Discussions

--TIME MACHINES REPAIRED WHILE-U-WAIT certainly appealed to this extremely infrequent science fiction reader, a large part of that appeal was undoubtedly a good set of characters, particularly Spider Webb (all the current / near-future / far-future / past incarnations of him).  Do you feel that this book is going to appeal to hard-core genre readers as much as it would people just looking for something highly entertaining and engaging?

I'm sorry for not getting back to you sooner with answers to these questions. Am on holiday in seaside Mandurah with my lovely wife, and having to rely on spotty wifi access to check mail, etc. Last night I tried twice to answer them, and lost them to the ether both times.  This time I'm in a McDonalds, with wifi that supposedly won't quit on me, so I'm hoping for good things.

Thank you for your interest in my book, despite its sf-ness. So far the book has done well, appealing to sf readers across the spectrum, and was also shortlisted for the uber-prestigious Philip K. Dick Award for excellence in sf first published in paperback anywhere in the world. The award is usually won by Brits and Americans, so to even get considered was a huge deal for me, and for my Canadian publisher. It gives the book huge credibility in the hard sf community. I've also had good reports from people not interested in sf who have read the book and enjoyed it, too, very likely because they're responding to the characters and their very human, very relatable problems.

--TIME MACHINES REPAIRED WHILE-U-WAIT has a rather complicated central point - parallel / convergent / concurrent timelines, yet it's not a confusing book to read.  In fact it's quite a fun book to read.  Did you find it was a fun book to write or where the time shift requirements tricky to explain / keep track of?

It was a marvellously fun idea that became a very difficult thing to actually write. There was an awful lot to keep straight in my head, and with the help of extensive and detailed notes. And then after I submitted it to the publisher, he sent it to an editor (another author, a Canadian mystery writer), who wrote back with some very serious concerns that had to be addressed, and which pretty much meant rewriting most of the last half of the book. Which is fine with me: it made the book much better, it made everything make sense, and that's the important thing. So, yes, dreadful slog, but worthwhile result. :)

--TIME MACHINES REPAIRED WHILE-U-WAIT has been described as a book that would appeal to readers who like complicated plot lines, murder and amusing dialogue.  Did a science fiction / futuristic setting bring something in particular to the book, and did the use of a suspicious death provide you with a particular impetus or plan?

The suspicious death was the part I liked best. I've always loved mysteries and crime novels, as well as the sf, and as it's turned out three of my four books have had mystery elements to some degree. I'm now planning a sequel to Time Machines, and sure enough, it needs to be another mystery, which means another body (at least one), and a new brain-hurting mystery to solve for poor old Spider.

The single detail of the future setting--the ubiquity of time machines--presented enormous difficulties in working out the details.  Because if everyone, including the cops, have time machines, then catching murderers should be pretty easy: you just go back to the time of death, and catch the murderer in the act, or in the act of dumping the body, etc. Either way, it should make murderers much easier to catch. So, how to avoid that? How to still have a story and a puzzling mystery, despite this? The mystery story structure provides the bones of the book, the structure, and the various cast positions that have to be "staffed": (victim, suspects, the sleuth, the killer, etc). It gives you the opening (finding the body), and a path to follow to the ending (the solution, and the big finish, and the downbeat ending).

--Despite the futuristic setting for TIME MACHINES REPAIRED WHILE-U-WAIT the people are still dealing with the boring bits of life - traffic jams; relationship breakdowns; longing and desire; horrible coffee.  Do you have a feeling that the more things change for the human race, the more some elements stay the same?

I am inclined to think people will always be people. I remember reading some ancient Roman and Greek history, and being really struck by how very "modern" the people seemed, with their preoccupations with aging, jealousy, "these kids today", love and loneliness, with wondering how to live a good life, worried about what other people think of them, and all the other all-too-human concerns we recognise so well. I figure that in the future, no matter how technologically enhanced, or modified, people get, even if they get all disembodied and live inside computer networks, there will still be people worried about these same issues, though somehow twisted because of the unique location and setting. And I figure that even in the far future, people will still find cause to say, "we can upload our minds to computers, but we still can't get decent cups of coffee?", "these kids today!", and, "do I look fat in this?"

