A Conversation with Kirker Butler, author of PRETTY UGLY
Q: You’ve written primarily for TV, what made you want to write a novel?
A: I love writing for TV, and I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve been able to work on some really creative shows with some of the most talented people in the business. I mean, yes, there were a few lousy shows in there, as well as some staggeringly incompetent assholes, but overall it’s been incredibly rewarding. That being said, in the twelve years I’ve been writing TV I’ve found that there are definite limitations to what you can do. For a half-hour sitcom you have to tell the whole story in about thirty pages, so many times you end up sacrificing plot, or jokes, or character development to get it down to time. Also, most network TV shows are designed to appeal to the largest possible audience, which doesn’t really allow for a character to be too flawed (at least not in live action); but I think that’s much closer to how people are in real life. I was really drawn to the challenge of telling a longer story with deeply flawed, almost despicable characters that you still rooted for.
Q: Why a novel set in the world of children’s beauty pageants? What is your connection to that world?
A: I grew up in a small town in Kentucky, and my parents were on the county fair board. For some reason, my mother—who had never been in a pageant before, nor even particularly liked them—was made pageant director. So, once a year throughout my childhood, Mom would plan these pageants. Eventually, she asked me to choreograph one of the opening numbers, which I did to Neil Diamond’s “America.” Sadly, this was before YouTube. When I was a senior in high school I was dating the girl who won the pageant that year, and there were more than a few people who thought it was rigged, which is hilarious. Small town drama is a gold mine. So, I’ve spent quite a bit of time around pageants, and I’ve seen them spiral into madness, but the children’s pageants were batshit crazy. So much time, and money, and genuine human emotion was being spent on something that the majority of the kids were at best indifferent about, and at worst, hated. At the time, I couldn’t understand why someone would do that to their child, and now that I have kids it’s even more mind-boggling. It’s a world I am both familiar with and bewildered by.
Q: You’re from Kentucky, and the book is set there. How do you think Kentuckians will react to the book?
A: I think there is a big misconception about Kentucky. People think we’re backwards and uneducated, that we sleep with our cousins, and don’t have a full set of teeth, but they’re wrong. That’s Tennessee. Kentucky is an incredibly interesting place, and some fascinating people have come from there: Muhammad Ali, Hunter S. Thompson, Jennifer Lawrence, President Lincoln, Chuck Woollery. Louisville is seriously one of the coolest cities in America. The bourbon is incredible and abundant. The people are friendly. The land is beautiful. It’s a great place. That being said, when I set the book in Kentucky I knew there would be preconceived notions about who these characters were. But I was born and raised there, lived there for twenty-five years, and I know these characters pretty well. For better or worse, they are my people. So, to answer your question: I think I can safely say that the ones who are most likely to be offended by the book, are not really the types of people who read books, so I think I’ll be fine.
Q: Was your intent to write a satire?
A: Not really. It actually never even occurred to me that the book was a satire until other people started calling it that. My intent was to write a dark family comedy, but if someone wants to call it a satire, I’m great with that. “Satire” sounds much smarter than “dark comedy.” I’ll take it.
Q: Who are some of your favorite authors? Who has inspired you to write?
A: As a kid I was really into Judy Blume, then I found a copy of Cujo at a friend’s house and became a Stephen King fanatic. Their books taught me to love to read; but John Irving was, and continues to be, my literary hero. I read The World According to Garp when I was twelve, and when I finished it I was a fundamentally different person. That’s when I learned that books can change your life. Pretty Ugly probably won’t change your life, but I’m pretty confident that at the very least it’ll make your vacation better, and that’s not nothing.
Q: Did you enjoy writing a book? Do you think you’ll write another?
A: I’ve been writing this book off-and-on for a little over seven years now. It’s been in my life longer than my youngest daughter. Nothing has been more creatively fulfilling, and frustrating, and enjoyable, and painful, and discouraging, and inspiring than writing this book. Writing another one would probably be a huge mistake, so yes, I’m working on a new novel as we speak.
Q: As a TV writer, do you think Pretty Ugly would make a good show?
A: It would take a very brave network to turn this into a show, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. I do think there’s a home for this somewhere out there in the TV landscape, definitely on cable, probably late at night. I also wouldn’t be opposed to adapting it into a movie, or a stage musical, perhaps a series of pageant related mystery novels with a sassy cat protagonist. We’ll see what happens. Right now I’m just really happy to have a book.