James Bond, Ignatius O’Reilly, Danny Torrance, Clarice Starling, Agaton Sax, Thomas ‘Babe’ Levy.
Where and how do you write? Do you have any unconventional habits?
At the moment I’m lucky enough to have my own study. This might change as my three boys grow ever bigger. Sometimes I’ll nip out to the coffee shop in the village if I have to get a chunk of work done fast (fewer distractions). I have to wash my hands before I sit down to write (some would say I really ought to be washing them afterwards too, if not during). And I like to listen to lyricless music (so classical, jazz, soundtracks, ambient). I like to write longhand with a nice fountain pen containing some funky ink colour, or directly into a dedicated writing application (Scrivener and Ulysses are current favourites).
Do you prefer print or e-books?
Print. I own a Kindle because I thought it would be handy to carry lots of books away with me on holiday, but I almost never use it. I prefer the heft and texture of a block of paper between my fingers.
What is the most beautiful book you own?
There’s a limited edition of Clive Barker’s Weaveworld from Earthling Publications, which is rather beautiful. And an illustrated edition of Nineteen Eighty-Four I’m fond of. But I think the book that means the most to me is a copy of Treasure Island (Paul Hamlyn, 1967) with a gorgeous deep green cover. It contains some hair-raising illustrations by Josef Hochman. My dad gave it to me for my second birthday. It’s getting a bit tatty now, but it’s the one book I own that constantly turns my head.
How many Joel Sorrell books will there be and are you writing any other books?
I’d love to write many more Joel novels. I always wanted to create a series character, and I think he has legs, although part of me wants to do something unspeakably cruel to him in Hell is Empty, which will be the third book in the series. I’m also working on a ghost story set in France, informed by events that took place in 1944. It’s kind of The Shining meets Eye of the Needle.
Can you give us the one-line pitch for the next Joel Sorrell novel, Sonata of the Dead?
Members of a secretive militant writers group are being murdered and Joel Sorrell must infiltrate it to find out why when he discovers that his daughter is involved in their activities and next on the killer’s list.
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