When did you take leave of your senses and decide to start a small publishing press?

We took leave of our senses long before we decided to start a publishing company. The particular lapse that you're talking about took place on January 1, 1998.

Presumably there was a good reason?

That's like asking a married couple if there was a good reason for them to start dating. Our love affair with books began long before 1998. In today's PR spin-friendly world, it's common to see answers to this type of question from "It was the right opportunity for us" to "We were filling a recognized consumer need."
In short: yes, there was a good reason. We love crime, and we love fiction.

Still working a day job?

No, not like we were when we started. We have left behind work we've done in film development and TV production to concentrate on UglyTown full time. Although, in addition to being publishers, we are writers ourselves. We have written numerous things together, most notably, Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic books.

Early days, the biggest mistake?

How long is this article? The biggest mistake was thinking early on that we had already made all the big mistakes. Every year we learn more and get stronger.

Best moment?

The most recent Bouchercon in Las Vegas has to rank up there pretty high. We had just released our first hardcover -- Burn by Sean Doolittle -- and it was the hit of the show. Every dealer who had copies, sold out in the first day. And because we were denied exhibit space at the convention, we were selling books out of our suitcases in the hallway. It was total rock and roll.

What was the first book you published and how well did it do?

The first book was By the Balls: a Bowling Alley Murder Mystery by Fassbender & Pascoe. It did fantastically well -- by that we mean: it was never designed to be a big money maker on its own right. It was meant to launch our careers as writers and to lay the foundation for our publishing regime. Yes, it did fantastically well.

Funding, does it exist?

We are proud that the entire funding for our company has come our own pockets. We haven't ever pursued outside investments that would dilute our equity and compromise our vision. But something we've found along the way ... when you don't ask for money, people fall over themselves to give it to you.

What type of books do you look for?

Well-written ones. Ones with engaging characters, moving stories, and exciting language. Our concept of crime fiction extends to -- perhaps even centers on -- books like Umberto Eco's, Foucault's Pendulum, Haruki Murakami's Wild Sheep Chase, and J.G. Ballard's Cocaine Nights.

What are you providing the big publishers don't?

Attention to detail. Even more than that, we're dedicated to nurturing the careers of writers we admire. Whereas the big companies are dropping midlist writers after their FIRST book, we are interested in getting them to write better and better books. In today's publishing climate, James Ellroy would have been dropped way before he ever got around to writing The Black Dahlia.

Most satisfying part of the job?

Working with amazing writers like Curt Colbert, Sean Doolittle, Victor Gischler, Rodney Johnson, Mike Lester, Gary Phillips, Nathan Walpow....

The slush pile, what are you looking for and how do you manage it (the pile)?

Our submission guidelines ask for three chapters. First and foremost we're interested to see the quality of the writing. If that passes our high standards, then we look for great characters, a solid story, etc. We've not been the best at trudging through our huge slush pile, but we're recently brought on a fantastic assistant, Sarah Ciston, who has done wonders with our submissions.

Does it ever get easier, are the personal sacrifices worth it?

Yes, it gets easier -- though, in other ways, it also gets harder. Being a part of UglyTown makes every single personal sacrifice entirely worth it.

Any financial reward? The first million just around the corner?

You won't find us advising people who want to make quick money to go into publishing. But here's our secret: There are millions around every corner. And we live in a world with a multitude of corners. You just have to walk the long mile to get to the first one. •

www.uglytown.com