“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: Chris Mooney

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. It’s the perfect thriller. And Hannibal Lecter is the most interesting, captivating villain.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Jack Reacher. He kicks ass and always gets the woman. Captain Kirk would be a close second. And he has those cool phasers . . .

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
I love this question. I’m about to finish the last book of the Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series – the basis for the HBO show True Blood. I’m not a fan of vampire books, but I was curious about this and man-oh-man I wasn’t disappointed. They’re great, fun reads. Can’t recommend them enough.

Most satisfying writing moment?
Working with Richard Marek on my first book, DEVIANT WAYS. Richard was the editor of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and he taught me everything I need to know about how to write a good, solid thriller.

The best Irish crime novel is …?
Anything from John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series. If I had to pick one, I’d say THE KILLING KIND. That book scared me to death.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
I’d have to go with John Connolly’s THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS. It’s such a beautiful novel, and it really showcases John’s sense of humour.

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
The worst thing is the middle of the book. That’s where I get stuck more often than not, and it’s at that point I’m usually telling myself I have no business doing this for a living. It’s hell for a while, then I finally see the light and start moving toward the end. The best thing? Those moments I call “happy accidents.” In THE MISSING, I had a specific ending in mind. As I was writing, that little voice in my head said, “What if you did such and such?” The idea stopped me dead in my tracks it was so frightening. I love those moments.

The pitch for your next book is …?
It’s another Darby McCormick book called THE LIVING DEAD. Here’s the pitch: What if kids are abducted, disappear for ten or twenty years, and then suddenly show up as killers?

Who are you reading right now?
I’m just finishing up Gregg Hurwitz’s TRUST NO ONE. It’s a thriller. Great writing, great plot, and a fantastic ending. Loved it from start to finish.

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
I’d have to go with writing. It’s more rewarding.

The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Fast, furious and terrifying.

Chris Mooney’s THE DEAD ROOM is published by Penguin

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: Sean Black

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
Either Gregg Hurwitz’s Tim Rackley series (THE KILL CLAUSE, THE PROGRAM, TROUBLESHOOTER, and LAST SHOT) or anything by Jesse Kellerman. They both deliver more ‘I wish I’d written that’ moments than anyone else I’ve read in the past few years.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
I already am a fictional character. Some days I like being him, and some days, I don’t.

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
I don’t do guilt, not when it comes to reading anyway.

Most satisfying writing moment?
Finishing the damn thing. Even then, all I can see are the things I could have done better. I think starting a book every writer has an idealised image of what they want it to be. Then reality sets in, and it becomes about writing the best book you’re capable of writing at that moment in time.

The best Irish crime novel is …?
… may not have been published yet. If the rest of Stuart Neville’s THE TWELVE is as good as the passages I have seen, then we’re all going to have to up our game.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
I think short stories and novellas make for better movies, so without naming a single title, I’d say Ken Bruen’s work is most likely to make a smooth transition to the big screen.

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
Worst – the social isolation. Best – the short commute.

The pitch for your next book is …?
In LOCK UP, ex-military bodyguard Ryan Lock is charged with guarding the star witness in a capital murder trial of a white supremacist prison gang. The only snag is that the witness is himself an inmate in Pelican Bay Supermax prison, and he’s refusing to go into protective custody. So, Lock finds himself among three and a half thousand of America’s most violent men, three thousand four hundred and ninety nine of whom want to kill the man he’s been sent to protect.

Who are you reading right now?
Andrew Klavan’s SHOTGUN ALLEY and a book by Canadian journalist Stephen Handelman about the Russia Mafia called COMRADE CRIMINAL.

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
Given the state of the world, and assuming he has the powers attributed to him by organised religion, I’d have a few questions for him before he started issuing me with ultimatums.

The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Commercial. Entertaining. Fast-paced.

Sean Black’s debut novel LOCK DOWN is published by Bantam Press.

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: Tom Bale

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
Anything by Graham Greene – BRIGHTON ROCK perhaps, as it’s set in my home town, but even the books he classed as “entertainments” are beautifully written. I am in awe of his talent and versatility.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Jack Reacher. Tall, strong, fearless, morally certain and irresistible to women. It doesn’t get better than that.

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
For the most part I think reading anything can be instructive, although I suppose Frederick Forsyth would fall into this category for me. The early books are very well-constructed thrillers, but his worldview doesn’t exactly coincide with mine, to put it mildly!

Most satisfying writing moment?
When Tif, my wonderful agent, rang me to say we’d had an offer from Preface. That was the moment when I realised I would be able to earn a living from writing. It was all the more gratifying because we were skint at the time, and because my editor, Rosie de Courcy, offered me the deal on the strength of my proposal for a very substantial rewrite. It was an incredible show of faith on her part.

The best Irish crime novel is …?
I don’t feel I’ve read widely enough to comment fairly. I have Benjamin Black and Ken Bruen on my TBR pile, and after reading about Stuart Neville on your site I checked out the opening of THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST and thought it was excellent. And he’s not strictly a crime writer, but I think William Trevor is one of the finest writers alive.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Another question I have to dodge, I’m afraid! Often the books you most expect to translate to cinema prove to be a disappointment.

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
It seems ungrateful even to contemplate the worst aspect of what’s always been my dream job, but I do miss the camaraderie of working amongst other people. Daytime TV is a poor substitute. The best part probably comes towards the end of the rewriting phase, when all the hard work is done and you’re just going over and over the manuscript, trimming it, making it tighter and better with each pass.

The pitch for your next book is …?
“DIE HARD on Sandbanks.” And as someone who’s always had trouble reducing my ideas to a snappy one-sentence pitch, I’m pleased that I’ve finally been able to do so with this book. The provisional title is TERROR’S REACH, about a criminal gang who take control of an exclusive island off the Sussex coast, intent on much more than just robbery.

Who are you reading right now?
Gregg Hurwitz, Adrian Magson, Brett Battles and I’m also re-reading John Sandford’s fabulous “Prey” series.

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
That’s not a deity I could believe in. But I’d have to choose reading, as so much of the desire to write springs from the thrill of reading.

The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Fast, thrilling, satisfying – I hope. It’s for others to say whether I succeed.

Tom Bale’s SKIN AND BONES is published by Preface.