--And the great unfair question - which authors do you recommend / admire / would you say have greatly influenced your own writing?

This is easy: William Gibson, Jorge Luis Borges, Alan Furst, Connie Willis, HP Lovecraft, Elmore Leonard, Sue Grafton, Charles Stross--and many, many more besides. These are the names that come immediately to mind, because I love their work dearly, struggle to emulate it, and re-read it again and again for sheer pleasure. They each are at the top of their respective games, doing their particular thing with a quality, and wit, and lack of apparent effort that makes this writer extremely envious, and has, in low moments, tempted him to give up the whole hopeless thing, and leave these geniuses to it. But I don't, because I can't. It's what I do, because it's all I can do.

Technorati Tags: Book Discussions / Chats Interviews, Sessions and Chats with Authors Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait What We're Talking About Australia K A Bedford Crime Fiction Science Fiction Western Australia 2009 Fremantle Arts Press Aurealis Award for the Best Australian Science Fiction Novel 2008

Adrian was kind enough to take some time out of his busy life to answer a few questions about FIFTY GRAND which I was lucky enough to review recently.

 
AustCrime:  FIFTY GRAND takes you into a slightly different place from THE DEAD trilogy in particular, having said that, there are also some similarities.  Do you have a particular interest in the outsider taking control, stepping into the unknown without fear or favour?
 
Adrian:  Hmm, that's interesting. I suppose its because I've always felt a bit of an outsider myself. I lived in England for six years, but I was always an Irish guy living in England. And then seven years in New York and again I was a guy from Belfast in New York. And in Denver, Jerusalem and now Melbourne, I haven't really felt that confident about saying this is my city. So I suppose these characters are a reflection of me and my insecurities about place and belonging.

AustCrime:  Revenge / an evening of scores is an interesting subject for crime novels.  What is it that appeals to you about that scenario in general, and in particular, the way that family, no matter how fractured, is defended in FIFTY GRAND?
 
Adrian:  I have a lot of theories about revenge. I feel that the contemporary world creates such a level of anxiety in people because there are basically too many of us trying to live in too small a geographical area. It's a massive and uncomfortable disconnect for a biophilic species from the African savannah. For forty or fifty thousand generations modern humans lived in small groups and dealt with things like murder or affront themselves; it's only in that last four or five generations that we have given over our notion of tribal revenge or natural justice to complete strangers i.e. the police, and we're still trying to cope with that. Revenge is a very powerful idea and it hasn't completely left us sociologically and never will. 

AustCrime:  You interweave a number of fictional and real-life characters throughout the book.  Whilst the "Hollywood star" component stands out, it's the cameo by Raúl Castro that was the most fascinating - probably because I know so little about the man.  It gave the story an immediacy and perhaps a legitimacy that fictional characters may not have imposed - is that what you were aiming for?

Adrian:  The Castro brothers are everywhere in Havana. Everyone has a story about them, has met them or has someone who has met them so I felt as if I knew them and they were such a presence in people's lives I couldn't  ignore it. Basically Raul and Fidel have ruled that country as their personal fiefdom for half and a century and, incredibly, they are still going. I loved putting Raul in there and I think I captured him quite well, although, of course, I never actually met him in real life.

AustCrime:  Having said that, did you have any second thoughts about the interweaving of the real-life people into the story / did the publishers have any particular qualms?
 
Adrian:   I did go too far. I had to remove quite a bit of the book for legal reasons. I had a few conversations and emails with libel lawyers who explained to me that even if something is true, the burden of proof is on you to prove it. It caused quite a few headaches for me in the editing process and although I was going for verisimilitude in my depiction of Fairview (really Telluride) I probably should just have chilled a bit more and given myself an easier path to publication.
 
AustCrime:   Are you happy with the way that Mercado is developed?  Is that character somebody you enjoyed writing and will anybody in this book be returning in a follow-up?
 
Adrian:   I felt she took a lot of risks for a non risk taker. I'd be surprised if she ever did something like that again. Saying that though, I'd love to see her in a police procedural or something along those lines, a case which is a lot less personal. I dont have any plans for book 2 at the moment though. I've really got to get back to Cuba, have a few drinks, a few conversations with cops and the like...
 
