Q&A – Page 2 – Grab This Book

Joff Sharpe – Reciclador Q&A

Today I am delighted to welcome Joff Sharpe to Grab This Book. Joff’s book Reciclador will stand out as one of the most memorable titles I have read this year and I am thrilled that Joff has taken time to answer a few of my questions.

The first question I had when I sat down to read your book was: who or what is Reciclador?

He is a scavenger; a person who rides around on top of a donkey cart collecting other people’s garbage which he can sell to recycling companies for a few pesos. He plays a small but very important role in the book because he symbolises the possibility of redemption.

The two central characters in Reciclador are Yessica and Marcus. Yessica is an open book and we learn so much of her background yet Marcus is a walking mystery. If pressed would you say this is Yessica’s story or would you put Marcus at the heart of the tale?

Sorry to duck the question but actually I think it’s the story of their relationship and the question of whether it will survive the storm and how much collateral damage it will inflict on other key members of the family.

Why did you elect to write a book set in Columbia? Does the social dynamic of Columbians give greater flexibility than other countries?

Columbia is a country of extremes. It’s beautiful, bountiful, maybe even a little mystical but also struggling through a post-Pablo Escobar social and economic renaissance. In many ways the story of Reciclador is an analogy for the struggles that are going on in Colombia at the moment.

Are there any elements of Reciclador which were influenced by actual events?

Absolutely; the character of Marcus is inspired by a larger-than-life German ‘rogue financier’ called Florian Homm. I researched him when writing an article for Newsweek entitled ‘Are the real Wolves of Wall Street dead?’ Actually, many of the craziest ingredients in the book like ‘The Young Womens’ Talent Competition’ are also based on true events. Of course the general background music of narco-terrorism, police brutality and kidnap is also real.

One of the elements of the book I found most shocking was the seeming disregard for human life that several of the characters seemed to hold. I need to avoid spoilers, however, violent death almost seemed to be accepted as part of life in Columbia. Is this typical of how some areas of Columbia (and possibly elsewhere) live their lives?

Search YouTube stories for Medellin and it’s not long before you’re coming across young men talking openly to camera about how many people they’ve killed. The situation has improved dramatically since the late 1990s but it is estimated that some 5,000 inhabitants last year were displaced through threats, violence and forcible gang recruitment. The situation is fragile.

Elsewhere in Central America, including Mexico, drugs and the associated violence have made some metropolitan areas almost ungovernable. Kidnap, torture and beheadings are the hallmarks of many narco-gangs and citizen vigilante groups are now springing up in response. Police murder squads have existed in various South American countries for years.

You have written about Financial Fugitives for Newsweek, Huffington Post and The South China Morning Post. I am fascinated by the concept that successful people can essentially ‘cut and run’ and evade authorities. How frequent/common is it for someone to abscond and leave behind millions of pounds in debts and failed investments? Would it be typical for the companies involved to try to repair the damage without alerting their clients?

Small-scale fraud is common-place and is often ruinous to the families of “clients”. The more shocking examples are where public figures have behaved outrageously and with impunity under the noses of financial authorities. Alan Stanford and Bernie Madoff would be classic examples. Damage-repair is a more complex issue and it depends on the magnitude of the fraud relative to the size of the company. For example, Nick Leeson is credited with single-handedly destroying ING Barings bank with his unauthorised trading activities.

Reciclador is your debut novel, however, you have published a non-fiction title: ‘Who Dares Wins in Business.’ How does writing fiction compare to writing a business title? Does one come more naturally to you?

Writing fiction is essentially good fun, tempered only by the fact that you want your book to be commercial enough to attract a decent readership. ‘Who Dares Wins in Business’ was an usually hard book to write because it combined business writing with military history and analysis. I benefited from the advice and support of a professional journalist Teena Lyons who made sure that the whole thing hung together coherently. The book has sold modestly but spawned lucrative motivation-style speaking engagements.

