F    A    Q John is asked many questions on the Discussion Forum... we've compiled many of them here for your reading pleasure. Can't find answers? Check the regular Q & A section which has over 40 questions and answers (!) and if you STILL have a question, feel free to post in on the Discussion Forum! 1. What was it like to see your first book on the shelf of your local book shop? I hadn't actually received a finished copy of my first book before it appeared in Irish bookshops, so I was wandering down Grafton Street in Dublin, saw the cover on a shelf of the lovely Dublin Bookshop and thought, "Hang on, that looks like my name." So I went in, took a look at it, felt a bit embarrassed to be holding my own book, put it down again, and took a step back. A woman came in, picked the book from the shelf, looked at it, read the dust jacket, scowled deeply, and put it back on the shelf again. I have never, ever stood before my own books since. 2. Are book-signings and readings daunting? I really enjoy public events, which is why I try to do as many as I can. I look upon them as a chance to explain what I do, which is why I rarely read for long, preferring to talk instead, and to meet readers, whether they've read my books or not. It's deeply flattering when ANYONE shows up and, like most writers, I've had occasions when it's been two men and a dog in the audience. It's curious, but forcing myself to say things out loud, and to leave them open to questions, makes me think about them in new and different ways, which is why I will sometimes contradict a statement I made earlier in a tour when I'm doing an event later on. 3. How do you get invited to attend these functions? Mostly, someone will ask me to attend something when I'm touring a book, or will drop an email. I don't do all that many, really, again because I'm based in Ireland and the US ones especially involve a lot of travel. In the end, maybe I'm only superficially sociable... 4. What has been the strangest experience you have had during a book signing? I was asked to sign someone's breasts once. She was, well, a "senior", as the Americans have it. I very politely declined before it got to the unveiling stage... 5. Have you lived/traveled extensively in the States? I worked in Maine for a time, when I was younger, and (very briefly) in Delaware. I've been to Texas a couple of times. In fact, I've driven large parts of the state, so I've seen it from north to south, and east to west. 6. Which one of your novels (not including the one you're working on now!) is your favourite, and why? This is kind of similar to the question about my verdict on my own novels, and I found that one hard to answer. I don't really have a favourite, to be honest: I'll always have a soft spot for the first book, because it got me published and allowed me to write full-time. There's some nice writing in Dark Hollow, and the atmosphere is just as I wanted it, but rather too many people die. I like The Killing Kind, and The White Road is probably as complex a novel as I'm ever likely to write, while Bad Men moves along at a fair old pace. There's something about each one that I like, I suppose, and some elements with which I'm not happy. Each book has been the best book that I could write at the time, I suppose. 7. I've noticed in your books that your chapters are getting longer & longer. Have you ever considered doing a book with no chapters? Um, it wasn't intentional. I'm not sure why they're getting longer. I suppose, in commercial terms, it would be better if they were shorter, as that probably contributes to a pacier read. As for a book with no chapters, it's funny: I rather like Terry Pratchett, who I think is a very underrated comic novelist (and, like most good comic novelists, uses comedy to tackle some serious subjects) but the only aspect of his writing that bothers me is the fact that he doesn't use chapter breaks at all. I find the absence of those 'breathing spaces' quite draining, and I think it detracts from his work. 8. Do you intend to continue with Charlie Parker in future novels? ...the next book is a collection of supernatural stories, one of them a short Parker novel. The book after that is a Parker novel, and probably will be the strangest of the Parker novels so far. Then after that will probably be a non-Parker, not even vaguely supernatural mystery novel, which may reintroduce the Macy character from Bad Men. I imagine that will be the pattern I follow for as long as I'm spared, and for as long as I can write. I love writing the Parker books, but I want them to be as good as they can possibly be, and part of that requires me to try other things so I can learn new skills, and return to them refreshed. 