Chuck Palahniuk could be considered a terrifying person if the adage "Write about what you know" always rings true.

After writing the explosive ending to "Fight Club" and the thematic material of "Survivor" that made it too seditious for film production after Sept. 11 – not to mention constant motifs of murder – it is safe to infer that Palahniuk dabbles in the darker subjects of life.

Thankfully, his writing is more cathartic than illustrative. "Every book is a kind of therapy," said Palahniuk, 45, over the phone from Portland.

His soft-spoken, thoughtful speaking voice sounds nothing like the beginning of the title of his latest novel, "Rant: the Oral History of Buster Casey," which purposefully denotes the sound of children's vomit.

The spoken history format is different but some plot points are familiar to fans. The serial-killer protagonist gambles with the frailty of life, except this time it involves a series of demolition derbies.

As with each of his novels, Palahniuk's journalistic background instinctually leads him to research some non-fiction aspects of his novels extensively.

"I really enjoyed talking to hundreds or thousands (of people) about the car accidents they've been in . and looking for the commonalities between those," he said.

"Everybody remembers their car slowing down – you remember every moment of every moment. The ironic thing is that this thing lasts a moment. We forget whole weeks or whole months of a time, but we remember that car accident."

With a need to clear himself of some memories tinged with a "nostalgic glow," the novel was a reason for Palahniuk to revisit Burbank, Wash., the small town in which he grew up.

"It was an excuse to talk to a lot of folks I grew up with," he said. "Once you explore (your childhood town) and put it on paper you exhaust any emotion you have around it."

His frank and often conversational writing style seems to invite fans to share their own experiences. On tours, he believes, fans tell him "debasng or corrupting stories" because they feel like they don't have to look good for him. He doesn't mind, and believes many writers have the same fan experiences: "They get the cathartic relief of expressing this unresolved experience."

However, some critics decry Palahniuk's creative voice, saying it doesn't vary enough. He shrugs off the observations, saying that critics must find something about which to complain.

Besides, echoing many of his characters' sentiments about learning the rules in order to break them, he said, "The way to stand out is to write things in a consistently wrong way."

Borrowing from the workshop on minimalism by Tom Spanbauer that sparked his writing, he calls this technique "burnt tongue," since "we don't so much notice when people speak beautifully."

After penning 10 books in 10 years, his statement carries some validity. To celebrate this literary milestone on his book tour, he is going to ask audience members trivia questions about his books and give out big prizes, which he is happy about to do.

"It's kind of part of my job. If I'm going to choose to do something then it's my responsibility to create the best experience I can have for myself," he said.

"Even when I worked on the assembly lines, it was my job to have a great time."