I have to ask about your CV – SAS Special Forces Officer to Executive in a multi-billion pound real estate investment company (via Borneo headhunters, Rupert Murdoch and Piers Morgan). Can you pick out some stand-out moments from such a diverse career?

Standing on the decking of a submarine, as a twenty-eight year old SAS officer, and being asked; “Where to, Sir?” by the Captain has to be up there. Fast forward a few years and I rumbled into historic Prague, newly liberated from communism, in a transit van encased in a giant fibre-glass tabby cat, in an attempt to flog cat food to an incredulous Czechoslovak nation. Surely careers are made of such moments?

With such a vast range of experiences behind you what do you do to relax and unwind?

Mainly watching my kids pursue their own multiple sports and hobbies. I have also recently acquired a gigantic dog that takes me for walks. On holiday I SCUBA-dive.

Which authors do you enjoy reading or who would you cite as an influence?

It won’t surprise you that I love Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Peruvian Mario Vagas Llosa and our own (British) Colombian trilogist Louis de Bernieres. I probably read too much of this stuff and need to read more pulp to keep my writing grounded.

Are you planning to write more fiction in the future or have you set yourself a different challenge?

If people like my fiction writing they will get more. The opposite is also true.

Joff, I can honestly say that Reciclador stands out amongst the books I have read this year, it is quite different from the domestic thrillers I normally pick up and I loved every minute of it. Thank you for taking time to answer my questions, it is very much appreciated.

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April 22

Sarah Hilary Q&A – No Other Darkness

Today sees the publication of Sarah Hilary’s No Other Darkness. Last week, with publication day fast approaching Sarah kindly took some time to answer a few of my questions, I am delighted to be able to share our conversation:

We are just a couple of weeks away from publication of your second Marnie Rome novel – No Other Darkness. Are the nerves kicking in yet or have the early reviews been reassuring?

I’ve had some incredibly encouraging early reviews, it’s true — and from readers who loved Someone Else’s Skin — so that’s helped the nerves a little. But these are Second Novel Nerves, so I wasn’t expecting to get off scot-free. No Other Darkness is such a different story to Someone Else’s Skin, but I think readers are going to enjoy following Marnie and Noah down this new path.

At the end of Someone Else’s Skin both Marnie and her colleague, Noah Jake, had been put through the wringer. Can you bring us up to speed as to where we will join them at the outset of No Other Darkness?

Six months have passed since the end of Someone Else’s Skin. Noah has recovered physically, and he and Marnie are a closer team now—they won’t make the same mistakes they made in that first story. Marnie is starting to open up to Noah, and readers will see some great teamwork between them in this new book.

Apologies if this is a little cryptic for those yet to read No Other Darkness. I have two sons who are 5 and 8. For reasons I am sure you can appreciate I found certain elements of the book very tough to read. Were you specifically targeting a parent’s fear as you wrote?

Not specifically, no. That said, I’m a parent myself and it was tough to write some of the chapters in the book. But I feel that’s what good books should do — challenge the writer and the reader, and provoke strong emotions, from fear to relief.

I felt that DS Jake played a larger role in No Other Darkness than he did in Someone Else’s Skin. Was that my imagination or was there greater focus on his character in this book?

There was. Partly, I think, because Marnie is learning to trust him and involve him more closely. She relies on his instinct a lot in this new story, and Noah’s instinct is pretty damn good. He has a kid brother too, so the story affects him at a personal level.

Did work begin on No Other Darkness before Someone Else’s Skin went on general release? If so, did you have to adapt your work in progress once reviews and comments started to appear for the first book?

I’d finished the first draft of No Other Darkness before Someone Else’s Skin was published, but a lot of the editing went on while reviews were coming in. In particular, it was interesting to see how readers reacted to the characters of Marnie and Noah. Those reactions have had a definite impact on the third book, Tastes Like Fear, which I’m working on now. I’m a great believer in the collaborative nature of writing/reading. The story comes alive in the hands of readers, so their responses are always hugely important and inspirational for me. (No pressure, readers.)