9. Please can you tell me if Angel & Louis will ever appear in a novel in which they are lead characters? I get asked that quite often. Actually, at one point I did start a novel in which they were the main characters, but it drifted a little towards the humorous, and I abandoned it. I think that I prefer them as characters within the Parker novels because, as I wrote in response to another post, they kind of represent an aspect of his psyche. He is a man torn between what they represent for him - his anger, his desire to strike out, his urge to balance the scales - and what Rachel represents: family, stability, love. There may yet come a point where I again try to write for them alone, but I just wasn't ready for it the last time... 10. I've just read Dark Hollow (absolutely brilliant!) and I was wondering have you ever had any ghostly experiences? Funnily enough, no I haven't. I suppose my influences in that area are largely literary rather than personal, but I do use the novels and the stories to explore things that frighten or disturb me. In that sense, they're very much a product of my unconscious, and there are those who might take the view that supernatural manifestations have a similar genesis. It's an interesting area, and an interesting question. 11. Is Charlie Parker based on yourself? Parker is a couple of years older than I am, but he shares a lot of my opinions and concerns, including the inevitable onset of love handles, jowls, and the other assorted maladies that accompany the onset of early middle age. Mind you, he hasn't resorted to the little blue pills yet. At least, I don't think he has... There is a great deal of me in Parker. He shares my views, my tastes, my politics (much to the displeasure of some conservative readers) and my moral outlook, I think. I've also explored elements of my own life through him, and have tried to reach a better understanding of myself and the world I inhabit by using Parker as a kind of prism. We're very similar and, as time has gone by, I think those points of similarity have increased. 12. Are most of the characters that you have written into your books in some way, influences from real life contacts? No, I've hardly ever based a character on someone in real life, although I have used incidents from my own life in the books, usually slightly altered or disguised. They're frequently very personal things, and I've explored them a little for myself by writing about them. Most I'll continue to stay quiet about, but the circumstances of the death of Parker's mother in Every Dead Thing are essentially the same as the circumstances of my own father's death from cancer. 13. If the characters in your books are not real, how do you come up with their personality and background from scratch? I would never put myself explicitly in a book, but I'm there all the way through them. Parker is a lot of me, but there are aspects of me in Angel and Louis, perhaps in Rachel, and even in some of the nastier characters. I mean, they came out of my imagination, I think, so there must be something of me in them. It's a bit worrying, frankly. 14. Are there any subjects that you would not write about, for instance under-age sex? I don't tend to put any sex scenes at all in my books, really. Not sure why. Partly, it's because I think they're hard to do well (hey, like sex, really!) but also I take the 'less is more' approach there. Maybe I'm afraid of upsetting my mum, too... I think that it's not so much the subject matter as the way in which it is approached. My books have touched on some subjects that I wouldn't want to explore explicitly, mainly because I'm not sure what purpose would be served by explicit detail. . . 15. When you start a book, do you tend to start off with just some characters, and/or a situation, or is there a rough idea of plot? I never have a very clear idea of what the book is going to be. I like the fact that the books develop very organically, but I think that may also be why some readers really dislike them. I sort of discover what they're about as I write the first draft, then spend months rewriting so that all the different layers work. 16. Was it a conscious decision by yourself or your publishers to tone down the covers? I had a lot of input into the earlier UK covers, but the publishers made a decision to rejacket and went for a less Gothic look. To be honest, I didn't like the new look, and for Bad Men the books are about to be rejacketed again. I think the publishers felt that the jackets were alienating some readers, as they were quite "in your face" and veered close to horror jackets at times. Sometimes, maybe less is more, and I think a good balance will be struck with the new look. 17. What sort of atmosphere you like to write in? I have an office at the top of my house, and that is really the only place that I can write, surrounded by my research books and my notes. I can't write on the road, so I never bring a computer away with me, and I tend to like working in the mornings and the evenings. During the afternoon I go to the gym, or have coffee in a great little coffee shop named Crema near my house. I use a desktop computer - I find it hard to write longhand now, in part because my handwriting quickly becomes illegible even to me - and I don't listen to music. I'm very easily distracted. I even find it hard to work if I have visitors in the house, so I like total silence. Frankly, if I decide to become a hermit it will be a pretty gentle transition for me... 18. How long, in general, does it take for you to come up with the "main course" of the book? The books tend to come together over a period of two years. 