AustCrime:   And the great unfair question - which crime authors do you recommend / admire / would you say have greatly influenced your own writing?
 
Adrian:   Perfectly fair question. The four biggest influences on me as a crime writer are Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Jim Thompson and Patricia Highsmith. Probably Jim Thompson is the biggest influence, but the one I admire the most is Chandler. His prose is so clean and effortless - the kind of effortlessness that requires tons of effort. In the contemporary scene I'm a convert to the dark church of James Ellroy and I love the Celtic New Wave writers: Rankin, Bruen, Burke, Hughes, McGilloway, McNamee, Downey, Neville etc.  
 

Technorati Tags: Book Discussions / Chats Fifty Grand Interviews, Sessions and Chats with Authors What We're Talking About Adrian McKinty Australia Ireland Crime Fiction Cuba USA 2009 Serpents Tail

Before the questions and Michael's excellent answers, a quick note of thanks for his responses. 

AUSTCRIME:  The implication of a large, unfinished tower as a sort of a "blight on the landscape" was interesting.  In one way you've got a locked room mystery, in another it's a blank canvas.  Did you have something in particular in mind when you came up with the concept of The Tower?

MD: I wanted to write about the dark side of globalization and the idea of The Tower came to me because of the Tower of Babel. One of the novel’s themes is the way the boom in immigration created by globalization, although in general a very positive thing, has created new opportunities for international crime. I thought Sydney, a big city where one-third of the inhabitants speak a language other than English at home, could provide a great snapshot of that phenomenon.

AUSTCRIME:  Nicholas Troy is a tricky character.  He starts off as one of the good guys, yet by the end he's made some silly mistakes, he's very compromised and yet he steps back from going too far.  How tempting was it to take Nicholas that one step further at the end? What were you exploring with Nicholas?

MD: A lot of crime heroes are basically good guys, even if a little rebellious and they sometimes take too much drink. I find myself more interested in characters who contain more of a mix of good and bad, and Troy is one of us. I think a lot of people can go either way, depending on what happens to them, and Troy is a fairly young blokeⁱ still struggling with this. I’m also interested in the way that when most people do wrong it happens gradually, one step at a time, and I wanted to show that, to the point where you could maybe sympathise with Troy even as you knew he’d gone too far.

AUSTCRIME:  Jon McIver seems considerably harder and more embittered one hand, and  yet on the other, he supports Nicholas in some bad times.  He's also not  afraid to give Nicholas compromised advice for expediency's sake. Did  you ever find yourself wanting to take McIver into more of a hero figure?

MD: No. Again, I like characters who are complex and I know plenty of real men who are like McIver, including a few cops. They’re prepared to do whatever it takes to preserve what really matters to them, which is usually their job, but as long as that’s not under threat they can be quite generous. They’re also often interested in mentoring younger colleagues, and while this can seem generous I think it’s often driven by self-interest. They need younger allies, and the process of watching a young person develop can be a way of revisiting your own youth and experiencing some of the pleasures of that marvelously simple emotion, nostalgia.

AUSTCRIME:  Sean Randall seems to be a character who is completely driven by his own hedonism and self-involvement.  Do you think there are any redeeming features in Sean that a reader should be seeing?

MD: I think Sean’s past redemption, but he’s aware of this and to some extent mourns it, which I hope will attract a reader’s interest, if not her sympathy.

AUSTCRIME:  The idea of a city within a city, populated with illegal immigrants who went undetected for such a long time came across as quite a compelling  theme.  Do you think that that sort of invisibility is easy in a big city like Sydney?

MD: I do. In fact, the situation described in the book actually occurred on a Sydney building site, although not on the same scale. I think this city has an extraordinary number of sealed worlds that we know little about. The experts say there are 100 serious organised criminal groups in the country, many in Sydney, and their industry sector turns over at least $10 billion a year from drugs alone, plus all the people smuggling, money laundering and everything else. How much of that do we ever hear about? It makes this place a great place to set a crime series!

AUSTCRIME:  Family ties are a strong part of THE TOWER, with Margot very keen to see justice for her father's reputation.  What sort of a person did you want readers to see Margot as?

