“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: T.S. O’Rourke

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?
I still love John Connolly’s EVERY DEAD THING - it’s both brilliantly written and we all know the great story behind it’s success. Gives me goose pimples just thinking about it.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
I’m a Mike Hammer wannabe in disguise ...

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
Well, I just ordered the hardback version of THE BIG O from Amazon ... but recently I’ve been reading Declan Hughes and Ian Rankin.

Most satisfying writing moment?
I’m hardly ever satisfied with my writing - so I’d say that the most satisfying point of the day is when you can almost feel the first cold beer in your throat before you even approach the fridge ...

The best Irish crime novel is …?
I love all of Declan Hughes stuff so far - more than anything else Irish I’ve read - so maybe THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
I’m amazed John Connolly’s work has not already been filmed ... I see Russell Crowe as Charlie Parker ...

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
Not being able to start writing when you want to / Not being able to stop when you should ...

The pitch for your next book is …?
Yet to be written ... I’ve got three unfinished novels on the go and at least two others plotted out ... Time is my enemy.

Who are you reading right now?
Ken Bruen - BLITZ - I picked up a ‘Do Not Press’ edition last time I was on Charing Cross Road ...

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
Write.

The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Blunt, hard, cold.

T.S. O’Rourke’s DEATH CALL is now available on Amazon Kindle

The Popcorn Interlude # 246: 3:10 To Yuma

Based on the 1957 Glenn Ford / Van Heflin original as much as it is on the Elmore Leonard short story, 3:10 to Yuma sees Russell Crowe and Christian Bale go head-to-head, struggling rancher Bale trying to get charming bad egg Crowe onto the train that’ll take him to Yuma and a scaffold. A dirty, sweaty, hairy western, this offers a fine psychological battle leavened by good old-fashioned shoot-em-’ups, with Ben Foster and Peter Fonda among the supporting cast, the former Crowe’s psychotic gay lieutenant, the latter a grizzled Pinkerton agent with a somewhat less than spotlessly clean conscience. The tension is built up nicely by director James Mangold as the various clocks tick towards 3:10, a la High Noon, but the overall impact is a little spoiled by the last ten minutes, when Crowe’s previously impeccable ruthless streak gets a miraculous overhaul for no apparent reason. Still, if you’re into the whole horse opera revival, this one is up there on a par with Open Range. **** Michael McGowan