

What’s next for you after Lick The Razor?

DBT: After Lick the Razor, I will be releasing ‘The Damned Hunger Chronicles’, a trilogy revolving around a vampire surviving the zombie apocalypse. The books are called ‘The Death of Fear’, ‘The Death of Love’, and ‘The Death of Death.’ But then again I have my next 9 books or so in the works.