{"id":238,"date":"2013-12-01T21:04:54","date_gmt":"2013-12-01T21:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/?p=238"},"modified":"2015-02-28T11:47:21","modified_gmt":"2015-02-28T11:47:21","slug":"crimesquad-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/?p=238","title":{"rendered":"Crimesquad interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Me<\/a>Crimesquad.com have posted an interview with yours truly.<\/p>\n

Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to see it on their website (scroll down past the review), or read the copy I’ve posted below…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Fresh Blood Questionnaire<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

You have turned your hand at writing a crime novel. Did you always want to write crime or did you gravitate to it after experimenting with different genres?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always loved telling stories. I used to make my own comics after school, and I was a journalist for a while, too, but \u2018The Advent Killer\u2019 is the first novel I\u2019ve written. Unfortunately that means there are no dusty, undiscovered masterpieces hiding out in the loft. I\u2019ve always enjoyed reading crime, but oddly, I didn\u2019t start out wanting to write about it. I had a concept for a particular way to tell a story, which required the two main characters to be kept apart. It turned out the best way to do that was to make one a wanted criminal and the other a police detective.<\/p>\n

It was a long journey from writing the book to getting it published years down the line. Could you tell us a bit of the journey of \u2018The Advent Killer\u2019 from inception to print?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had the idea in 2004, but it wasn\u2019t until I got drunk at a friend\u2019s wedding in November 2005 that I made myself a promise to actually write it. I don\u2019t remember much else about that night, but I always finish what I start. So I bought a few books on how to write a novel, and spent the next four years creating the first draft, which I submitted to various literary agents. I got a lot of NOs, but also a few very helpful pieces of constructive criticism. I took all the advice and started revising the book. I\u2019d make changes, then re-submit, and wait for the next round of feedback. That process took almost three years, but at last I was taken on by Caroline Hardman (my agent) at Hardman & Swainson. She did a fantastic job of getting Penguin on board, and I signed a two book deal with them in March 2013. There were still some improvements to make before \u2018The Advent Killer\u2019 was finally finished, but the book went on sale eight months later.<\/p>\n

Your main protagonist is DCI Antonia Hawkins. Why did you choose a female lead and was it easy or difficult as a man to write convincingly about this woman DCI?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I actually didn\u2019t think, when I started, about whether it would be more difficult to write a female lead than a male one, but the victims in the book are all women, so I thought a female perspective would be more emotive. My fianc\u00e9e, Anna, helped me get into the character during the early drafts, especially with dialogue, but I try to get inside the mind of every character, and imagine their thought processes in each situation. I hope Hawkins is convincing. If it hadn\u2019t worked, I\u2019m sure someone would have told me by now.<\/p>\n

The murders in \u2018The Advent Killer\u2019 are pretty gruesome. Does your fianc\u00e9e ever worry about the weird and wacky ideas you come up with?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Funnily enough, I got an odd look from Anna when I thanked her, in print, for being \u2018my inspiration\u2019. I thought it was touching, but she pointed out it could also mean she\u2019d motivated me to write about murdering women! Some people are worried when they find out I\u2019ve created a believable serial killer, but really it\u2019s no different from acting. I think it\u2019s about understanding human nature, and the reasons we do various things. These days it\u2019s hard to shock, so it\u2019s important to keep the stakes high, but murder will always be the ultimate felony, and I\u2019m really careful not to let my writing revel in gore or violence.<\/p>\n

The story develops at a searing pace. How did you find maintaining the pace when this is your first novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes to thrillers, I enjoy stories that don\u2019t pause for breath. I suppose its how life would be if you could edit out the boring bits, so that\u2019s how I try to write. I always plan my stories from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, before I start writing, so I can see how the plot fits together. Then I try to get rid of anything gratuitous or flat, and capitalise on the exciting bits. That\u2019s what I love about fiction; as long as it\u2019s plausible, the world can go as crazy as you want.<\/p>\n

The murders start a few weeks before Christmas (hence the title). Are you like Antonia and don\u2019t particularly enjoy Christmas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually I never saw Antonia as someone who disliked Christmas (although she might now!). Personally I quite like this time of year, but then I\u2019ve never had to investigate a string of career-threatening murders in the run up to the big day!<\/p>\n

Mike is Antonia\u2019s love in life. Are we going to see this relationship develop over the coming books?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Definitely. Great detectives always have a sidekick, and Mike helps to reign in some of Hawkins\u2019 more impulsive tendencies (sometimes more successfully than others). Events conspire to keep them apart at first, but their affection for each other will develop through the series. Their relationship is tempestuous, but the passionate way they interact demonstrates the trust they have in one another.<\/p>\n

Who do you see as your influence as a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I learn something about writing from every book I read, (even the bad ones). Some of the most valuable lessons came from George Orwell and Frederick Forsyth but I\u2019m most in awe of Stephen King. Thirty years from now, I\u2019d love to have a collection of titles like his: (\u2018Stand By Me\u2019, \u2018The Shawshank Redemption\u2019, \u2018Insomnia\u2019, \u2018Misery\u2019, \u2018The Green Mile\u2019, \u2018Carrie\u2019, to list a few). His books cover a variety of subjects but you always know what sort of story to expect.<\/p>\n

What do you look for when you pick up a book to read? Is your main focus to write the book you\u2019d love to read?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately I don\u2019t often get the chance to browse any more. I still have a full-time job, so most of my spare time is spent writing, which means I have to be selective. That makes reviews (like the ones on Crimesquad, for example) invaluable, but I always look for something exciting and original, which is what I think most readers want, so that\u2019s how I try to write.<\/p>\n

What would you say are the top three crime novels that have made a lasting impression on you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most impressive crime novel I read recently was \u2018Child 44\u2019 by Tom Rob Smith. The pace never lets up, and there are some really innovative action sequences.<\/p>\n

The way Lincoln Rhyme investigates via proxy in Jeffery Deaver\u2019s, \u2018The Bone Collector\u2019 is highly inventive, too, and there are some great moments of tension.<\/p>\n

And Mark Billingham\u2019s debut, \u2018Sleepyhead\u2019, introduced a great lead character (in Tom Thorne) and had some fantastic twists. They were probably what inspired me to write crime.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Crimesquad.com have posted an interview with yours truly… Subjects include how I got my first book published, my writing idols, and why I chose crime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=238"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":614,"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238\/revisions\/614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alastairgunn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}