19. Would you ever consider allowing a film adaptation of one of your books? The only novel optioned so far is Bad Men, and I've always been very reluctant to release the Parker books. I suppose I feel very attached to them, while Bad Men was kind of a one-off, although, now that I think of it, I'm rather fond of that one too. Anyway, I'll wait and see what happens with Bad Men, I think, unless David Lynch or Steven Soderbergh suddenly call. Never say never, though... 20. If you could cast Parker, Angel, Louis, Pudd, DuPree, Caleb, and others in a movie, what modern actors would you choose to play each character? You know I still have no idea what any of the characters actually look like, so I'm lousy for that kind of thing. When the people behind plans to film Bad Men asked me the same question, I was no help... 21. Do most authors (writers, biographers, poets, etc.) belong to an association of some kind? Er, I don't belong to any associations - I'm not much of a joiner, and being based in Ireland means that I'm a bit removed from the UK/ US author groups - but a lot of writers are members of the Crime Writers' Association in the UK, or the Mystery Writers of America, or similar organisations. 22. Have any audio book versions of your novels been released or are any going to be released? Every Dead Thing, Bad Men, and The White Road have all been done as unabridged audio books by a company named Isis, clocking in at a whopping twelve to thirteen hours each. Isis can be contacted at its mailing address (7 Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES, England) or by UK freephone at 0800 731 5637. Hope that helps. 23. Any thoughts on a music CD? A CD will be available with early copies of The Black Angel. More information here. 24. Are you compared to Stephen King because of the supernatural elements in your writing, as well as that your books are set in Maine? The problem is that it's hard to do anything with a supernatural touch set in Maine and NOT invite comparisons to Stephen King. When I began writing the books, I chose Maine as the setting in part because it was somewhere with which I was familiar, and for which I had an affection, and also because it hadn't really been colonised by crime writers in the way that New York or Boston had. The supernatural elements to the novels came about fairly naturally for me, but they were still recognisably crime stories - or mystery stories, which I kind of prefer as a term for reasons that I've gone into elsewhere. So Maine is the area about which I'm happiest writing, but the fact that Bad Men was a bit more supernatural in parts than the Parker books meant that, unintentionally, I found myself in 'Stephen King Territory' in more ways than one. It really was just a natural development of some of the themes I'd explored in the earlier books. I really don't know where I'm going next, once Nocturnes and The Black Angel are published. Both have supernatural elements, but I suspect that some of the books to come will tone down these elements, to the extent that one book will probably be a very straightforward mystery novel... 25. What is Parker really like? I very deliberately left Parker's physical appearance ambiguous: we know he's under six feet tall, and has some gray hairs creeping in, but that apart readers can fill in the blanks as they choose. Instead, I hope readers live inside his head, kind of experiencing the world as he experiences it. It's one of the reasons why I never answer the question "Who would you like to see play Parker in a movie?" I don't know what he looks like, so many actors would be equally good, or equally bad. I remember one reviewer describing Parker as "a bit of a blabbermouth", which I found kind of odd. The reviewer was referring to Parker's introspection, I assume (and it's probably as much a criticism of my writing style as of Parker), but that's also quite deliberate in the novels. It's his nature: he constantly picks at things, turning them this way and that in his mind, trying to understand them or to reveal some previously unsuspected facet of the case or situation that he is examining, and he does this through language. Maybe, for those who like the books, that's why Parker comes alive. We're privy to almost everything that goes on in his head... 26. In Bad Men, tell us a little bit about the Gray Girl. I deliberately left some elements of the story up in the air - as I've done in each book - to let readers draw their own conclusions. At one point in the novel, the postmaster rejects notions of 'bad' or 'good' in relation to whatever presence has reemerged on the island, so none of the apparitions can be considered as entirely unthreatening to anyone on the island. I'm still a bit reluctant to be too concrete about them, but I suppose there are a number of ways that one could look at the 'Gray Girl' in particular. Perhaps 1) what happened to her in life was so terrible that her desire to revenge herself is particularly strong; or maybe 2) she is described at one point as being "jealous of life", and that would encompass all of the people on the island, both residents and trespassers. There is a third possibility, though, and it's one that haunts Parker in The Black Angel. Increasingly in the next novel, the manifestations of his dead wife and child are threatening to him, and to his sanity. They may be real or they may be figments of his imagination, but if they are the former is it not possible that the figures that have returned are not quite his