In my review I made a slightly glib comment that you had a Big Book of Horrible Things and suggested you were working your way through this book to unnerve your readers. Is it coincidence that your first two novels tackled issues which could be considered chilling? And I am aware that my question indirectly makes it sound like a simple ‘murder’ story could be considered humdrum and commonplace?

That’s very interesting because quite a few readers have said that they find Someone Else’s Skin chilling precisely because the crime seems so commonplace. I think it’s all in the telling. Any story can be scary if it’s told in a particular way, if you choose to get under the skin of your characters or to take your readers inside their heads. The Collector by John Fowles is a great example of how to be supremely chilling by digging into the depths of the mundane.

Am I correct in thinking that Someone Else’s Skin is being adapted for broadcast? Are you (or do you expect to become) involved in any of the process such as casting or scripting?

The series rights have been sold, yes, and it’s in the early stages of development. I’m not directly involved in casting or scripting, but I’m working collaboratively with the team which is very exciting. And of course I’m dream-casting all the time. I desperately want Jason Watkins (from Being Human, and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies) to play one of the protagonists in No Other Darkness. You’ll probably be able to guess which one.

Are you a fan of horror films and books? The dark edge that I now associate with your books make me wonder if you are influenced by scary stories.

Yes, yes I am—a huge fan of horror, especially films. I love being scared, really love it. George A Romero is a hero of mine, and I can still remember the thrill of seeing John Carpenter’s The Thing for the first time. I used to haunt the Scala cinema in Kings Cross during its All-Nighter days — back to back zombies in a building that was London’s first (and last) primatorium. Happy days.

Expanding on the last question, who would you cite as your influences?

Writing-wise, I’d say everyone from PG Wodehouse and Muriel Spark to Patricia Highsmith and Thomas Harris, by way of Georgette Heyer and Stephen King. I love all things Gothic too, from Dracula to Gormenghast.

Will we see Marnie return or have you plans to tackle something else first?

Marnie will be back in book three, Tastes Like Fear, early in 2016. After which I’ll be working on book four in the series. No rest for the wicked, thank goodness.

One of my favourite questions and I would be keen to know your thoughts on this: why do you believe readers of crime fiction enjoy a serial killer story when the reality is such a terrible concept?

Perhaps because it’s such a terrible concept. I do my best writing when I’ve become obsessed with an idea — not always a crime, sometimes a human condition, or a social or psychological phenomenon — and I have to write through it to satisfy my curiosity, or my terror. I’m often motivated by fear, or rather by the need to confront the things that scare me. There’s the vicarious thrill aspect too, of course. The ‘how would I survive?’. And let’s face it, there are some extremely stylish and compelling stories out there. Hannibal is a prime example, as was True Detective — something about these stories attracts storytellers and creative geniuses (designers, editors, actors) perhaps because of the challenge involved. It’s hard to look away from the spectacle, apart from anything else. I’m working on an idea of this kind in Tastes Like Fear, and the story has me adrenalised—the closest I’ve come to the notion of a story that ‘tells itself’ because of the momentum involved in trying to keep pace with a serial killer.

Finally, you seem to be in my neck of the woods later this month for the Aye Write festival. Then much closer to home you will be at Crimefest. Does the fun at a festival outweigh the inconvenience of travelling and of disruptions to your work and home commitments? James Oswald suggested the biggest problem at some events seems to be ensuring the bar does not have any booze left at the end of the night!

James speaks an imperial truth. I do love a festival, especially if I can work alongside other writers. I had the best fun at Gateshead Library with Mari Hannah and David Mark earlier this year, despite having a stinking cold and having travelled six hours on a train to get there. Spending time with other writers — and readers — is a great way to remind myself of how lucky I am to be doing my dream job.

Many thanks to Sarah.

No Other Darkness is published by Headline and is available now in paperback and digital format. My review can be found here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=468

Sarah Hilary has worked as a bookseller, and with the Royal Navy. Her debut novel, SOMEONE ELSE’S SKIN, was the Observer’s Book of the Month (“superbly disturbing”), a Richard & Judy Book Club bestseller, and has been published worldwide. NO OTHER DARKNESS, the second in the series, is out in 2015. The Marnie Rome series is being developed for television.

