10 Questions with Philip Hawley, Jr.
10 Questions with Philip Hawley, Jr.
Author of Stigma (2007)
February 26, 2007
Philip Hawley, Jr. is a pediatrician in Los Angeles who drew on his experience volunteering among remote Indian tribes in Central America to writes his debut novel, Stigma. He is also one of the most-promising new thriller writers to come along in quite a while.
Q. You already have a successful career as a pediatrician at a prestigious children's hospital in Los Angeles. What made you want to be a writer? Temporary insanity?
A. Looking back, yes, there was a moment of insanity. It came when I was re-reading Robert Ludlum's The Matarese Circle and I thought, "Hey, I can do this. I can write a thriller novel!" Of course, the naiveté and ignorance that allowed me to so grossly underestimate the Mr. Ludlum's accomplishment also protected me from giving up when a rational and well-informed appraisal of the soul-smothering challenge that lay ahead might have caused me to quit before writing the first paragraph.
Q. So after you made the decision to write a book, why did you choose a thriller?
A. The literary arc of a thriller – especially the classic scenario of a lone hero in peril, battling to restore order in a chaotic world besieged by malevolent forces – offers a fertile and seemingly limitless canvas for storytellers. When done well – that is, when the novelist tells a dramatic and suspenseful story and introduces me to characters I care about – the thriller, I think, is the ideal literary form.
Q. Stigma contains detailed information on black ops-type stuff: tactics, weapons, equipment, etc. Did you do a lot of research – or is there something in Phil Hawley's past that we should know about?
I've been threatened by a knife-wielding man in a hospital emergency room, twice accosted by armed gunmen on the streets of Los Angeles, and once fired upon. Each of these had only to do with random chance, and my red belt in Tae Kwon Do didn't once prove useful! Only in my boyish imaginings were there high-stakes global issues at play in these events. In other words, I have to rely on my overactive imagination – and a modicum of research – when writing about black ops.
Q. How much of you is there in the character of Luke McKenna (the protagonist of Stigma)? Do pediatricians often pack heat?
A. Despite rumors started by Paul Guyot, I don't pack heat. It may surprise your readers to learn that very few baby doctors carry concealed weapons.
Q. Stigma probes some interesting moral and ethical questions, particularly with regards to setting limits on medical science. Did you have these questions in mind when you began to write the story?
A. One question that has concerned me for some time is this: As science makes possible previously unimaginable medical interventions, where is the boundary beyond which we should not travel? I didn't set out to write a novel exploring this question, but, clearly, the issue crept into the story through my subconscious.
I don't have any special insights concerning this issue, nor do I offer any solutions. But one thing seems clear – in the very near future, these issues will force themselves on a global human society that seems reluctant to deal with them.
Q. What was the most exciting part of having your first novel published?
A. That's an interesting question, because like many writers I'm not comfortable in the limelight. Even the small amounts of attention that come my way are somewhat daunting. The "excitement" of publishing is not something I seek.
However, there have been many pleasurable moments along the way, and most are quiet ones. Writing "The End," which I did not do until I'd finished the final rewrites of Stigma, was one of the high points of this journey.
Without a doubt, the most blissful moments come when I talk with readers who are genuinely touched by my story – readers who speak of the story's characters as if they're real people. For me, nothing else comes close to that experience.
Q. Have you had any thoughts of retiring from medicine to write full-time?
A. No. I love both careers, and in that sense I'm very lucky. The most difficult challenge is finding the time to give each career what it demands.
Q. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
A. I'm still shocked when asked this question. After all, I've walked only a few paces along the literary path.
Having acknowledged that, the best advice I've heard is: Write every day and read good books.
Beyond that simple counsel, I'm not certain there are any universal truths. As Somerset Maugham once said, "There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."
Q. What's the last book you read?
A. Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz. Odd Thomas – what a wonderful character!
Q. What's next for you?
A. Completing book two, which is a sequel to Stigma. Don't ask me how it ends, though! My stories seem to write themselves in the subconscious, and I rarely see more than a few scenes ahead.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (0)
Profile of Libby Fischer Hellmann
Profile of Libby Fischer Hellmann
Author of A Shot to Die For (2005)
August 21, 2005
Written by David J. Montgomery
Libby Fischer Hellmann grew up in Washington, D.C., but she has embraced her adopted home of Chicago with the passion of a convert. "They're going to have to take me out of here feet first," she declares. "Maybe it's not quite as glamorous or glitzy as New York or L.A., but Chicago is a real city."
Of course it has long been a fertile ground for crime novelists. "With all the layers of politics, scandal, corruption and graft," she says, "there's no better place than here for mystery authors. Chicago is a city with real crimes that drive human passions."
This rich tradition has influenced many local crime writers over the years, including such acclaimed veterans as Scott Turow, Sara Paretsky and Barbara D'Amato, as well as some excellent newcomers such as J.A. Konrath and David Ellis.
Hellmann, who lives in Northbrook and whose day job is as a producer of videos for executive training programs, belongs to the latter group, but if she keeps turning out novels like her latest, she's going to join the ranks of the best Chicago mystery writers. Her fourth novel, A Shot to Die For, is yet another fine entry in an excellent series featuring Ellie Foreman, documentary filmmaker.
When asked about the obvious similarities between herself and her character, Hellmann allows that while they have much the same job, live in the northern suburbs and have teenage daughters, "we're actually nothing alike. She's braver than I am. And I never stumble over dead bodies," something Foreman does at least once a book. "I live the safest and most protected life I possibly can," Hellman says, laughing.
Foreman, however, lives life closer to the edge. As A Shot to Die For begins, she witnesses a sniper shooting at a roadside rest stop. Asked by the victim's family to help them understand what happened, Foreman finds herself in the middle of a puzzling case that somehow relates to her current job making a video at the old Playboy Club in Lake Geneva.
Not content merely to be a bystander, Foreman pokes deeper into the mystery and uncovers long-buried secrets that racked the community years before and are still affecting the lives of people today.
The character of Ellie Foreman makes up a large part of the appeal of Hellmann's fiction. She is a complex woman who's had a hard life and made a lot of mistakes, but she's a good person. Despite the improbability of her efforts as an amateur sleuth, her character still feels genuine. This makes it easy for readers to empathize with her.
That is what Hellmann hoped for when creating Foreman. "I wanted her to be an everywoman, an intelligent person who's trying to do the best she can. Like the rest of us, she just wants to raise her child and make ends meet, but hopefully keep a sense of humor about life."
That can be difficult when so many bad things are happening all around you. This time Foreman's burden is eased a bit, for the tone of A Shot to Die For is lighter than that of the other books in the series. The latest book is closer to a "cozy" whodunit, with only a modest amount of violence.
