Here's an interview I did with Mike Craven over at his new website ...
1.
This is the third book in the Ray McBain series, what made you choose to
write it from Kenny’s POV this time round?
At the point I wrote this, the other
two books were going the rounds of the publishers receiving rave rejections. As
in, love this – had to stay up till 2am to finish it, but no thanks. I know,
crazy, right? But that’s publishing for you.
I wanted to keep writing, but I didn’t
want this next book to suffer the same response, so I just sat down one day and
started working. No plan, no idea, I was just writing. What came out, like
dictation, to my surprise was Kenny’s story.
2.
Your books all feature well developed characters, and although they are
likeable, none of them are completely sympathetic. Was this a conscious choice
or were you simply holding a mirror to society?
I would like to think that I’m that clever, but I’m not. I rarely write with such an agenda. I write in the first instance by instinct and if I like it when I’m doing the edits it stays. And when I’m doing the edits I’m asking myself how might the reader respond to this? Are my characters three-dimensional? No good guy is all good and similarly, no bad guy is all bad. The edit is where I examine if I have struck the right balance.
3.
Tell me why you write about a detective with an eating disorder!
‘Cos alcohol has been done to death and
although I don’t have an eating disorder, my relationship with food could be
healthier. I’ve been on a yo-yo diet since my thirties. It’s exhausting! Most
of what I put Ray through in that regard is something that I’ve experienced.
4.
Like Blood Tears, in Beyond the Rage you are writing a story set in the
present but about events that occurred in the past. Is this something that
particularly interests you as a writer?
Yeah, we can rarely escape our past. It
is from that cauldron that our personality is born and it affects mostly
everything about us. It’s something that readers can relate to. After all, we
all have one. And it is a classic trope in fiction.
5.
Can you tell me a little about how you write? For example, what time of
day is the most productive, do you set yourself daily word goals and how much
plotting do you do or are you a start writing and see where the story takes you
kind of writer?
I am a binge writer. I go for months,
sometimes years without writing and then I get stuck in. My target tends to be
more time led – but with an eye to the word count so I can gauge how well I am
doing. And as I said earlier, I write by instinct, without much of an idea
where I’m going.
It would be nice to be able to write to
a plan, but I can’t seem to master that one.
6.
You’re a poet of some renown. How and why did you make the transition to
being a crime writer and does your poetic background help or hinder when
describing some of the brutal things the modern crime writer must?
The poetry came about by accident. My
aim was always to be a novelist, but after joining my local writers’ club and
having a go, I discovered I had an aptitude for poetry. I think it comes from a
love of words. Which comes from being an avid reader all of my life.
When I first started writing novels, I
was trying too hard and I learned I had to choose my moment. If you’re reading
a fight scene, you don’t want the author to disrupt the pace by inserting a
line of poetic prose. On the other hand, the “noticing” that poetry brings to
the prose can help ground the reader in the story.
It all goes in during the first draft
and then I shape it when doing the edits. Elmore Leonard is quoted as saying if
it sounds like writing, he deletes. Far be it from me to ignore such a great
writer, but there are times when I love to read a selection of prose where the
word choice tastes good. The craft for me is knowing when to leave in and when
to take out.
7.
I can’t let you go without talking about the Guillotine Choice, the book
you co-wrote with Bashir Saoudi, one of the most harrowing yet uplifting
fact-based novels I’ve ever read. How did you meet Bashir and how was the
writing process different.
How long have you got? I’ll give you
the shortened version. Bashir had taken some time out of the computer industry
to run a coffee shop. He stayed open late one night to try and get more custom.
I was his only customer. Subsequent meetings, mostly of the “twilight zone”
variety had me throwing my hands up and saying to the universe, ok I’ll write
the book!
The difference here was that I had the
skeleton of a story in front of me. And if I can torture that metaphor, this
skeleton had a few bones missing as well as ligament, skin and muscle. But
there was a direction. And a real man whose story had to be told. And told in a
way that would honour him and his country.
8.
Finally, what are you working on at the minute?
Another Ray McBain book. And the killer
from the first one is back. If I tell you any more I’ll have to kill you.
Mike follows the interview on with his review for Beyond the Rage. Clicketty-click HERE if you want to read. (You'll need to scroll down past the interview to get to the review. Or, you could read it again if you're that bored.)
