This past April 2 I turned 49, which isn't much of a marker, other than the fact it means I'm a year away from truly momentous milestone of 50. Professionally, I'm way behind schedule, at least according to my own career clock, though personally I feel perfectly fulfilled, thanks to my marriage to Monica, Tiki Goddess - the gift that keeps on giving (and I wasn't really born till the day we met, anyway). Due to the fact I've published so many books over the past couple of years, and written three, I'm also creatively satisfied, though turning my self-made dreams into a real success story remains the challenge.
I was unsure how to celebrate this birthday. I'd always hoped to finish my 40s the way I began them - at the Orbit In in Palm Springs, our favorite vacation spot, back when we could afford to take vacations, but alas, being a freelance writer, that goal was a bit outside our budget. Next year at this time I hope to be in Hawaii for the Big Five-O, which means I'll be in Area 51 the following year. So instead, in keeping with the 49 theme, we headed for Sacramento for our own private gold rush. It really just amounted to a whirlwind of hipster bar-hopping, with dinner at The Broiler, an old school Rat Pack -style steakhouse, ending up at The Crest Theater in Sacramento, our first visit to this fabulous movie palace (we saw We Need To Talk About Kevin, which was excellent, but hardly festive). It was a pretty lowkey day, but we had fun, and I was especially touched by the hundreds of warm wishes I received on my Facebook page. In addition to the geyser of greetings, I was treated to some creative posts, including a photoshopped image of me as a vintage spaceman, by artist Michael Fleming, who created the classic cover for It Came from Hangar 18.
My 40th Birthday Roast, Palm Springs, 4/2/2003
The #1 song in the country when I was born, 4/2/1963; now it could be called simply "He's So 49."
Aesthetically, I never outgrew the year I was born (and dig the date on this special issue of Newsweek inspired by my favorite show, Mad Men)
On Monday, April 23, 7:30, I will be marking another anniversary: fifteen years of Thrillville, from the Parkway to Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge, where I've been hosting my movie nite, Forbidden Thrills, for nearly two of those years. Since at a decade and a half Thrillville truly feels endless, I'll be hosting screenings of Roger Corman's cult favorite TheDay the World Ended (1956) with the sci-fi classic World Without End (1955), plus the usual prizes, free popcorn, and $1 off all drinks on Will the Thrill's Pulp Cocktails Menu. Cheers.
WILL "THE THRILL" VIHARO is a freelance writer and the author of several "gonzo pulp" novels including "A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge," "Freaks That Carry Your Luggage up to the Room," "Chumpy Walnut," "Lavender Blonde," "Down a Dark Alley," and the “Vic Valentine, Private Eye” series, the first of which, "Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me," has been optioned for a film by Christian Slater, reissued in 2013 by Gutter Books, which also published the new Vic Valentine novel "Hard-boiled Heart" in December, 2015.
Two science fiction novels, "It Came from Hangar 18" and "The Space Needler's Intergalactic Bar Guide," were written in collaboration with Scott Fulks, who added real science to Will's pulp.
Will's own imprint, Thrillville Press, has issued a three volume anthology series featuring all of his standalone novels called "The Thrillville Pulp Fiction Collection," along with another omnibus called "The Vic Valentine Classic Case Files," which include four novels from the 1990s, "Fate Is My Pimp," "Romance Takes a Rain Check," "I Lost My Heart in Hollywood," and "Diary of a Dick," plus a recent short story, "Brain Mistrust."
More recently published books include the Vic Valentine "Mental Case Files" trilogy comprised of "Vic Valentine: International Man of Misery," "Vic Valentine: Lounge Lizard For Hire," and "Vic Valentine: Space Cadet"; the original story collection "Vic Valentine, Private Eye: 14 Vignettes"; the erotic horror noir novella "Things I Do When I'm Awake"; and a collection of erotic horror noir stories, "VIHORROR! Cocktales of Sex and Death."
Additionally Will has had stories included in a variety of anthologies including "Fast Women and Neon Lights: Eighties-Inspired Neon Noir"; "Mixed Up!"; "Long Distance Drunks: A Tribute to Charles Bukowski"; "Deadlines: A Tribute to William Wallace"; "Dark Yonder: Tales and Tabs"; "Knucklehead Noir" and "Weird Winter Wonderland" (both Coffin Hop Press); and "Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror."
Viharo's unique brand of "gonzo pulp fiction" combines elements of eroticism, noir, fantasy, and horror. For many years he has also been a professional film programmer/impresario and live music booker. He now lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and cats