Sarah Hilary is on Twitter: @sarah_hilary

http://sarah-crawl-space.blogspot.co.uk/

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February 26

Guest Interview – James Goss (Haterz)

Today I am delighted to welcome James Goss who has kindly taken time to answer a few of my questions about his new novel, Haterz.

James also has a long-standing association with the world of Doctor Who – as a lifelong fan of that particular show I sneaked in a few questions about everyone’s favourite Timelord.

Haterz is a dark comic tale which sees the central character killing off people who annoy him when he is online – I opened with the obvious question…

Would it be a fair for Haterz readers to assume that James Goss has become a little bit irritated by some elements of social media?

I’m a freelancer who works from home, so I’m obviously addicted to social media. It’s the ultimate work avoidance tool. If people aren’t uploading pictures of their breakfasts or a holiday sunset then I want to know what’s wrong with the world. That said, there are some elements of it that bring out the worst in people. For instance, a friend of mine is wonderful, charming, self-deprecating company in real life, but unbearable on Facebook. I would hide them, but I’m enjoying the ride. And that makes me a terrible person.

In Haterz when we meet Dave, he is just about to kill his best friend’s girlfriend because he finds her annoying on Facebook. Have you had to reassure your friends that they are not in any way featured in Haterz?

On the contrary, actually. In the couple of cases where I’ve used people I know, I’ve emailed them to ask how I would kill them. And they’ve been very creative.

Despite the fact he is killing people in nasty ways I found the character of Dave to be quite a likeable fellow. Do you think you will split the crowd on this one (with some readers condoning his actions and others willing him to succeed)? Or do intend for us all to empathize with Dave?

It’s terribly fashionable to issue death threats on Twitter. I just wondered who would be the kind of person who actually carried them out – and Dave’s not some ranting people-hating moron. He’s not a slick, smooth American psychopath – he’s a terribly British bumbler. Poor old Dave just wants everyone to be nice to each other. And is going to carry on killing until they are. I think, once you can get past that contradiction then he’s perfectly pleasant company. You could go out for a drink with him. So long as you don’t post too many pictures of your cocktail.

I am keen to avoid plot spoilers, however, I did enjoy some of the people and groups that Dave targeted his attentions towards. When you were planning out Haterz did you have a ‘hit-list’ of groups you specifically wanted to target?

Absolutely. All the groups, types and institutions were planned in advance. I toned a few of them down. Oddly, in the nearly two years between planning and publication, none of the groups have changed that much. Amazingly, woman-hating video gamers have got even nastier. Well done on that one, humanity.

As we all seem to be becoming increasingly fixated on social media do you think we have reached a point where more serious repercussions are needed to curb the worst instances of online behaviour?

It’s all such a muddle, like humanity is trying to work out where we go next. We may look back on GamerGate as the first online world war – not between countries but between violently passionate interest groups. A glance at Twitter tells you the consensus is “We want freedom of speech. Just not for them, them, and you can shut up”. We live in a world that is almost inexplicable to people from a decade ago, when we were all charmed by “Eric Emotes An Emotion”. I don’t know how long it will be before we reach Peak Oversharing. Possibly when all those babies whose every bowel-movement has been reported on become old enough to have Facebook accounts, log on and go “oh dear god.”
We live in a world where what’s really frightening is not that the terrorists are on social media, but how they’re making the same stupid mistakes the rest of us do.

Having now laid out our worst online offences have you had to modify your own online behaviour?

I think we’re all guilty of some pretty awful offences. Too many cat pictures. Enigmatic tweeting about how marvellous your life is. The terrible thing about being an author online is that there’s this pressure to constantly bang on about stuff you’ve written. No-one was gladder than me to find out from a social media expert that constantly being “Brand You” is really off-putting. I find the whole thing deeply embarrassing. I couldn’t convincingly sell you a new pair of socks, let alone a book, so I’m deeply relieved that the publicity team behind Haterz are really good. Because, no matter how proud I am of something I’ve worked on, I can’t enthuse about it on social media without sounding like a vicar trying to sound cool.