Hellmann says the change was deliberate. "I like the darker stuff in my fiction," she confesses. "But this time, I wanted to try a more traditional approach. I don't want to be pinned down as writing a certain kind of book. In the past I've focused on writing suspense, but this time I wanted to write a traditional whodunit."
For her next book, however, Hellmann is again changing gears. "It will be a PI novel, a spin-off from the Ellie Foreman series featuring Georgia Davis, who was a cop in An Image of Death. This one will definitely be darker and more hard-boiled. I'm about two-thirds of the way done and it's going great."
Tackling powerful themes is nothing new for Hellmann. Her books have dealt with everything from Arab terrorists to the Russian mafiya. "I've always enjoyed grappling with issues and talking about what's going on in the world. These books allow me to do this."
It is that aspect of the mystery novel that draws in so many readers. "People doing bad things is part of real life," Hellmann says. "In a mystery novel, though, the villains are caught and justice is served. Order is restored to chaos."
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (1)
10 Questions with Barry Eisler
10 Questions with Barry Eisler (July 2005)
Author of Killing Rain (2005)
July 12, 2005
Written by David J. Montgomery
Barry Eisler is the author of the Gumshoe Award-winning John Rain series, which has been translated into over a dozen languages and optioned for film. The latest book in the series, Killing Rain, was recently published to rave reviews.
1. What made you decide to start writing thrillers?
It wasn't really a decision. I've always enjoyed writing, and it seems that whenever I do, things head in a "thriller" direction. The genesis of Rain Fall was an image of two men following another man down a Tokyo street. If you think about it, an image like that is subject to many interpretations; for me, it could only mean that the first two were assassins, the lone man their target...
2. You recently revealed that you worked for the CIA as a covert operative for 3 years back in the late-80s. Is there anything about that you'd like to tell us?
I'll tell you a funny story about how legends get started. During the 20-week FTC (Field Trade Craft) spy school course, I was sparring with Carl, one of the paramilitary guys I knew from the SOTC (Special Operations Trade Craft) paramilitary course I had been through earlier. Carl was in many ways the inspiration for Dox: 5'10", 210 pounds of solid muscle, former Marine Recon, black belts in judo and hapkido... a tough and tough-looking dude but also funny as hell. Well, on this particular evening, Carl accidentally broke my nose with his elbow, moving my schnoz about halfway towards my right ear. He drove me to the emergency room in Williamsburg and insisted on joining me while the doctor was suturing me up. While the doctor was putting in the stitches, he asked us, "So what were you guys doing there?" (referring to nearby Camp Peary, "The Farm," which much CIA training is conducted). Carl responds, with his gravelly, Texan accent, "That's classified," even though the truth is that we were just screwing around on our own time. Then the doctor says to him, "Well, what are you doing here, anyway?" To which Carl gestures to me and responds:" If you anesthetize him and he starts spilling state secrets, I have to kill him."
Afterward, I realized the doctor probably went home and told his family and friends, "I don't know what they do up there at the Farm, but it's serious! Some guy came in tonight and his nose was pulverized. And there was a scary looking guy escorting him who said if the hurt guy talked he'd have to kill him!"
And thus are legends born...
3. Is it hard writing about a character like John Rain, a man who kills people for money, and not have him be unlikable?
Not for me. I like people like Rain.
Kidding (mostly).The main trick is to get inside the character's head and to try to present him as fully human. No one looks in the mirror and sees a bad guy; we all have our justifications and rationalizations. By presenting some of Rain's, I hope to bring about a degree of empathy on the part of the reader. It also helps that Rain inhabits a bleak moral universe: he's surrounded by corruption, duplicity, and betrayal. By comparison, he looks good.
And there's an element of wish fulfillment at work, too. Last time you were in a restaurant and the guy at the next table was bellowing into his cell phone, didn't you want to kill him? Come on, even just a little? If so, congratulations! You're going to like John Rain.
4. Have you considered writing anything other than a Rain book?
I had started a standalone when we sold the rights to Rain Fall and a sequel, but I had only written about 50 pages at that point. It was a thriller set in Silicon Valley and involving Asia, and I really liked the characters. It was hard to set aside. I hope to get back to it one day, but I just signed for two more Rain books. The way I conceive the Rain story arc at this point, six is going to be the right place to stop.
Remind me of what I just said if Putnam offers to pay me a ton of money for #7 and #8...
5. Your books always give the appearance of being authentic in their details. How do you do your research?
Reading, interviewing, and going. If there's a place or topic that's going to appear in one of the books, I read a lot about it. Then I find experts, interview them, and have them give me feedback on the relevant portion of the finished manuscript. While creating Dox, for example, I read books and watched videos on sniping, then interviewed Alain Burrese, a friend who was a sniper with the army's 82nd Airborne division, then asked Alain to look over the relevant parts of the manuscript.
And I visit all the places that appear in the books to capture the mood, the essence of the place, and to ensure the details are accurate.
6. What advice would you give aspiring writers?
- Keep writing. Can't emphasize this one enough. Every day is ideal, but the goal is to just be as regular as you can. Same as learning a language, or a martial art, etc.
- Reread passages from books you love and ask yourself, what is the author doing here that's working so well? And if you see something that you think is bad, ask yourself, why is this bad? What could the author have done differently to make it work?
- Read books on writing. Stephen King's On Writing helped me a lot. David Morrell's Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing is also terrific. There are many others. But don't read the how-to books at the expense of your own writing. Whenever you have to choose, practice your writing instead.
- If you've got time and you're serious, a writer's workshop can be a huge help with motivation, feedback, and discipline. Google "Writer's workshops" and the name of your city and you'll probably be able to find a bunch.
- When you think your book is as good as you can possibly get it, it's time to try to find an agent. The way to do this is to go a library or bookstore and get a book like The Writer's Digest Guide to Literary Agents. Identify the ones that handle your kind of book and contact them in exactly the manner they request.
- One of your best friends as a writer is what I think of as the "what if" question. "What if someone cloned dinosaurs and planned to open a dinosaur theme park on a remote island?" (Jurassic Park) "What if a semi-yuppie drug dealer were about to do a seven year prison stretch?" (The 25th Hour) Etc. If the what-if question interests you enough, it'll lead you to other questions, all of the who, what, where, when, why, how variety. Follow those questions and you'll start to find your story.
A lot of people think that, in the writing business, it's not what you know, but who. This has not been my experience. Who you know might get an agent to take a look at something you've written, but after that you will stand or fall entirely on the quality of your writing and other business calculations.
In other words, the best a mutual acquaintance can do is to possibly get your work moved closer to the top of the agent's pile. But this is a minimal benefit, because agents read everything that's submitted to them anyway. That's their business. It may take the agent a while, but eventually he or she will read what you've sent.