wife and daughter, but something different. He talks of the woman as being "not quite" his wife, as though some part of her has been lost forever, with the implication that something else has replaced it... 27. Are you relaxed about your writing? I'm not relaxed about my writing at all. I find some aspects of publishing very difficult, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to produce the best work that I can. As time goes on, though, I start to feel that the chances of producing a bad book increase, which makes matters worse. There is some consolation in the fact that even the people who like my books aren't in absolute agreement about which one is the best, so I'm learning that it's a matter of taste. I think a lot of writers are always looking for the one person in the room who isn't clapping, because that's the person who has figured out what frauds they are. If I read 99 good reviews, and one bad review, the bad one will still sting, and sting a lot. Similarly, occasionally people will send in a particularly vituperative message to the website, or to me, regarding the books, and it really does hurt. I'd like to say that I just shake those comments off, but I don't. In the end, nobody is harder on the books than I am. Having fans who are so supportive - and I'm very lucky in that sense - makes it easier in so many ways. I worry about trying not to disappoint them, though... See, it never ends. 28. Why writing crime stories, John? A lot of people says that are "commercial" books, a way to make money and nothing more: what do you answer to them? Like a great many writers, my instinct was to write what I read. The first genre fiction in which I ever immersed myself was supernatural fiction, and the second was crime/ mystery fiction, so in a way it's not surprising that the two genres have both found expression in my writing. (I did read someone somewhere referring to me as a 'horror' writer, but I really don't think that I am, and it implies a very limited perception of the nature of both mystery fiction and supernatural fiction...) Writing mysteries was never really a commercial decision. I spent too long working on Every Dead Thing - even after it was rejected - for that to be true. Quite simply, the themes that interest me are best explored, for the present, through mystery fiction. I'm happy that the books sell, though, and I try never to take that for granted... 29. Some editors refused to publish your first book, Every Dead Thing. Were you tempted to abandon your project after those negative opinions? I think there's a hint of obstinacy to me. The book mattered to me. I wanted to finish it. I'm not very good at leaving things unfinished. It bothers me when I do. The rejections were very hard to take, but it was enough that Darley Anderson, who subsequently became my agent, said that he liked it. He really was the only person who read the work in its entirety before it was submitted to publishers. In the end, whatever you write, you should write it because it's important to you. Whether or not anyone else likes it is secondary, to some degree. Inevitably, most people write to be read, or with some audience in mind (even the most private of diarists are trying to express themselves to some unseen 'other', I think), but unless it's satisfying to you personally, then I don't think it will connect with anyone else. 30. After the publishing of Every Dead Thing, how did you live with the criticisms of some of the reviewers? I had some terrible reviews for Every Dead Thing. One still remains among the harshest reviews of any book that I've ever read. I felt like I'd been mugged. Now, bad reviews still hurt (it's inevitable that they would, if you care about what you do) but not as much as they used to. I recognize now that there are some people who just don't like what I do, or don't get it. I'm lucky that the people who do like it really do seem to understand what I'm doing. I'm very fortunate in that way. I suppose I'd prefer extreme reactions to a great many readers just saying "Well, they're okay. Inoffensive. Nice..." 31. What was it like to write a standalone novel like Bad Men? The danger in being a genre writer is that there is pressure to repeat oneself, and to stick to a formula, in which case it's hard to develop new skills as a writer. Bad Men allowed me to experiment with pace, perspective, and perhaps a more linear plot structure than the Parker novels use. Similarly, Nocturnes allowed me to use a range of different voices, and to explore new ways of telling stories. But I hope also that each of the Parker novels has been slightly different from the ones that preceded it, as I do try to push myself and explore new avenues with each book. 32. Can you tell us about any future projects? There are four different things that I would like to do, among them another Parker novel; a stand-alone that would largely eschew supernatural elements; a kids' book; and a book dealing with the nature of folk tales. 