Switching track slightly, I also wanted to ask about your ongoing involvement with the world of Doctor Who. I have been a fan of the show since childhood and I am delighted to see it flourishing. You seem to have been involved with the programme for several years in a number of different roles, what have been the stand-out moments for you?

I still can’t believe that Doctor Who is back and so loved. When I first ran the BBC’s website (during the end of the show’s wilderness years and the first two series of the triumphant relaunch), the disinterest the BBC felt towards Doctor Who was pretty bad. Ever year the site’s budget got cut and the online audience only grew larger. It was a strange time – trying to do so much with such tiny resources against such vast corporate indifference. I’ll never forget a meeting with my head of department where she sighed and said “Well, Doctor Who, there’s only about another 18 months in it.” Then Russell brought it back and the whole thing snowballed. It was truly amazing to be involved in that. But also rather unbelievable. Genuinely. But suddenly the BBC fell head over heels in love with Doctor Who again. And rightly so.

Oh yes. And getting to stand on the TARDIS set and realising that a large amount of it was from IKEA. Which instantly validated most of my home furnishing choices.

Last year you wrote the Doctor Who novel The Blood Cell (which I reviewed and enjoyed immensely). It was one of the first novels published which featured Peter Capaldi’s Doctor.I believe that you had to write the story before the first Capaldi episode, Deep Breath, was broadcast – how do you write for such an iconic character when you do not know how he will appear on screen?

Very carefully. We were lucky in that we had access to the early scripts and they were phenomenally clear about what a different character this Doctor was going to be. I cheated and wrote my book from the villain’s point-of-view, so if I had got it wrong, I could just claim the narrator was lying.

My extensive research (Wikipedia) reveals that you and I were born in the same year. I have been a Doctor Who fan for as long as I can remember I do recall seeing seeing K-9 yet my earliest clear memory of the show is of the Melkur from Keeper of Traken. Can you pin down your first Who memory?

Curiously enough, City Of Death. There didn’t seem to be anything else on when I was a child. I was so lucky. I don’t think I really got what the show was, though. I remember watching an episode that, amazingly, wasn’t City Of Death. Doctor Who climbed up a tower, fell off, and turned into the young vet from All Creatures Great And Small. I was very confused.

You have worked with Big Finish and produced a number of audio plays. Do you prefer the solitude and personal achievement of writing or is the collaboration and assembling the cast and crew to make an audio drama a bigger challenge?

I love getting off the sofa and meeting people. I’m very bad at it these days, but I try my best. It’s really lovely that Big Finish have let me do some really wonderful projects. They’re a really great company to work for. Some of the most surprising emails of my life have come from them. Would I like to write a musical? Would I like to write for Servalan? Can you produce an audio series with an actress you helplessly admire?

Some unexpected items included in the 100 objects.

One of your other projects was the non fiction Doctor Who book A History of the Universe in 100 Objects. I was constantly amused by the items you singled out for discussion but it all seemed to work perfectly – was there a method to the selection process or did you and (co-author) Steve Tribe just have fun picking unusual items?

We went to the pub. I hate it when people use that as an answer. It makes it sound so lazy. But my local does really nice coffee (for me) and very nice draught beer (for Steve), and then we sat down and we did that thing that Doctor Who fans love to do. We drew up a list.

Some things were written but didn’t make the final cut. There was a whole section on Dalek Plans, written by Penny, their long-suffering Project Manager. God, I loved that. Probably best it was left out, but occasionally, on nights out, Chris Allen, the current Doctor Who website editor, will perform bits of it aloud. It mostly comes down to Penny saying “And you haven’t left in a big red destruct button this time have you?” and the Dalek Supreme going “Er…”. I AM LAUGHING NOW. WHY ARE YOU NOT LAUGHING?

