Interview Sept 2018 #2

Getting to know the character interview questions

Can you describe your character?

No, not really. Other than a vague – tallish with dark hair – I’ve pretty well left my protagonist open to the readers’ imagination. If they want to overlay a beard or an Action Man scar or sharp, curly horns, that’s up to them. I don’t mind.

What is their job role and where do they work?

DI Will Harlan, as you would expect, works in a police station. I did want to give him a second job like working in a joke shop or hosting Tupperware parties, but he never seems to find the spare time.

Where did the original idea of them come about?

The original idea was the novel, Heart Swarm. The character was then moulded to fit the part required for the story. He had to be a certain type of person with a certain background history. I had quite a few jobless book characters turn up for the interviews. Most were quite obviously cast-offs from Rom-Coms and Sci-Fi dramas (the space helmets were a dead-giveaway). But Will Harlan was the real deal and was hired forthwith.

What makes them original?

Harlan’s only claim to originality is that he’s a permanent lodger in Cathedral House, a small boutique hotel with a view of Glasgow Cathedral out one window and the City Necropolis out the other. After his wife kicked him out he was too lazy to go flat-hunting.

What makes them tick?

Harlan was once a high-flier who crashed and burned in a very public manner. It took five years before a chance of redemption came along. He’s still resentful and angry over his years in the wilderness and always looking over his shoulder expecting another ambush. I keep meaning to send him along to Mindfulness classes or maybe Yoga to calm him down and provide a better work/life balance.

What is their biggest fear?

Having his creator speak so candidly about him on-line. He’ll probably have his lawyer send me a stiff letter of complaint. Naturally, I’ll kill off the lawyer in a Safari park shooting accident. Whoever had the bad idea to give the monkeys RPGs to play with is going to be looking for a new job soon.

If you and your character met in real life, do you think you’d get on?

Probably not. He’d drink all my gin and I’d already know everything he has to say. Worse, I’d know exactly where that suspicious stain on his trousers came from.

Who would you like to see play them if your books were made into a

film or TV show?

I was thinking Kit Harrington, but with my luck I’d end up with Johnny Vegas.

How many books do you have in the series so far?

Two. Heart Swarm and Wasp Latitudes. A third book, Nightingale Static, is currently being worked on.

What’s in store for them next?

Death and dismemberment unless Harlan calls off that new lawyer he’s pestering me with.