Richard R. Becker is an award-winning, best-selling American author. His debut collection of literary fiction and psychological thrillers began as a project to write one story a week for 50 weeks. It broke into the top 100 literary short story collections on Amazon for three consecutive months. It also won first place in the ABR Book Excellence Awards, Spring 2022 BookFest Awards, 2023 Book Excellence Awards, and was a finalist in the IAN Book of the Year Awards.
His debut novel Third Wheel was released in August 2023 to positive reviews and is on track to become an Amazon best seller. It was named a finalist in the Global Book Awards.
IAN: Please tell us about your latest book.
Richard R. Becker: Third Wheel is a powerful coming-of-age thriller about belonging, betrayal, and breaking away. It is the story of a boy trying to find his identity in the pre-boomtown hours of Las Vegas, 1982.
Brady Wilks, a 14-year-old transplant from the Midwest, forges a brotherly bond with an older teenage neighbor and inherits a friend group that accepts him more than his family at home. But everything begins to unravel when a small-time drug dealer joins the group and tempts them into making big money by selling cartel-supplied heroin.
Desolate and gritty, Third Wheel follows Brady as he navigates life, an improbable romantic interest, and a Mob connection in the dusty suburban outskirts of this infamous 24-hour desert town. Estranged from his family at home, Brady takes chances on random and fragile relationships until the stakes and consequences threaten the lives of those he cares about.
Third Wheel is a triumphant debut novel, and Brady Wilks is unforgettable as a transformative protagonist. Five-time award-winning author Richard R. Becker once again shares his unique insight into the human condition.
IAN: Where can we go to buy Third Wheel?
Amazon Barnes & Noble Apple Walmart
IAN: What inspired you to write Third Wheel?
Richard R. Becker: Third Wheel picked me more than I chose it. I was working on a short story collection as a follow-up to my debut collection, 50 States. The plan was to write 50 stories that followed up or intersected with those in 50 States.
When I wrote the short story Third Wheel, I immediately knew it needed to be my debut novel. I could see the second, third, and fourth chapters easily. So, I published my second short story collection as a 10-story Kindle exclusive and committed to writing my novel. Twenty-four weeks later, I had the draft in hand.
IAN: How much of the book is
realistic?
Richard R. Becker: While Third Wheel is fiction, I gave Brady some of my childhood to serve as a framework. I’m sure this was one reason I was drawn into writing his story. We’re different in how we react to and handle circumstances, but we share many experiences.
This isn’t that unusual. Many writers use little bits of their lives in their work. I’m no exception. Some of the stories in 50 States are grounded in truth as well.
IAN: Do you have a specific writing style?
Richard R. Becker: My work is as eclectic as my reading. It fits best within the literary fiction spectrum but almost always with a genre-bending twist. For example, about half the stories in 50 States would be considered literary fiction while the balance would be considered psychological thrillers and speculative fiction, with paranormal undertones.
Third Wheel is a coming-of-age literary fiction, but with a crime thriller backbone. The stakes are considerably higher than most coming-of-age stories.
IAN: What do you hope your readers come away with after reading Third Wheel?
Richard R. Becker: I’ve always believed that we take out of books what we bring in with us. However, I did want Brady to come away with something. I wanted him to learn that it’s never too late to change direction.
No matter how hard life feels or how many bad things happen, it’s never too late until it is catastrophically too late. In the novel, the question is whether or not he can learn this lesson in time.
IAN: Do you see writing as a career?
Richard R. Becker: Writing literature may be new for me, but writing as a career isn’t new. While I didn’t initially set out to be a writer, I’ve enjoyed a successful career as one. I’ve been an advertising copywriter, journalist, and creative strategist for more than three decades. The primary difference is that I’m now writing my own stories instead of everybody else’s.
I still work with a handful of select clients and don’t see this changing anytime soon. Maybe I’ll feel differently by a fifth, a sixth, or a tenth novel.
IAN: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Richard R. Becker: Writing is a job. It’s best to treat it as such. I would have never finished 50 States had I
not set Mondays aside to start a short story and then commit to completing it
by the following week. That’s how my first project began. It
was a challenge to write 50 stories in 50 weeks.
I followed the same process for Third Wheel, writing one chapter a week for 24 weeks. By setting a deadline, I could remind myself that these projects were just as important as any other job deadline I might have to meet during the week. And then, after I finished the draft, I invested even more time in making it right — maybe eight months of revisions, reviews, editors, beta readers, and production.
IAN: If you had to choose, which writers would you consider mentors?
Richard R. Becker: There are too many to include, really. Generally, I credit Earnest Hemingway and John Updike for writing straight, honest prose about people. It doesn’t matter what genre you are writing in or how far afield your plot might be; we tune in to characters we care about, whether or not we like them.
Aside from those writers, I must mention Joyce Carol Oates, Walter Mosley, and David Mamet. I’ve taken online master classes from all of them, and they helped me take my work to the next level.
IAN: Are there any new authors that have caught your interest?
Richard R. Becker: More than a few. I’m especially fond of S.A. Cosby, Murakami Haruki, Jandy Nelson, Joe R. Lansdale, and Pierce Brown. They are all very different writers, yet they enjoy exploring the human condition as much as I do.
There are dozens of other writers I could name. My list of favorite books has swelled to about 100 different titles by almost as many authors. I’m looking forward to discovering and adding more. I’ve even opened up a small online store to help promote them.
IAN: Tell us about your next book or a work in progress. Is it a sequel or a stand-alone?
Richard R. Becker: I’m currently writing a psychological thriller set in Maine. The story stands alone but exists within the 50 States universe as does most of my work.
IAN: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Richard R. Becker: Yes, thank you very much. This journey has been incredible for me—from commercial to literary writing. I am so grateful that thousands of people gave my first book a chance, and now it seems thousands more will do the same for Third Wheel.
The support has been inspiring and even overwhelming
at times. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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