MD: I think she was spoilt brat whose personality was sustained by her parents and their great wealth. When that suddenly disappeared at an early age, she had trouble coping because she hadn’t acquired much sense of who she really was, let alone much wisdom, in her 28 years. She was drawn to defend her father’s reputation, which is admirable, but unfortunately she didn’t have the qualities of character needed to do it. In fact she made a very arrogant mistake which led to her death. I think she’s one of those people who passes through the world without ever having much sense of what’s going on around her. In her case it was because she was insulated by money.

AUSTCRIME:  Good crime fiction seems always to address issues of social concern - no matter what period in history the books come from.  What issues do you think really should have a light shone on them?  Are there any particular issues you were trying to draw upon in THE TOWER?

MD: Globalisation (see above) and post-natal depression. When I decided to make Troy a pretty ordinary bloke in his early thirties, I looked around for a plausible reason why his life might become upset. Problems with marriage are pretty high on the list for many people at that age. In this case it’s Anna’s (his wife’s) long-running post-natal depression and how it destroys the emotional and physical intimacy they once had, and how he finally responds to that.

AUSTCRIME:  Are you planning a next book featuring Troy and McIver?  What other characters do you see reoccuring from THE TOWER?

MD: I’d like to do a series in which Troy matures, which is something we don’t see in a lot of crime series but which I think they’re well suited for. I’d be very keen in a second book to get Susan Conti, a detective in The Tower, into the Homicide Squad where she will work closely with Troy. It was my original intention that she be a more major figure in this novel, but unfortunately it became too crowded.

AUSTCRIME:  Which crime fiction books would you recommend to new readers to the genre?

MD: What an unfair question! There’s such a variety these days that I think you need to know someone pretty well, or at least know what other books they enjoy, to answer that. If I tried to give some general recommendations I suspect I’d just annoy a lot of readers. All I can do is tell you who I like (see below).

AUSTCRIME:  Is there any particular crime writers (or writers in general) that you think influence your writing the most?

MD: These ones are crime but not classic detective novels: Pete Dexter (for his extraordinary writing), Elmore Leonard (for the dialogue), Richard Price (for the characters and structure), and George Pelecanos (for the social observation). For the standard detective novel: Michael Connelly (for the intensity) and Ian Rankin (the earlier less baggy books) and Reginald Hill (when he’s not off on one of his overly literary detours).

Technorati Tags: Book Discussions / Chats Featuring Interviews, Sessions and Chats with Authors The Tower What We're Talking About Australia Michael Duffy Crime Fiction Sydney 2009 Allen & Unwin Array

Any thoughts of a formal interview with Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip (aka Michael Stanley) rapidly disappeared when we were lucky enough to meet up with the collaborating South African duo on their flying promotional trip to Melbourne in mid May.  For a start it simply wasn't necessary, and for a second, these are two crime writers who can really tell a story - on the page, and in person.  Mind you, one can't help but imagine that a lot of social settings with these two head off in slightly unexpected (and delightful) directions.  Who else could manage to turn a birdwatching tour of Botswana into the germ of an idea for a novel - over an evening spent watching hyena's dispose of the body of a dead wild animal!

That concept, discussed over many years, eventually led to a refreshing, albeit somewhat unusual writing partnership and the first book - A CARRION DEATH, which was released in 2008.  That book garnered some very positive reviews and a lot of "buzz" in crime fiction fan circles.  Their second book - A DEADLY TRADE (aka in the USA -  The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu), has just been released and it brings Detective "Kubu" Bengu back, this time he's investigating the death of ex-Zimbabwean Goodluck Tinubu at a bush camp on an isolated peninsula in northern Botswana.

But, after an arduous trek (around the corner in the inner city and up a flight of stairs), a treacherous search for plates and a spot of danger at the Sushi bar, we settled down over a bottle or two of the local red to talk books, South Africa, Botswana, Detective Kubu, collaboration and crime.