7. What are your thoughts about Hollywood adapting your books?
Lee Child said it best: a movie represents a $40 million advertising campaign for your books (but it would also be cool to see Jack Reacher on the big screen).
As for the Rain books, I optioned the movie rights to a guy named Barrie Osborne, who won an Oscar for producing the Lord of the Rings trilogy. His production company, Three Dogs & A Pony, is comprised of Barrie, two Japanese partners, and one Australian partner. They all know Asia well and are good people, and I think they're just the right group to bring the Rain books to the screen. We'll see...
8. What excites or distresses you about the thriller genre today?
Well, I'm excited to be a part of it, that's for sure. And that thrillers are getting a lot of recognition (look at what International Thriller Writers has become in just a few months since its inception). As for distress, I suppose there are distressing trends in the publishing industry, or at least there are lots of conversations about it. But I like just writing the best books I can and doing what I can day by day to get people to give them a try. If it works, I'm thrilled; if it doesn't, I've done what I can and have no regrets.
9. What's the last book you read?
Just finished Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. Freakin' fascinating! Listened to it in the car during the Killing Rain tour and barely noticed how long I'd been driving.
10. What's next for you?
Well, I've still got about 25 cities to go on the Killing Rain tour. The fifth Rain book is outlined, so I guess when I get back in August I'll take a little break and then start writing in earnest.
Don't miss Barry Eisler's Overnight Success? story.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (2)
Interview with James O. Born (May 2005)
Interview with James O. Born (May 2005)
Author of Shock Wave (May 2005)
May 17, 2005
James O. Born, a Special Agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), is a veteran of nearly 20 years in law enforcement. His second book, Shock Wave, was recently published to rave reviews.
Interview by David J. Montgomery
Q. What made you decide to start writing thrillers?
A. When I was an agent with the DEA I would set up on these incredibly boring surveillances, following smugglers all over south Florida, waiting for the little lead or piece of information that would break the case. During that time I’d imagine what would happen if…Rarely was anything as exciting as what I imagined nor were my actions as courageous as I had imagined. I thought, “Man, I could put this in a book for every cop that dreamed of doing something more.” I learned early on there is little or no connection between TV and real life.
Q. After working as a cop for the past two decades, you're one of the few mystery writers who has the actual experience to write with authenticity about law enforcement. How has that affected your books?
A. The one thing it has done, and I’m just now realizing it, is I can think through any situation in one of my books and even if it’s not the right or smart move by a character, I can justify it. For instance, out of habit, I never stand in front of a door I’ve just knocked on. That’s from a shooting incident when a FDLE (Florida Department Of Law Enforcement, State police) agent stepped to one side during a search warrant just as someone fired from inside. The bullet missed his head by an inch. Those lessons I put in all my books. It may not be pretty or flashy but my characters act like people I know. Some people I know are dumbasses, so some of my characters do stupid things.
Q. I'm sure you must often cringe when you read mystery novels. What about cops in fiction bugs you the most?
A. I always smile at all the cops who were trained as CIA assassins or have super abilities. On the TV show Joe Forester in the seventies, he would throw his nightstick and trip fleeing criminals. I always thought that was cool. One night I ended up in a foot chase in Miami and threw my ASP (expandable night stick) at the guy, hoping for the same effect. It shot between his legs without actually touching him and made him jump into high gear and I never saw him again. There are no special abilities. Having said that, the most important thing is a good story with believable characters. I rarely quibble on details. As an example, the role of the private investigator in real, modern day police work is extremely limited. No police department in the country would allow a P.I. to work on an active violent crime, especially a homicide. I’d be fired if I thought about it. But good writers, like Jon King, create a situation where it’s believable that Max Freeman help’s the cops on a possible serial killer. As long as there is a reason for a situation, don’t sweat the small stuff.
Q. Your first two books haven't portrayed the FBI in the most positive light. Is that based on your personal experience? Has it affected your working relationship with the Bureau?
A. Here is a simple question to ask any experienced cop: If you were personally in trouble and needed help, would you turn to the FBI or a detective at any reasonably large police department? I’m not saying the FBI is ineffective. They have an excellent media machine and are therefore viewed very favorably. Like any police agency they have outstanding agents and poor ones. My friends with the Bureau like my books because they have a sense of humor, which is why they are my friends in the first place. The guys that are annoyed by my books are exactly the ones I’m making fun of.
So far all I’ve taken is some friendly ribbing about the books. We’ll see about the future once I finish my book about J. Edgar Hoover coming back from the dead and terrorizing schools kids while bitching about the Kennedys.
Q. Do you read reviews of your books?
A. I read reviews and listen to comments from fans. I’m interested in doing better each time out. That being said, I usually don’t worry too much about it. In my police career I’ve been bitten, hit by a car and beaten bloody several times. I can’t really see writing something so poor that Oline Cogdill feels compelled to hunt me down and kick my ass. Then again, it’s early in my career and she takes her job seriously. I guess worry is relative.
Q. In person, you seem very low-key and reserved, but your books are wild and hilarious. Which is the real Jim Born?
A. I am somewhat low key. I drink so I have some form of personality. I remember being harassed by my fellow SWAT members for falling asleep on the way to search warrants. I like to think I’m pacing myself.
Q. What advice would you give aspiring writers?
A. Read good writers. Don’t say you’re too busy writing. Read! Other than that I am still an aspiring writer.
Q. What are your thoughts about Hollywood adapting your books?
A. Please try. I have kids who’d like to go to college and a good-looking wife who is expensive.
Q. What excites or distresses you about the mystery genre today?
A. Nothing distresses me. There are so many areas, if I’m not interested in one area, I just don’t read it. I like the idea that fans are so interested in the genre and that we have events like Bouchercon or blogs like this. It seems to be an interactive genre.
Q. What's the last book you read?
A. Days of Infamy by Harry Turtledove. The last crime fiction I read was The James Deans by Reed Coleman. It’s nice when the mentally unbalanced produce a good book.
Q. What's next for you?
A. Putnam has shown me great support and I’m happy writing my books for them. Neil Nyren, my editor, just approved a stand-alone novel about the ATF and I’m very excited about it. I started working on it within an hour of his e-mail.
Don't miss Jim Born's Overnight Success? story.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (3)
Interview with Victor Gischler (March 2005)
Interview with Victor Gischler (March 2005)
Author of Suicide Squeeze (2005)
March 30, 2005
Victor Gischler is the author of three hardboiled mysteries, including Suicide Squeeze, just out from Delacorte. His first book, Gun Monkeys, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
Interview by David J. Montgomery
Q. Your latest book is called Suicide Squeeze, but nobody kills themselves in it, and there’s hardly any squeezing. What gives? I kept expecting Mr. Whipple to commit seppuku.
