Malice On The Moors
Page 18
Q: When you introduced Erskine Powell in Malice in the Highlands, did you envision a series? Or was Highlands originally a stand-alone novel?
A: I always envisioned a series. There are the practical considerations, of course, but from a creative point of view, much of the enjoyment I derive from writing mysteries is the opportunity to continually develop and reveal my hero's character, to test him in new situations. You can't do this in a one-off novel. Also, I think most mystery readers appreciate continuity. It's like cheering on the home team—although every game is different, the star player never lets you down.
Q: Clearly you are not (and never have been, have you?) a Scotland Yard detective; but that aside, how much of Erskine Powell is based on your own experience? Or to ask another way: In what ways is your protagonist similar to—and completely unlike—his creator?
A: Short of signing up for a course of psychoanalysis, I'm not sure how I should answer that! Powell is better-educated, better-looking, and more intuitive than I am. However, like his creator, he is, beneath a somewhat cynical veneer, a romantic at heart. More revealing, perhaps, is the fact that we're both addicted to curry.
Q: What about background research—how vital is that for you?
A: Getting the details right is very important to me. Put it down to my scientific training. Having said that, I am willing to sacrifice verisimilitude, where necessary, to further the story. An example: In my books, Powell is a member of the Yard's Murder Squad, an organization which no longer exists. At one time, senior Scotland Yard detectives were called in by local police forces to investigate difficult or high-profile murder cases, but this is no longer the case. It is, nonetheless, a useful fictional device which enables me to set my stories in a variety of interesting and atmospheric locales such as the Scottish Highlands, the north coast of Cornwall, and the North York Moors. I typically spend more time doing background research for a book and thinking about the story in a fairly unstructured way than actually writing.
Q: Your novels unfold in actual locales, although you sometimes invent town names. What advantages and disadvantages have you discovered with this approach?
A: A vivid sense of place and setting is (I hope) a key element of my novels. In order to strike a balance between realism and literary license, I generally set my stories in a fictional village, which I locate—using plausible, but not overly precise, geographic reference points—near a real town. For example, Malice in Cornwall features the imaginary village of Penrick near St. Ives. Similarly, Malice on the Moors is set in and around the fictional hamlet of Brackendale, near the town of Kirkbymoorside in North Yorkshire. This approach enables me to realistically describe an actual locale yet allows me to take liberties for plot purposes. And I don't have to worry about somebody who was born and raised in my village taking me to task for getting some detail wrong. The disadvantage? The risk of not pulling if off.
Q: You chose a pseudonym for your novels. What was the thinking behind that?
A: Being a writer with a day job, I basically have a split personality. A pseudonym seemed the logical expression of this. And it has the added advantage of insulating one from excessive public adulation or derision. (I like to hedge my bets!)
Q: What's the game plan for you—and Erskine Powell—after Malice on the Moors?
A: Erskine and I have a number of ideas, including a story set in London and perhaps a trip to America.
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An Ivy Book
Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group
Copyright © 1999 by Gordon Kosakoski
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Ivy Books and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
www.randomhouse.com/BB/
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-94294
eISBN: 978-0-307-55774-2
v3.0
Table of Contents
Cover
Praise for the Erskine Powell
Other Books By This Author
Title Page
Acknowledgments
As the flood begins,Out of
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
A CONVERSATION WITHGRAHAM THOMAS
Copyright