"I’d just like to say a big hello to my Swedish fans. Your support is hugely appreciated, and I hope you continue to enjoy my books. I’d love to hear your feedback through the website, and will try to answer any questions you’ve got. Take care and I hope to meet up with you at some point soon."

Simon K

When did you first know that you wanted to become a writer?
I’ve wanted to write for as long as I can remember, and I started producing short stories almost as soon as I could pick up a pen. They weren’t much good, of course, but I just kept going and the stories kept getting longer (and I hope, better). As a kid, I used to say to my mum that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up and she’d tell me not to bother because most writers never made any money. She was right too, but it never stopped me!

Was it hard work getting your first novel published?
What was the process like? Well, it took a long time. I wrote two science fiction books as a teenager before deciding that science fiction wasn’t for me, and then two crime novels in my twenties, both of which were rejected by pretty much every publisher and agent in the UK! I did feel like giving up on more than one occasion, but I think the key is simply to keep persevering and realize that a career in writing requires one hell of a lot of patience. Eventually, I started writing THE BUSINESS OF DYING, but by this time I was well into my thirties, and had a wife, a mortgage, a full-time job and a two-year old daughter, so it wasn’t easy finding time. Three months in, I was still only on page 14 so my dad, who knows absolutely nothing about publishing, said that I should send in the first chapter and a synopsis to publishers and agents, and make out I’d written the whole thing. Which is exactly what I did, and amazingly the first person I sent it to asked to see the manuscript. I had to write like crazy for the next three months to finish the book, and after all that he rejected it. But at least it was finished, and the next agent I sent it to took it on and sold it within weeks. So, although it took a long time to get things moving, when they finally did, they moved fast.

Which authors have influenced you?
I’ve always been a huge fan of American noir fiction so I grew up on Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammettt and James M. Cain. In more recent years, Lawrence Block, the author of the Matt Scudder mysteries, has been a particular influence, as has Dennis Lehane. I thought MYSTIC RIVER was one of the best books I’ve ever read. The best crime novel I’ve ever read, though, was THE PLEDGE by the Swiss playwright, Friedrich Dürrenmatt. It turned every convention of crime fiction on its head, and did it successfully as well. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes their books original.

How do you come up with your murder plots?
They come from all over the place… A conversation in a pub; a fleeting thought as I’m walking along a street; even, in the case of RELENTLESS, a particularly vivid nightmare. Like a lot of writers, I spend much of my life terrified that the ideas will run out, so I always plot one book ahead. I’ve just finished my seventh novel, DEADLINE, and already know the entire plot for number eight, as well as having a very basic idea for number nine which, I’ll flesh out in the next few months. That one came from a nightmare as well.

Can you describe how a plot idea develops when you start out?
I get a germ of an idea, and play around with it a bit for a few weeks, working out a basic beginning, middle and end. I used to start writing a book before I’d got too many details in my head, but that’s changed over the years because I’ve found that if you let plots develop as you write, they can sometimes run way out of control. Now when I’m ready to start a book, I do a chapter by chapter outline about twenty pages long, so I know exactly what’s going to happen, and I tend not to veer from that. It makes the art of writing less spontaneous but it also makes the finished product a lot tighter.

From where did you get the inspiration for the character of Dennis Milne?
A few years ago, I was introduced to a couple of several serving police officers in the Met and was surprised by the extent of their disillusionment with the job. One told me that he’d been offered a chance to make some evidence disappear for a local criminal and had been sorely tempted to do it because, as he put it, ‘If you can’t beat the bastards, you might as well join them.’ It concerned me that these cops, who’d been in the job for many years, could have become so defeatist and susceptible to corruption. It also made me wonder how big a step it would be from making evidence disappear to actually committing murder, and how a cop might justify this to himself, and that’s how I came up with the character of Dennis – a good man whose terrible cynicism had turned him bad, but who still had the vestiges of goodness there somewhere within him. It made him a very interesting person to write about.

What do you consider to be your biggest challenge as a writer?
To keep the ideas flowing, and to avoid my books becoming either boring or repetitious.

How do you do the research for your books?
As time goes by, I tend to research less and less. I have a number of contacts in the police and security services who answer any questions I have, and who check the authenticity of the work. I think, though, that you can over-research. I once wrote a terrorism thriller that I spent months preparing, and I ended up abandoning it because it became bogged down by its realism. Real policework tends to be incredibly mundane, and dominated by endless paperwork. I want my stories to be believable but in the end, I’m in the business of writing fiction, and the most important thing for me is to keep the stories as exciting and enjoyable.

Which Swedish authors have you read? What did you think about their writing?
I’m a big fan of Henning Mankell, and have read everything he’s done. I find his books intriguing and atmospheric. I also like the fact that Wallender is such a miserable character, and yet, as a reader, you can’t help liking him.

What is your favourite indulgence, either wicked or benign?
Travel. And I think in general it’s benign. I love seeing the world, and head to all kinds of exotic places now I have the freedom to move around. In fact, I’m off to Cambodia next week to research a book.

Writers are better liars than other people: true or false? Why or why not?
Yes, I’d go with that, because we spend our lives making things up. It would be a bit depressing if we weren’t. At least people tend to believe us. Unlike politicians.

What would people be surprised to know about you?
That I’m actually quite squeamish, and can’t stand the sight of blood, particularly my own. I have to lie down when I’m given injections, and have come close to fainting on occasion. In that sense, I’m very different than most of my central characters.

Have you ever visited Sweden?
I’ve never been anywhere in Scandinavia, but I’d love the chance to come over. My girlfriend spent time in Stockholm and said it was lovely. So, any invitations gratefully accepted! And I’d just like to say a big hello to my Swedish fans. Your support is hugely appreciated, and I hope you continue to enjoy my books. I’d love to hear your feedback through the website, and will try to answer any questions you’ve got. Take care and I hope to meet up with you at some point soon.

Simon K