A: Wait. I’m writing this down. Whipple … seppuku … finally the premise for my breakout novel. Do you think people even remember, Mr. Whipple? I was feeling old, but I did a radio interview today, and the guy asked me how old I was in the summer of love. My reply: zero. So I’m feeling a bit younger today.
Q. Mystery-solving cat or rabid lemur – which is worse?
A: Is there a way we could get those two in a room together? At least it’s obvious the lemur needs to be put down. (Seriously, I don’t care either way about cozy cats so save the nasty e-mails.)
Q. Gun Monkeys was such a great book; one of the best mystery debuts of the past decade. Do you feel a lot of pressure to top yourself with subsequent books?
A: Yes and no (and thanks for the compliment). I found out after The Pistol Poets came out that some folks (not all, but a few) were disappointed I hadn’t rehashed Gun Monkeys. It made me think about my “responsibility” as an author. Am I supposed to give the folks what they want or do something new or what? Finally, I just figure I need to follow my gut and damn the torpedoes. I might get back to Charlie Swift someday, and I actually do have a loose synopsis for a novel called Gun Monkeys Reprise. But I have a hundred other ideas too, so only God knows what I’m gonna write next.
Q. Have you ever been asked by a fan to sign anything strange? (And if you don’t mind, I’m saving a spot on my left cheek just for you!)
A: Nope. Never. Although I’m fairly willing if anyone out there has any bright ideas. When I used to work at a campus radio station, I saw Mojo Nixon sign a bra. I guess rock stars get that kind of thing more than authors.
Q. Suicide Squeeze has a couple of scenes set in one of the coolest locations I’ve ever read about: a mobster’s warehouse filled to the rafters with all the merchandise that ever fell off the back of a truck, everything ranging from guns to tuxedos to God knows what else. I like to call it “The Costco of Swag.” Where can I find that place? I need a new DVD player.
A: It’s actually this great place called Target. Maybe you have one in your town. Here’s how it works. Fill up a sack and walk out the front door looking all casual. An alarm will sound. That’s the signal for you to run like hell. It’s hard to get way with things like lawn mowers and BBQ grills. It’d start with a pack of M&Ms for practice. Free stuff and good exercise.
Q. OOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!! What do you think of that?
A: I think it’s great. I was telling my wife “Oooga Booga Booga” just the other day. She didn’t get it. She said, “What about wuppa wuppa patoing?” Women.
Q. Have you ever eaten anything larger than your head?
A: There is nothing larger than my head.
Q. What’s the worst review you ever got?
A: Mostly they’ve been good. And I don’t mind if somebody posts something to their personal website that says they thought the book was dumb or whatever. Their opinion. If you think you’re going to please every last reader in this business, then please tell me what the view is like from fairy land. So I very much appreciate the readers who send nice e-mails and say how much they like my work.
Having said that, there is this one jerkoff who reviews for a Buffalo newspaper who speculated that since I was a university professor at the time I wrote The Pistol Poets, I probably typed the thing while sitting in the student union leering at coeds. Dude, stop spying on me!
Q. You recently posted a list on your blog of some of your favorite films, including such classics as Blade Runner, Casablanca and Pulp Fiction. That’s all fine, but tell us what you’re really watching. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, perhaps?
A: Actually, and this is true, I somehow end up watching Miss Congeniality EVERY time it comes on TV. For some reason, my wife Jackie likes that movie and I can’t get the remote control away from her. It’s well known that I am a week and feeble person, so she just pushes me down and tells me to hush up. I should also admit I sort of liked Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Another silly (but great) film is Anchorman. Will Ferrell makes me wet myself. Sooooo warm….
Q. What’s the last book you read?
A: Nathan Walpow’s The Manipulated. I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy. It’ll be another cool UglyTown book coming out soon.
[I read that one, too. Very good book. –DJM]
Q. What can we expect next from Victor Gischler?
A: I’m working on a novel called Shotgun Opera. It’s about bad people who shoot at one another with guns. Yes, I know, quite departure, isn’t it? Or more immediately, I’ll get up from the computer after I finish typing this sentence to make some macaroni & cheese for my kid.
Mmmmmmmmm.
Don't miss Victor Gischler's Overnight Success story.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (1)
Interview with Gayle Lynds (March 2001)
Interview with Gayle Lynds (March 2001)
Author of The Coil (2004)
March 4, 2001
Gayle Lynds is a former editor with Top Secret security clearance at a think tank. She has written numerous novels, including 7 of them under her own name, the most recent of which is The Coil.
Interview by David J. Montgomery
Q. What made you decide to start writing thrillers?
A. I grew up reading two masters of the form--Helen MacInnes and Robert Ludlum. I loved the adventure, the sense of exotic place, and the struggle between good and evil on a grand scale, all of which I found in the best of their books. But in the end, what really clinched my addiction to suspense novels was my fascination with secrets and what goes unsaid not only in families but in nations.
Like parents, governments of all sorts keep secrets. When they're "good" governments, they do this in the belief it's necessary to protect their citizens. When they're bad, they do it to protect themselves. All governments are mixtures of good and bad (witness the arrest of our latest turncoat spy, Robert Hanssen), offering plenty of opportunity for fiction based on fact.
I believe it's our job as members of society to pay attention to not only what's going on among those who govern us but those in any position of tremendous power--multinational corporations, global organizations, other nations, and so forth. All of these areas are breeding grounds for suspense tales. I will never run out of topics!
Q. What was it like collaborating with Robert Ludlum?
A. Easy and fun. He came up with a six-page idea for The Hades Factor, and I turned it into an outline, creating characters and developing a plot. We did everything by snail mail, because he doesn't even type. Therefore, using email simply wasn't going to work. I wrote the novel, and again we corresponded. I think his new thriller, The Prometheus Deception, is excellent. I highly recommend it.
Q. As a female writer, was it hard for you to write a convincing male protagonist?
A. No, not at all. On the other hand, I think writing a convincing character of any sort is challenging. One of our jobs as artists--whether we're writers, actors, painters, whatever-- is to be able to understand the world through the eyes of others. For instance, I've never died, but I write regularly about what it's like to die, and apparently I'm good at that.
My conviction about this responsibility in writing characters arises from an incident when I was studying at a writers conference. Our teacher told us that he would never presume to write from a female point of view, and we should not presume to write from the view point of the opposite sex either. I asked why. He told me in all sincerity, "I don't like to shop or cook. So how can I write from the perspective of a woman?"
I figured that was probably one of the most shallow attitudes I'd ever heard. If he was so lazy (or dumb) as to think that that's what it meant to be a woman, he was probably not a terrific writer at all. At which point, I read his work and decided he was definitely on the sidelines when it came to talent.
On the other hand, some of the most moving, most beautifully literate books we have are graced with main characters whose authors are of the opposite sex. I decided I found that goal not only more appealing but necessary. That was what I wanted. Thanks for saying my men are convincing!
