Interview with Joseph Finder

The New York Times Best-selling author recently took a couple of minutes of his hectic schedule to do a small interview for Bookie Monster. Let's save the formalities for later, and jump straight into it! ~~~~~~~~~~~ Bookie Monster: "Power Play", your new novel, centers on employees of an aerospace company--was there any particular reason you chose this type of company above any other? Joe Finder: I was fascinated by a business that is so global and so huge, where the stakes are so high, the money is so big, and the products themselves inherently fascinating. The Technology fascinates me: how does a plane stay up in the sky, and what further improvements can be made to that? There is also a kind of "Boy's Club" culture in a lot of these companies. I wanted to set the story in an industry where a female CEO would clash with the entrenched culture. One of those industries is Aerospace. BM: You're beginning the tour for your new novel on the 21st, as a seasoned traveler have you had any bad airport experiences? Joe Finder: Constantly, last night I was delayed for 2 hours in an airport. Given how much I travel for research and promoting books, I am always in airports-- and it's almost always an unpleasant experience. BM: Do you have any favourite thrillers--both on screen and on the page-- and how have they influenced you? Joe Finder: I love thrillers, both in film and in print. I just saw the film version of "The Bourne Ultimatum" and it is unbelievable--it's like the third act of a great book: non-stop action and tension. Other films I love are "In the Line of Fire", "Day of the Jackal" and "Marathon Man". I love "Marathon Man" and "Day of the Jackal" as novels too. Other books that influenced me would include "The Bourne Identity" and Ira Levin's books "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Boys from Brazil". Those are just the ones that jump to mind, given enough time I could name dozens! BM: You have quite an active presence on networking websites like myspace and facebook--how has the internet affected your publicizing? How about your writing itself? Joe Finder: The internet has made it just about unnecessary for me to hire researchers any more, because it is so easy to find information and experts online. On the other hand that bouncing e-mail icon breaks my concentration, so I can't be online when I'm writing. In terms of publicity, the internet is a whole world that remains almost untapped. Newspapers are dying; TV ads for books are ineffectual; radio is becoming increasingly expensive while the number of listeners is dwindling. The internet is pretty much free and it's a great place to introduce people to your books. SO many blogs, so many websites...they're more and more important. BM: You mentioned that Newspapers are dying--but what about books? Publishers are begin to release fewer books each year, instead focusing on titles with big names attached--does this worry you, despite your "Big Name" status? Joe Finder: I think it's worse in the UK than it is here. Objectively, more books are being sold now than 30 or 40 years ago, but fewer people are reading more books. Some people just watch TV, or just go to the movies. It is true, particularly in the UK, that some publishers are focusing on authors who are commodities--but that raises the question: how do you bring in new blood? Far too often the Big Names start to coast, so this is actually a bad business model in the long run. It's not good business and it's not good for creativity. BM: Thank you for your time, Joe. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joe Finder is a best-selling author of thrillers such as "Company Man" and "Killer Instinct"--for more information, visit Joe's website. The exciting new novel, "Power Play" is released on August 21st--a review will be posted in a couple of days.

Interview: Natasha Mostert

Following the review of “Season of the Witch”, the talented Mrs Mostert graciously accepted Bookie Monster’s offer of an interview. Thankfully her friendly attitude made this potentially nerve-wracking experience really enjoyable. The following is the sum of our web-conversation. ~~~ I'm a bit confused Natasha—you said “Season of the Witch” was being filed in the Horror section of several bookshops? What genre would you class it as? That is a good question. My books straddle many genres. Crimesquad.com recently chose me as Author of the Month and those guys usually deal in hardboiled detective stories featuring private investigators and forensic pathologists. But the SF crowd tend to see my work as belonging to their neck of the woods—and it is true that there are fantasy and SF elements in almost all my stories. Every one of my books has a love story at its heart and readers who like a dash of romance seem to find my novels of interest as well. I'd probably class myself simply as a mystery writer. I know you've recently been kissed by Stephen King—what did it feel like, and who else is on your “hit list”? He kissed me on the cheek, the dear man, and I was absolutely thrilled. I felt like a rock star groupie who got noticed! Seriously, he is a master storyteller and his use of language always takes my breath away. I started reading his books when I was a young girl and even after all these years, his writing still captivates me. Next on my hit list—hmm… Let's see. Probably Neil Gaiman, another author who knows how to spin a tale. He has an outsized imagination, a wonderful way with words and great hair! :) What has led you to write about the supernatural, parapsychology etc? If you were to write in a genre other than this one, what would it be? I grew up in Africa, an environment where magic is very much a part of every-day reality. My nanny was a Zulu woman who was training to become an isangoma (witch doctor) and she sharpened my interest in mysticism and the paranormal. She made me aware of all those little things that cannot be readily explained—but that hint at wonderful things hiding behind the dusty curtain of our mundane existence. When I was thirteen, I read an article in a magazine about people receiving phone calls from relatives who were no longer alive. I remember thinking that receiving such a call would frighten me a great deal more than seeing a ghost. Many years later when I sat down to write my first book, I thought this would make a great story...a late night phone call from a beautiful woman who had died mysteriously... If I wrote in a different genre, I would write comedy! I know readers who are familiar with my work would find this difficult to believe because my stories are quite dark and the endings quietly chilling. But I have a very highly developed sense of the absurd. Humour is what keeps us sane. Is that so? What comedies really tickle you then? Do you think TV and Film are more effective vehicles for humour than books? I usually do not enjoy physical comedy that much although I confess to loving Mr. Bean. I enjoy The Office and Everybody Loves Raymond. But humour in prose is what pushes my buttons. The funniest book I've ever read is Auberon Waugh's "Will this Do?" It is shameless and wicked and altogether wonderful. What do you find is the most enjoyable part of the writing experience? Has the writing become any easier since your first book was published? The fun part of writing lies in creating the characters. I know I'll be spending six to eight hours every day in their company so they need to be quirky and interesting! In “Season of the Witch” I very much enjoyed creating my two witches. But it was also a challenging task because they had to stay enigmatic and ultimately unknowable. Much of the suspense in the book lies in identifying who the killer is, so I had to be careful not to reveal too much. As for my hero—well, I tend to fall in love with all my leading men but Gabriel has a special place in my heart. Arrogant, flawed but so sexy... Has writing become easier over time? Yes and no. On the one hand, I now have the experience not to write myself into a corner. On the other, my books are getting more ambitious so the challenges are greater. So do you treat your writing as a “9-5” job, or do you allow yourself a looser routine? I am not a serendipitous writer. For me, it is all about discipline and I write between six and eight hours five days a week. I envy writers who only write when they feel inspired but if I should wait until the muse speaks to me, I'll never get anything done. A number of writers say their characters are based from a certain aspect of themselves—do you think that applies to any of your characters? No, but wouldn't it be nice to be as brilliant, daring and beautiful as my witches? I probably do live vicariously through my characters. Instead of this dull person who stares at her computer screen every day, I get to bungee jump, dabble in witchcraft and pose in the nude... And finally, Natasha, if you had one dish named after yourself, what would it be? Devil's Cake. But that's wishful thinking again. I probably do not rate more than a bland custard flan. ~~~ And with that, it was all over. If you want to find out more about Natasha Mostert or her works, visit her official website, located HERE. If you venture a couple of pages in, you will find the memory game—a highly addictive and well-produced miniature of the Memory Palace. There are prizes to be won, but only until May 31st! So hurry!