33. Are you interested in art? One of the things which surprise me more about your books is the fact that you seem to know a lot of things about a lot of different subjects or topics: art, spies, birds, police procedures, arms, etc. How do you do that? You pass a lot of time investigating for your books, don't you? I was lucky enough to see the Bosch paintings at the Prado when I was in Madrid last year, but I wanted to use slightly more obscure sources, relatively speaking, as the backdrop to The Killing Kind. I think, although it was written some time ago, that I had illustrations and woodcuts in mind for Faulkner's Apocalypses rather than paintings, but that may be my memory playing tricks on me. Like most writers, I am kind of magpie-ish by nature, so I'm constantly accumulating newspaper and magazine cuttings, obscure books, and all kinds of other things that catch my interest. Most of them I never use, but some make their way into the books. I also try to consult specialists in their field wherever possible, if I think it will help the book or even just help me to understand a little more clearly a topic that I'm researching. 34. A recent visit to Edinburgh took me to Greyfriars church and on the outside wall of the church were what appeared to me friezes of bones into designs. Was what was happening in Sedlec likely to have been happening elsewhere? I don't know enough about funerary architecture in Edinburgh to say. The storing of bones was probably quite common, though, at least until the 17th century or so, The use of bone symbolism on the church is probably another example of the memento mori - a reminder of death and mortality - which in Sedlec was taken that one step further by using actual remains. Mind you, I'm sure there are Edinburgh residents out there who are far more aware about such things than I am, so maybe they'd like to contribute... 35. I am confused by your reference to Pope John XX111 in The Black Angel. It is my understanding that John XX111 was the pope who in 1962 convened the 2nd Vatican Council. Can you clear up this confusion? At the time in which the book is set, there were actually three popes claiming the papacy, one of whom called himself Pope John XXIII, although he was not universally recognised as such, mainly because in his lifetime he was accused of sodomy, theft, the defiling of nuns, and the murder of his predecessor. To distinguish him from the later, and far more acceptable, John XXIII, the first one is generally known as the Antipope John XXIII. Hope this helps! 36. Do you think you will ever publish another collection of short stories in the Nocturnes vein? Possibly, but it won't be for the foreseeable future. They took a very long time to do, and for the moment I want to concentrate on the novels, although one of my projects for this month is to write the script treatment for four or five of the Nocturnes stories, which we're hoping to film at some point. . . 37. I read Dark Hollow a few years ago and was chuffed to see the Stritch name used for one of your characters. Now did you decide to use this name? It isn't a very common name. My grandfather (Patrick Stritch) is from Longford, Ire. He immigrated to the USA in the 1920's. There were two Stritch families located in Longford, it was not a common name there. I have read the name has been recorded as Irish in the Limerick area since about the time of the Normans arrival in Ireland and still common there today. I didn't know about the Irish connection. Curious, that. As I remember (and it was a while ago) Abel and Stritch came as a kind of twofer: those two names just popped into my head and sounded right. That tends to be the way with the villains in the books, and less so with the heroes. I really don't know why that is, except that some names - Pudd, Stritch - just sound right for the characters. 38. I loved The Black Angel by the way. Just wondering about the Juarez killings. Did the real killing inspire (horrible word for it but you know what I mean) the book or just a part of it? As you say, not sure "inspire" was the right word. I was aware of them, but it was more the Santa Muerte stuff that interested me, and I guess I pulled the two together. I feel a bit uneasy, though, about using actual crimes in that way. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, as there is a danger of exploiting or even trivialising real suffering. Still, it's done now, for better or worse... 39. You've mentioned before that underlying religious themes/Catholic teachings tend to permeate your writing (redemption and the like). Have you had any problems with people and/or organizations who felt your use of religious ideas and/or themes wasn't what they would deem "appropriate" or who were outraged by its use in conjunction with "those type of crime stories"? And are some countries/cultures more tolerant of the mix (thinking now of the States, where religion is becoming more an object of dissention and labeling rather than a unifying force (the "us against them" mentality is becoming more open here as religion and politics begin to mix more than before). I think a lot depends upon how they're used. I have had no objections to the use of the themes you mention, but then again I don't think my books are going to appeal to the kind of people who would object (i.e. I don't think most of them would even get around to taking one from the shelves.) Basically, I think the idea of redemption runs through a great deal of modern crime fiction, either explicitly or implicitly. Again and again we'll encounter detectives who are trying to make