Q. Do you read reviews of your books?
A. Oh, yes. And of course no one ever gets all good reviews. I don't mind a bad review nearly as much as an inaccurate one. BTW, I've noticed that the inaccurate ones also tend to be the bad ones. Go figure.
Q. What's your writing routine like?
A. I work pretty much all the time. I get up and go straight to my desk between 6 and 7 a.m. and write until 9 or 10. I have some breakfast and read the newspaper and do some dishes or other household chores. I'm back at work by 11 a.m. I usually eat lunch at my desk and keep working until dinnertime, which is around 7 p.m. I cook, my husband does the dishes. Since he's a writer, too (Dennis Lynds, aka Michael Collins), we both work at home and share chores.
Once a week our assistant comes and does filing, mailing, and runs errands. Dennis and I have learned the hard way that we must exercise, so three times a week our routines are interrupted by trips to the gym.
I like our lives and feel very, very fortunate.
Q. What advice would you give aspiring writers (10 words or less)?
A. A friend of mine, John Lescroart, who writes fabulous legal thrillers, told me this: "Don't get it write, get it written." Amen.
Q. Do you have a "day job"?
A. I used to. I've been a reporter, a magazine editor, a think-tank editor with top-secret security clearance, and a private secretary. In 1995 when I sold my first thriller, Masquerade, it was for a goodly amount of money. I've been financially fortunate with my tales, and I'm most grateful that anybody would spend their money to read them.
Q. What are your thoughts about Hollywood adapting your books?
A. I'd like it very much. I have no ego investment in a film script, since it's hard enough to write a book. Why would I want to take up script writing, too? So to have a fine script writer, director, and producer take on one of my novels would thrill me.
Q. What's the last book you read?
A. The Cassandra Compact by Philip Shelby. It's the next one in the Covert-One series with Bob Ludlum. Alas, I don't have time to co-author every book, so they brought in Phil, who's done a terrific job. It's another book I highly recommend. I'll be back with the third in the series: The Paris Option.
Q. What's next for you?
Two new books: The Paris Option and a new stand-alone thriller that I'm working on that I expect will be out in 2002.
Meanwhile, I hope everyone who enjoys thrillers will take a look at my new one, Mesmerized, which will be in stores May 1. For a preview of it, drawings for free books, and to read some of my collection of espionage information, please visit me at http://www.gaylelynds.com.
Don't miss Gayle Lynds' Overnight Success story.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (0)
Interview with Reed Farrel Coleman (March 2005)
Interview with Reed Farrel Coleman (March 2005)
Author of The James Deans (2005)
March 22, 2005
Reed Farrel Coleman is the author of several novels, including the Moe Prager series, the most recent of which is The James Deans.
Q. What made you decide to start writing mysteries?
A. I had been trained in college to write poetry and had had some middling success publishing poetry. I figured, I would always have a “regular” job and do poetry. Then in the 80s, I got pretty bored with those mind-numbing “regular” jobs and decided to take an evening class at Brooklyn College. I looked at the courses and chose to take one in The Art of Detective Fiction. To this day, I can’t tell you why I chose that class. Probably because it fit into my work and travel schedule. You see, I was never much of a crime fiction guy. To me, when I thought of the genre, I thought of the cheesy books my dad kept on his nightstand. So anyway, the first things we read for this class were The Continental Op, Farewell, My Lovely, The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep. Bang! I was smitten. I recognized a certain poetry and economy in the language of Hammett and Chandler and thought, hell, I’d like to try this. I guess, I’ve succeeded.
Q. What is it about the city [New York] that makes it resonate so strongly for writers and readers alike?
A. Everything! I was Brooklyn born and raised, so for me it’s in the blood. New York is everything on overload, overdrive. It’s the extremes of best and worst, the juxtaposition of taste and tastelessness, of high art and horror. The thing is, when you’re a Brooklynite, which, much to my dismay, I no longer am, there’s an intense pride and yet a burning inferiority about Manhattan. Ask S.J. Rozan, from the Bronx, or Jim Fusilli, from Hoboken, NJ, about that weird inferiority and yearning. I suspect it plays a crucial role in why we write about NY. As to why writers and readers are drawn to it... Man, you got about a week and I’ll try to explain it. I think it’s one of the few cities that goes way beyond setting. It is a character in the book, no matter the book.
Q. Moe Prager is a nice change from the cliché of the tormented, alcoholic detective. Was this a deliberate reversal or is that just the way Moe came to you?
A. Both, but more the former than latter. And speaking of clichés, here comes one. My characters create themselves. What I’ll add to that is that my characters have only one reference source and that’s me. Moe Prager, unlike my first protagonist, Dylan Klein, evolved. He is an outgrowth of a character I worked on at the very beginning of my career. Then his name was Moe Einstein -- way, way too cute and clever. But that Moe had the essential goodness of Moe Prager. I just wasn’t skilled enough early on to make that essential goodness work. You’ll often hear authors say that bad characters are more fun to write. True, but they’re less challenging. It’s much more difficult to write about goodness and make it interesting. However, when I was done with my third Dylan Klein novel, They Don’t Play Stickball in Milwaukee, I was ready to try it again. Walking the Perfect Square was envisioned as a stand alone and that old Moe reasserted himself. When I began the book, I just knew who he was and how to make him work. I now had the craft and skill to pull it off. I understood that, like Moses of the Old Testament, he would have a certain burden. My burden was to have him be a fully realized human being, to make him bleed when he was cut. Think about it: the archetypal P.I. has been done better than I’ll ever do it. I’m not going to top Scudder or Marlowe or Spade. So Moe is taking the world of those guys and flipping it on its ear.
Q. How is the campaign to “Save Moe” going?
A. Moe is saved! Say Hallelujah. Say Amen. The thing is, I don’t know exactly where he’ll end up. I would love for him to stay where he’s already at home, where I’m already at home. My publisher, Penguin-Plume, and I have worked so hard to get my career going and to get the Moe books on the readers’ radar screens, I think it would be a shame if we didn’t share the success together. But I’ve come to understand the pressures of the business from the publisher’s point of view and I’m at peace with whatever happens. That the character of Moe will live on is the most important thing.
Q. Do you read reviews of your books?
A. No. And if you believe that, I have a bridge connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan that I can sell you on the cheap. Of course, I read the reviews. Almost every author I know reads their reviews. It’s not the reading them that’s important. It’s what you do afterwards that counts. The thing of it is, if I’m going to get big-headed about great reviews, like the ones I’ve gotten for The James Deans, then I’ll have to shrivel up and die when they’re not good. I can’t afford to do that. I don’t think any author can. You just have to keep your head down and write.