One of the most satisfying things about these books is the real feel of Africa about them.  Not only in the settings, but there is something quintessentially African about so many of the characters.  Talking to Michael and Stanley it's almost impossible not to notice their realistic love of the continent, and they both assured me that the setting of the books is as authentic as they can make it.  Whilst they both live (Stanley part-time) in South Africa, they spend a lot of time in Botswana and they know the people, the towns and cities, and the countryside of that place very well.  Their turning of the vision of hyena's going about their normal life into the central idea of a book - the disposing of a body and what would happen if that process was interrupted - was made irrevocably African not just by the obvious use of the animals, but by the nature of the setting itself - sun drenched, baked earth, dry African riverbeds and soil.  Having said that, I was more than curious about Kubu in particular, given that this is a writing collaboration.  Where did Kubu come from and who does he most resemble?  And you can see little glimpses of Kubu in both writers.  Most clearly he gets his sense of humour and slight irreverence from both of them, he gets his cunning and perspicacity from them both, he definitely gets his intuition and ability to deal with people from both of them.

The collaboration is something that both Michael and Stanley were happy to talk about - it's a particularly intriguing way to write a book, especially when they are often in two completely different parts of the world (Stanley still spends a lot of time in the USA).  Why the collaboration?  These are two long-term friends, and what's most obvious, is that writing these books is fun for them both.  Have there ever been thoughts - maybe of writing short stories on their own?  No - they seemed almost surprised to be asked.  They are living / working the retirement of their dreams. 

What's intriguing is not just the mechanics of such a collaboration, but the process.  How do two, dare I say it, strong and robust personalities resolve any differences of direction or opinion?  Very simply it seems. Rule number one, is that whoever wrote it first prevails in the event of disagreement, and they will see what is settled out come the editing process.  Obviously a tremendous sense of humour and that long-term friendship, and therefore knowledge of each other also helps.  Michael did confess that when a character is giving him trouble he'd happily kill them off.  Stanley, in Michael's words is more of a humanitarian, and worries that they can't go around killing off too many of the locals - Botswana doesn't have a big population after all.  Stanley firmly believes that everybody should be given a chance to live - although somebody shot with 150 rounds from an AK47 is probably going to need a little more than a spot of mouth-to-mouth to have much chance!

Their collaboration (at least to me) seems eased by the fact that they both come from academia and are published and experienced non-fiction writers.  The methodology, the discipline and the sheer mechanics of collaboration come easy to these two.  Ultimately, what shines through more than anything else is how much fun writing these books is for Michael and Stanley.  There is a real joy in the process of writing, the chance to collaborate, and the chance to meet with a new community of slightly obsessed, but equally up for some of the joy of life, fans of crime fiction.

That's not to say that Michael and Stanley would approach anything in their lives with less than 100% effort and in a thoroughly businessman like fashion.  From the development and preparation of the manuscript, through to their forays into finding an agent who would be able to take the book to the right publishers,  they approached their task with a singular purpose of vision, and in one of the most stylish yet workmanlike ways I've ever heard described.  (If they ever offer to teach a course on how to get yourself published, aspiring writers would do well to get themselves to that lecture theatre in a serious hurry).  Being so very professional in their approach, they are keen to work closely with their editors as well.  They happily take input (dare I say peer review), and they have been very pleased with the manner in which their editors have considered their manuscripts, made valid and reasonable suggestions, and pointed out inconsistencies that might get in the way of the reader's full enjoyment of the book.  They have even let the author's worst nightmare - cover illustration and titles - rage around them and accept the results with grace.

For me, it's always important when I'm reviewing crime fiction, to always remember that each individual book is the subject at hand.  Not past books, not necessarily the subject matter (but the delivery thereof), and definitely not the author(s).  But it's always a particular delight when the planets align and the universe smiles on the fan and time spent with the authors turns out to be as much fun and as much a thing of joy, as time spent with their fictional world.  The good news is that once you've finished reading A DEADLY TRADE, there is a third book in the works at the moment.  If you've not read the first book - A CARRION DEATH - I was recommending it long before lunch with Michael (and) Stanley.  If you get a chance to say hi to either of the author's - then I'd recommend you take that opportunity also.

Technorati Tags: Book Discussions / Chats Book Releases Events and Happenings Featuring Interviews, Sessions and Chats with Authors Michael Stanley South Africa Crime Fiction