up for a failing in the past by intervening in the lives of others. I agree that the conjunction of the more explicit notions of redemption in the Parker books with violence, and with the nature of some of the characters, might present problems for some readers, but those readers haven't made their objections known as yet, I don't think. As regards tolerance, or the relative lack thereof in certain societies, it would be interesting, I suppose, to see how a Protestant of extreme beliefs in, say, Northern Ireland, would respond to a crime novel which was suffused with Catholic guilt, but that would be work for another writer. In general, I think Catholicism is reasonably tolerant of the exploration of such themes, as are those who occupy the middle ground in most religions. The problems arise at the extremes. Personally, I find the "Left Behind" series particularly odious (I've only read one, and I needed a bath after it) and the view of the world, and of salvation, presented in such books is entirely at odds with my own. The concept of forgiveness is largely non-existent, and the world view it appears to espouse seems to be infused more with hatred than with any kind of respect or compassion for the failings of others, or the differences between human beings. Then again, we're speaking here of Christian religions, or ones that are at least nominally so. I wonder what might happen, in the current climate, if one were to write a Muslim crime novel which touched on incendiary topics. In fact, I wonder about Muslim crime fiction generally, now that the subject as come up. I don't know of any such novels set in such societies, and written by individuals who are part of them, rather than from a European perspective, or by Muslims based in Europe. Any ideas? 40. Do dreams or nightmares contribute to your short stories? Nope, I don't think so. My nightmares tend to be of the dull "not prepared for my exams" variety... 41. My favorite poets are Poe and Emily Dickinson. Just curious to know if you had any. Do you ever write poetry? e e cummings was a big influence on me, and remains a favourite. And I did write some poetry, but in a fit of Stalinist revisionism I binned it some years back. No loss, I have to say... 42. Have you decided that you are always going to write adult books? I ask due to the phenonemon that is Harry Potter at the moment, and I wondered whether as J.K Rowling says she is going to write adult books, can authors such as yourself enter the world of childrens books? I am a huge fan of your writing and I wonder whether you're tempted to totally change your writing style? The first author I ever read book-by-book (Enid Blyton apart) was Ian Fleming, and I started reading him at age nine or ten. Once adolescence appears on the horizon, I think the distinctions between adult and children's books begin to blur a little, or at least they did for me. There have been some questions on the forum about the next book, and that will be quite a radical departure in style, and maybe also an attempt to prove the truth of the previous statement... 43. Do you choose the titles of your books or they are chosen by the editorial people? I don't have any control over the changes made by foreign publishers to the titles. One or two of them I've been a bit dubious about, to be honest, although the Germans retitled Every Dead Thing as "The Black Heart", which I rather liked. Often the changes are made because there is no direct translation possible from the English to the language of translation, or if it was translated directly it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. 44. What are your views on jazz? Your main man is named after a Jazz legend and I wonder if you listen to him, or others like John Coltrane and Miles Davis. I do listen to (earlier) Coltrane and Miles Davis, and a certain amount of Charlie Parker. I love Stan Getz, and Chet Baker's vocal stuff. I've always been a Pat Metheny fan (although not of Song X, frankly) even though some of my friends consider his later albums to be elevator music, and I've recently been playing a lot of the Tord Gustafson Trio (hope I've spelt that right), particularly "The Ground." To be honest, though, I don't keep up with jazz, so I tend to fall back on the old reliables. 45. Do you ever run out of inspiration, and have you ever thought about doing something similar to Terry Pratchet who gets research and plot ideas via a fans forum? Not yet but if the well of inspiration begins to run dry . . . 46. If there's ever another CD, I thought I'd make a suggestion. In the scene in the Killing Kind where Charlie talks to Al Z for the last time, I thought 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash would be a perfect song for that scene. I am hoping to do another CD, although we've run into some problems with binding it into the book and the focus this time would be on getting it into the UK edition rather than the US. (Have to be fair as the US got it last time, although we would try to give it out at US signings.) There is a tentative track listing, but the mood is very different from the first CD. It's a more eclectic selection, and a little louder. Still, the Cash suggestion is a very good one. I still find it hard to get that video out of my head. Incredibly moving.