Q. What advice would you give aspiring writers?
A. Stop aspiring. Sit your f-ing ass down and write.
Q. How did a nice Jewish guy like you wind up with a moniker like Coleman? And two kids named Kaitlin and Dylan? Is it your inner Irishman coming out or are you really Ken Bruen in disguise?
A. My mother named me after B-movie actor, Reed Hadley, who, as it so happened, was the star of a cop show on 50s TV! The F in Farrel is for some dead relative. Jews name only after the dead. My family’s real last name is Kahane, which was changed to Cohen when they got off the boat. Then after WWII, when anti-Semitism was rampant in this country, my dad changed Cohen to Coleman. The joke is, he changed it to a name where everyone would assume we were either Irish or African American. Dylan is named for the poet Dylan Thomas and Bob Dylan. I didn’t think Zimmerman Coleman worked as names go. Kaitlin was just a name I always loved. In fact, Ken Bruen often accuses me of being more Irish than himself. To be compared to him is a great compliment, even if in jest.
Q. What are your thoughts about Hollywood adapting your books?
A. Do you think begging is undignified?
Q. What excites or distresses you about the mystery genre today?
A. Great question. What excites me is that there are authors of the highest possible quality working in this genre. I would match people like Bruen, Pelecanos, S.J. Rozan, Jim Fusilli and many, many others against anyone writing “literary” fiction. As a group there is such a high level of art, craft, and imagination at play in our genre that one can’t help but be in awe. And as a group, we manage to perform at a high level while still managing to entertain people. On the other hand, there’s way too much crap being thrown out there. Also, publishing is going through an inevitable transitional period that is costing good authors their careers.
Q. What’s the last book you read?
A. Who has time to read? No, really, the last few books I’ve read were Hard Rain by the best looking man in crime fiction, Barry Eisler, and Pet Sounds, a book about the Beach Boys album by Jim Fusilli. I’m currently reading Shell Games by Kirk Russell.
Q. What’s next for you?
A. I’ve signed a 2 book deal to write a new series under a pen name with a cool new publishing house. I can’t discuss the details with you, but I think people will really be surprised. The books are darker and grittier than the Moe books and are written in third person. I think they will appeal both to my current fans and to younger fans. We’ll see. When I’m done with the second book, which will happen this summer, I’ll get back to the next Moe book. I’ve also become enamored of short story writing and would love to put my stuff together and try and get a collection published. My short stories are not only crime fiction. I have some sci fi and slice of life stuff, too.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (1)
Interview with Harley Jane Kozak (March 2005)
Interview with Harley Jane Kozak (March 2005)
Author of Dating Is Murder (2005)
March 17, 2005
Harley Jane Kozak had a successful career in Hollywood, appearing in such feature films as Parenthood and Arachnophobia, before becoming a writer. Her second book featuring series character Wollie Shelley was just published.
Q. What made you decide to start writing mysteries?
A. I never actually decided. I’ve always been a compulsive writer -- grocery lists, cartoons, letters, plays, poetry, monologues, country & western song lyrics, musicals, essays, interviews, party invitations…and then one day a piece of a poem by Yeats gave me an idea for a screenplay, which I decided to map out first as a short story, a character study, really, of a woman named Wollie. And one day I realized I didn’t want to write a screenplay, I wanted to write a novel. And when Wollie stumbled over a body, I stumbled upon the thing I really longed to do: mysteries.
Q. Your first book, Dating Dead Men, was more focused on the humor and less on the mystery. Your new book, Dating Is Murder, is the other way around. Was that deliberate or more an outgrowth of the stories?
A. The latter. Dating Dead Men began with this 40-dates-in-60-days premise and then turned into a murder mystery (see question #1) but the voice and the character dominated my writing process. With Dating is Murder, I was more grounded in the genre. The characters were already in place, and what interested me now was plot. In the first book, Wollie encountered a corpse, and events spiraled downward from there, taking her -- and me -- along for the ride; in the second book, Wollie’s the engine that drives the mystery, which is more personal for her.
Q. My wife is still peeved with you for having Wollie Shelley's fiancé (whom she fell in love with in Book #1) split the scene before Book #2 begins. Will Wollie ever find love and settle down?
A. Uh-oh. I do not like to peeve anyone. Please reassure your wife that yes, Wollie will find love and settle down. This is not everyone’s idea of living happily ever after, but it’s Wollie’s, and considering what she’s been through, she deserves it. The question is, with whom? I originally intended Book #1 to be a stand-alone, but my editor asked for a sequel, with Wollie dating again, and who dates when they’ve found True Love? I was forced, therefore, to send Fiancé to Southeast Asia and create another love interest (as we called them in the soap operas) and I ended up liking him so much, I stopped missing Fiancé. But I expect Fiancé will turn up again and then Wollie (and I) will have to make a decision.
Q. Dating Is Murder has Wollie appearing on a dreadful reality show called Biological Clock, which features six eligible singles dating each other, with the audience voting on which couple should have a baby together. Will it be part of Fox's fall schedule? I bet it'd get at least a 15 share!
A. As a matter of fact, while researching reality TV, I got to tag along on a shoot for Blind Date (a long-running reality show that probably needs no explanation) and when the crew asked me about my fictional reality show and I described Biological Clock, their reaction was similar to yours: they advised me to pitch it to their boss. I resisted the impulse. If Biological Clock shows up on any network, I have a clear case of idea theft. Still, I like to think it would do better in the ratings than it does in my book. A 15 share would be very nice.
Q. How many blind dates did you go on before you met your husband and what was your worst one?
A. By my count, I’ve had more than 50 blind dates, but it was over a period of 20 years, so I’m not quite as demented as I sound. The worst was probably the guy whose opening line was, “and what are we dressed as, 1980?” (The year was 1990.) If it sounds familiar, it’s because Wollie went out with the same guy, in Dating Dead Men. I mean, dangerous is one thing, criminal, Evil Incarnate even -- those you expect on a blind date. But this guy was…crabby.
Q. You're probably tired of questions about your acting career, but I'll ask anyway: Did Steve Martin (your co-star in Parenthood) show you his art collection?
A. No. But I don’t expect he had it in his hotel room in Orlando, Florida, where we shot the film. But who knows? Actors bring strange things on location. For me, it was always bookends. For my endless books. Come to think of it, that should’ve tipped me off to my secret career aspirations. Who but a writer (or Scrabble fiend) travels with a dictionary and a thesaurus?
Q. Do you read reviews of your books?
A. Only the good ones, which my agent and/or publicity person at Doubleday fax me. They hide the bad ones. I have very thin skin. I can quote every unflattering thing ever written about me, as an actress or writer. The good ones fade from memory after a half hour. The bad ones I’ll remember on my deathbed.