On a final note, are you able to share what you will be working on next?

I’m making the revisions to the novelisation of Douglas Adams’s City Of Death, which is a very odd, wonderful project to have done. Yes, in an ideal world Douglas himself would have written it. Or Gareth Roberts, but he got abducted to write A Top Secret Television Project, so it landed with me. I live in a world where, just this once, I’m third choice for something after Douglas Adams. That’s not a bad place to be.

Mind you, I’ve spent the last few months trying not to be run over by a bus (probably driven by whoever offed Danny Pink). Funnily enough, on the day before I finished the first draft, I nearly choked to death on a new potato. I was so horrifically aware of the irony I was giggling at the same time I was choking. Yes. I very nearly died laughing.

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November 5

Stephen Lloyd Jones Q&A for Written in the Blood

I am thrilled to be part of the Stephen Lloyd Jones WRITTEN IN THE BLOOD Blog Tour. On this leg of the tour Stephen has very kindly taken time to complete a Q&A.

Having loved Stephen’s first novel, THE STRING DIARIES, I was keen to find what lay in store in WRITTEN IN THE BLOOD. I also wanted to find out a little more about life beyond the books and find where the ideas may have come from.

Jakab was the menacing threat throughout The String Diaries, can readers expect a similar foe in Written in the Blood?

They certainly can. THE STRING DIARIES was the story of Hannah Wilde’s struggle to escape Jakab, psychopathic member of Hungary’s secretive hosszú életek. I think of that book as a microcosm – it touched on the hosszú életek mythos but focussed on the intensely personal fight between Hannah and Jakab.

WRITTEN IN THE BLOOD is set fifteen years after the climactic events of THE STRING DIARIES, and occurs over a far broader landscape. This time around, the main protagonist is Leah Wilde, Hannah’s daughter. Early in the novel, Leah falls prey to a danger more formidable than the hosszú életek. I don’t want to reveal too much about the new threat, but it’s not the only danger confronting Leah. Closer to home lurks an even greater menace. And if you thought Jakab was a conflicted character in THE STRING DIARIES, wait until you meet Izsak, his younger brother . . .

Both The String Diaries and Written in the Blood feature strong female lead characters (Hannah and Leah). Is it hard to write for a central character of the opposite sex?

Thank you! I must admit, I don’t set out to write strong female characters, just strong characters. That’s something that happens long before the writing begins – the better I know a character before I commit them to paper, the easier the job of writing them becomes. If I caught myself considering gender too closely, I’d be worried. We’re all unique creations, after all. Gender is simply one facet.

Your website suggests you live in a house that is filled with too many books – what do you read and where do you seek guidance or inspiration?

The shelves are truly creaking around here. I tried a Kindle once, didn’t like it, so am doomed to mountains of books instead. I read a wide range of genres but I do have a few old favourites in terms of writers – Dean Koontz and Stephen King particularly. Other than that, I enjoy historical fiction, thrillers, fantasy. I tend to pick up and read whichever book is threatening to collapse the most precarious stack.

Inspiration comes in a never-ending drip-feed of thoughts and images. Out of that soup, sometimes a story will emerge.

Written in the Blood (as with The String Diaries) covers a lot of territory while the story unfolds. Do you travel to research your locations?

The new book contains a wider range of locations than my debut, but I think I’ve travelled to all but one of them. The fun part was investigating their history: during WRITTEN IN THE BLOOD, readers will visit contemporary California, London and the Italian Lakes, as well as nineteenth century Hungary, 1920s New York, and wartime Canada.

Finally, what comes next for Stephen Lloyd Jones?

I’m currently writing my third novel. It’s a standalone book, based on an idea I’ve had for a while. Headline are due to publish it in January 2015.

My thanks again to Stephen for taking time to answer my questions. WRITTEN IN THE BLOOD is published on 6 November by Headline.

Please also ensure you visit the other stops on the Blog Tour for exclusive content and extracts from WRITTEN IN THE BLOOD.

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