Things I Do When I'm Awake

by Will Viharo

Things I Do When I’m Awake is erotic horror noir distilled into a surrealistic mood piece, a series of confessional prose poems that are psychologically complex, sensually stimulating, and emotionally challenging, collectively conveying a seductive nightmare that will haunt your dreams forever.

101 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2016

About the author

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. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Viharo

Reviews

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will Viharo hit me in the balls again.

This was a gorgeous, eerie and WILDLY different experience from last year's HARD-BOILED HEART and it hit me right where it hurts. Mental health is a very important subject for me and Viharo's shifty, disembodied and existential tale of a dog walker caught between two worlds bridged the gap between the inward and the outward perception of such a misunderstood condition. This is NOT the Will Viharo people are used to. This is NOT the Viharo you're used to. This is not a quirky, anachronistic hardboiled mystery. This is something much more personal.

THINGS I DO WHEN I'M AWAKE is raw, uncomfortable and yet it's one of the best portrait of mental illness I've ever read.

[Ezekiel Tyrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interestingly enough, this brief novella reminded me of two of Jack Kerouac's lesser-known novels. The 96-page 'Tristessa' and the highly experimental 'Book of Dreams.' Not saying Will Viharo writes exactly like Kerouac but his constant and seamless weaving of reality, fantasy, nightmare and memory is fantastic, like 'Book of Dreams' and the constant meditations on the protagonist's mother similar to Kerouac's meditation on the life of the alluring and doomed Mexican junkie prostitute in 'Tristessa.'

At this point in my reading life, I often approach writers I admire the same way a carpenter or architect appreciates the way a house in his neighborhood is constructed. VIharo is never self-conscience with his writing. More clear and concise, less dense than the before-mentioned Beat writer. Never pretentious with a 'serious' attempt at artistry or pathos. Here, we have a protagonist haunted by memory and with an overactive
imagination in both the waking and sleeping worlds.

The book is odd, beautifully-written, at times, funny and always strange. Everybody should read it and can do so in one setting.

[Steve Isaak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The back cover blurb is a good description of this short, intense work, which takes on bold themes of fractured-but-well-meant maternal instincts, rape (emotional and otherwise) and other forms of violence, while maintaining a plot pushing is-this-a-dream-state feel. "Things" is an experimental and more personal than usual novella (for the author), meaning this will not appeal to readers looking for something light and formulaic. (Viharo's works are not formulaic.) If you are willing to enter this distinctive darkness, and appreciate short, sharp and troubling kicks to the brain (entertainment-wise), chances are this would be a worthwhile purchase for you.

[Theodore Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part surrealist sex romp, part meditation on the impact of trauma and mental illness. Again, Viharo deliveries a book that is sometimes sensitive, sometimes sexy, and sometimes absolutely gory.