Q. What advice would you give aspiring writers?
A. Keep writing and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and don’t show your stuff to a prospective agent or editor until it’s as flawless as you can make it. Most of the agents and editors will reject it, and you don’t want it to be for reasons you could’ve fixed, by taking a writing class, or having your mother-in-law proofread it. That said, once you know in your heart it’s good, don’t give up until you find someone who agrees with you. And while you’re looking, start writing the next book.
Q. You know Hollywood better than most authors. What are your thoughts about them adapting your books?
A. Adapt away! I have three preschoolers who will one day be in college (or beauty school or rehab or wherever) and as we’re all more or less sponging off my husband, “selling out” to Hollywood is something I aspire to. Also, my car has 119,000 miles on it.
Q. What excites or distresses you about the mystery genre today?
A. What excites me is how much talent there is out there, and what distresses me is how little time I have to read anything, even the authors I most love.
Q. What's the last book you read?
A. Concourse by S.J. Rozan. Great book.
Q. What's next for you?
A. I’m working on my third book.
Q. We end tonight, as we always do, with a question invented by my hero, Bernard Pivot: What is your favorite curse word?
A. The word my children so adore, that I lifted the ban on it last month: poopyhead.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (3)
Interview with Kent Harrington (February 2005)
Interview with Kent Harrington (February 2005)
Author of Red Jungle (2005)
Kent Harrington is a fourth generation San Franciscan and a graduate of San Francisco State University. Since the publication of his debut novel, Dark Ride, in 1996, his work has attracted a cult following of enthusiastic fans. His most recent novel is the superb Red Jungle, which many are calling his masterpiece. He lives in Northern California with his wife.
Q. Forgive me for asking, but why is a writer with such obvious talent as Kent Harrington not better known? What the hell is wrong with the publishing business anyway?
A. The industry's definition of commercial has probably gotten too narrow. The editors et al. have gotten too conservative in their choices. Obviously, this is the case with Red Jungle, as readers seem to be saying the book is commercial, if by the term "commercial" one simply means “popular.”
Q. What made you decide to start writing crime fiction? Do you ever wish you'd been a poet instead? Or maybe a longshoreman?
A. I didn't decide to write crime fiction exactly. I was too un-sophisticated when I started out to know that "genre" (crime fiction) was walled off from the rest of the literary world. I just wanted to be a popular novelist. I wanted to write the kind of novels I enjoyed as a kid. Maybe I'd have understood it all more if I'd read a lot of crime fiction, but the fact was I hadn't read much of it, if any. I read mostly "literary" fiction because that was what they handed me in school: Hemingway (who I wanted to be), Fitzgerald, D.H. Lawrence, Greene, Faulkner, Orwell. These were the writers I grew up with, loved and learned from.
Nothing is better to me, even today, than to read the beginning of A Farewell to Arms (a great anti-war book, by the way). I did want to be a poet for a while, not long, but I didn't have the purity of heart you need for that work. I'm too materialistic and I wanted to impress the girls, and poets weren't, I thought then, tough enough. (I'd never heard of the beat poets, obviously.) Anyway, I really just wanted to have Ernest's job. It looked to me like a pretty good job. I never got that job. I think he was the only one who ever had that job, in fact.
Q. Red Jungle is one of the best books I've read in a while. Ordinarily, I'm reluctant to throw around words like "masterpiece," but this one might just qualify. Can you tell us a little about the writing of the book?
A. Thank you. I started the book in my uncle's house in Guatemala City. I remember the day I started it. It was a very beautiful and soft morning like you get in the tropics. Maybe, if there's any merit in the book, it's because it started at such an auspicious moment. It was just right, perfect. Sometimes you just luck out with a book and things go well.
I was, like Russell [the novel’s protagonist], about ready for anything. That may have added something. I remember shortly after starting the novel, I was at a relative's plantation and my little cousin's husband -- who was caught up in some political arguments with some heavy duty generals --was going to drive to the capital alone. We all thought that he would be ambushed and killed, as that is the way most political discussions with generals end in that part of the world. And I remember saying, "I'll go and I'll ride shotgun. Get me an M-16 or whatever you have, and I'll go with you." Now this was suicide, but I didn't care. In fact, I looked forward to the fight. That was the state of mind I was in at the time. I think -- perversely -- that attitude leads to good things because you don't try to write what you think people want you to write, you just write because you have to. And that's two different ways of writing, believe me. I wrote Red Jungle because I had to write it. I didn’t care whether it was published or not. (I wouldn't recommend this lifestyle, though. It's not healthy, or in any way good for you. But neither is being a writer, really.)
Q. Was it frustrating for you not to get one of the big publishers to take on Red Jungle?
A. Yes it was, very much so. Because, being stubborn, I believed in the book, especially after people said, "Hey Kent, this is a pretty good novel."
Now it's a little easier, because the response to the book has been more than I could have hoped for; readers seem to be embracing it, and that's very heartening. You can't ask for more than that -- to have someone come up to you and say they enjoyed something you wrote. It's a wonderful feeling, the best.
Q. What kind of promotional work are you doing for Red Jungle? It's so
hard for small presses to get the word out. Can I give you a plug?
A. Please do! Dennis (the publisher) and I do what we can do, which quite
frankly isn't much. We did a little tiny bookstore tour, but mostly it's relying
on the kindness of strangers -- word of mouth. But I believe that our way of Zen
PR works. Yes, it's not like the major publishers, but we aren't trying to
duplicate that. What we try to do is keep the flame alive for this kind of
fiction by just producing it, and let the public take it from there.
Q. Most of your work has a definite edge and sense of darkness about it. What is it about noir fiction that appeals to you?
A. People say that, and I understand, but I always wonder why. I don't think of myself as dark in outlook, I'm pretty normal in that regard. But there is no question that my themes are serious and dramatic in tone, so I can't escape being viewed as "dark" I suppose.
What I like about what is commonly called “noir” fiction in America and Europe, but “naturalist” fiction in Latin America, is that it takes the primordial forces by the horns and tries to quite literally humanize them. For example, in Madame Bovary -- probably the best noir novel ever written -- we may not like Bovary, but on many levels we can relate to her. She's a human being with faults, very much like ourselves, so we pay extra attention and relate to her faults and predicament. Oddly, we tend to reach out to noir characters, perhaps more than we would other types of characters. We want to protect them, in the way we want to protect ourselves from these primordial forces.
Q. Do you read reviews of your books?
A. Of course. But I no longer take them to heart in the way I did when I was younger. I can't, I don't want to be that close to my work anymore. I need distance. It's hard to explain, but if you don't separate yourself from your work, you'll go nuts. Mostly I've been ignored, and maybe that wasn't so bad because it allowed me to just keep working without looking over my shoulder.
Q. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
A. God help you. Don't do it if you don't have a BURNING DESIRE to write. Don't do it because -- like I did -- you want to be someone else. If you are crazy enough to still want to do something that is this difficult and that you probably won't see a dime from, then do it. From the practical standpoint -- once you decide to write -- don't talk about it. Leave it on the page instead. And write every day. And here's the hard part: Do it even when you don't feel like it.
Q. What are your thoughts about Hollywood adapting your books? (I'd love to see what someone like Oliver Stone could do with Red Jungle on the big screen.)
A. I'm writing the screenplay for Red Jungle right now. I'd love to see that story told on the big screen. I really, really would. When you create characters, you can't help but want to see them walk around.
Q. What excites or distresses you about the crime fiction genre today?
A. What excites me is that there is a growing community of readers who are truly independent in their choices. I have been out with Red Jungle on a small tour, and I got to meet lots of just regular readers. And what is so beautiful is that people who love to read novels are looking for books like mine; in other words, they refuse to accept New York's definition of what's commercial. They just seek stuff out on their own. It is these independent readers, and independent-minded bookstore owners, who are keeping the door open for people like me.
Q. What's the last book you read?
A. Chet Baker's bio. There's a funny story about Chet Baker. I was watching the documentary on him called Let's get Lost one night. There's a moment when the interviewer asks Chet, "What was your favorite moment as an artist?" And my ears perked up because I thought wow, good question. I thought he'd talk about some piece of music or riff, “My Funny Valentine,” maybe. You know what Chet said: "Speedballs!" I just burst out laughing. He said if you got the mix just right it was the best thing in the world. He didn't mention one thing about music.
Q. What's next for you?
A. Speedballs! Just kidding. Keep writing, I guess.
Read our review of Red Jungle.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (2)
Interview with Steve Hamilton (July 2003)
Interview with Steve Hamilton (July 2003)
Author of Blood Is the Sky (2003)
July 2, 2003
Steve Hamilton is the only author to ever win the Shamus and Edgar Awards for his first novel (A Cold Day in Paradise). His second Alex McKnight novel, Winter of the Wolf Moon, was named one of the year's Notable Books by the New York Times Book Review and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, as did his third and fourth novels, The Hunting Wind and North of Nowhere. Hamilton currently works for IBM in upstate New York where he lives with his wife Julia and their two children.
Q. What made you decide to start writing mysteries?
A. I've wanted to write mysteries since I was a little kid, no joke. I even sent a short story to Ellery Queen when I was twelve years old. (Got back the "No, thank you" card.) A couple of years ago, the current editor asked me to send them a story so I did make it into the magazine -- it was like closing a loop from thirty years ago.
Q. Is Paradise, Michigan a real town? If so, how did you discover it?
A. It's most definitely a real place, and just like in the books, there are two roads that come together with a blinking light. You have to drive a long time just to get there. Having been up in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) many times, it just seemed like the most out of the way place I could imagine. So when Alex is sort of hiding out from life in the first book, that seemed like the perfect place for him to be. (There is no real Glasgow Inn, though! I just had to have a Scottish pub up there, someplace where Alex could hang out every night with his feet up by the fire?)
Q. Alex McKnight seems to be such a lonely soul, a point that his good friend Vinnie LeBlanc makes a couple of times in Blood Is the Sky. Is there hope that Alex might find some comfort in the future? Or would that take away his necessary edge?
A. Maybe not comfort, but he is trying to rejoin the human race a little bit. He's even in a relationship in the next book. That'll be a big, big change for him. And if he'll go out and get his ass kicked for a friend, imagine what he'll do for a woman he really cares about?
Q. Your books always have a strong sense of place in them. Part of the joy of reading them is exploring the locations. You must know Michigan's Upper Peninsula very well.
A. Growing up in the Detroit area, we'd go "Up North" (as they say in Michigan) every summer. It's such a great place and, in a country that's all starting to look alike, the U.P. is still totally unique. I still get back up there every year, and ironically I'm getting to know the U.P. even better now, even though I live in New York now.
Q. It's refreshing to see American Indian characters play such an important part in your books. Is that an deliberate thing for you or just part of the territory?
A. It's a little of both, I guess. Mostly, I just wanted to make sure that I got all of the cultural details right, and that I did everything in a totally respectful way. I can't tell a story from an Ojibwa's point of view -- it's not something I have any authority to do -- but I can tell a story from Alex's point of view, who is close to Vinnie LeBlanc, but at the end of the day still somewhat of an outsider. The Ojibwa members I've talked to are all very positive on the books, so I think I'm doing okay.
Q. Do you read reviews of your books?
A. Early on, I sort of had a gut feeling that I'd be better off totally ignoring reviews. That was a little unrealistic (okay, a lot unrealistic), but I still try to keep them at arm's length as much as possible. Really, what possible good can reviews, positive or negative, do for your writing?
Q. What advice would you give aspiring writers?
A. Listen to your characters. Respect them and let them tell the story. Stay off the page yourself. As a reader, as soon as I "hear" you writing, everything starts to fall apart.
Q. What are your thoughts about Hollywood adapting your books?
A. I've heard from several writers already that the absolute best thing that can happen in Hollywood is that they pay you a lot of money and then do not make the movie. The writers who have told me this are dead serious about that, which says something important, I think. I've also seen another writer go through the whole process -- producer lined up, lead actor lined up, just about everything -- only to see the whole thing go down the tubes in one afternoon. Watching that was a good lesson for me. Work on the next book and don't even think about that stuff. It'll drive you crazy.
Q. What excites or distresses you about the mystery genre today?
A. There are so many great writers who happen to be working crime fiction right now. It's the best place to be, I think. That's certainly the biggest positive thing. The negative? Heck, anything I say is gonna be a nit, really. Too many books published every year? Lack of respect for the genre in some circles? (Sorry, that one's laughable.) Everything's been going so great, the only negative thing I can think of is that hardly any of the mystery writers these days are good golfers. I can't even get a foursome together for Bouchercon in Las Vegas.
Q. What's the last book you read?
A. Beneath the Underdog, by Charles Mingus (the great jazz bass player and composer). It's a totally wild autobiography. Come to think of it, there are some good parallels between jazz music and crime fiction. Mingus was so well grounded in the American jazz tradition, yet at the same time so radical and original. Here's a great quote from him, which I think applies beautifully to writing:
"Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can play weird -- that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple complicated is commonplace -- making the complicated simple, awesomely simple -- that's creativity."
Q. What's next for you?
A. The next McKnight book is almost done. I've got to finish that and then maybe (maybe!) it might be time for something a little different. Not because it's the thing to do these days -- you know, going for the big standalone thriller -- but just because I think Alex himself might need a little rest. I'm sure I'll always come back to him, though. I can't imagine not spending time up there, seeing what kind of trouble he'll get dragged into next.
Read our review of Blood Is the Sky
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (0)
