The Roving Eye is back! And today's interview is with crime author James Oswald. After self publishing his first two DI McLean novels, Natural Causes and The Book of Souls, James has gone on to become one of the UK's most celebrated new crime writers, being described as, 'Crime Fictions Next Big Thing' and 'The New Ian Rankin'. The fourth in the DI McLean series, Dead Men's Bones, is out later this year.
1 - When did you first realise that you wanted to write for a living?
I’ve been telling tall tales since about the time I learned to speak,
but I probably started thinking about it as a possible career in the
early nineties. I was kicking around Aberdeen looking for a job after
graduating from the university there. I’ve been a huge fan of comics
since I could first read, and I remember going to a talk by Mark Millar
and Grant Morrison in the Central Library. Someone asked a question
about how you got started writing comics, and Mark said he’d just sent
some scripts to 2000AD, one a day, until they gave in an published some.
I went home and started writing Tharg’s Future Shock ideas, sending
them off and getting lots of rejections. By the end of that year though,
I’d had one published. I thought it would be a great way to make a
living, but it’s taken me twenty years to get to the point where I could
give up the day job. Ironically, I now have a day job I couldn’t easily
give up even if I wanted to!2 - What made you chose crime fiction?
Again whilst in Aberdeen, I
got involved in a fanzine called From the Sublime… (that ellipsis is
very important), which was all about fantasy, sf, RPGs, Manga, Anime and
anything slightly weird. I met a young artist there by the name of
Stuart MacBride. We collaborated on some stories and became good
friends. We kept in touch when I moved away from Aberdeen, exchanging
manuscripts and giving each other critiques. We both wrote fantasy in
various guises at the time, then Stuart wrote Cold Granite, the first of
the Logan McRae books. He passed on the advice that had been given to
him - to stop writing fantasy and try a contemporary crime thriller.
I
had a character - Tony McLean - who had first appeared in a supporting
role in one of my early (unpublished) submissions to 2000AD, and again
in a collaboration with Stuart. He was an Edinburgh based detective who
had the unfortunate ability to see the weird stuff going on in the
background that no one else could see. Because I’m inherently lazy, I’d
used him in a couple of unpublished contemporary urban fantasy novels as
well, and thought it was perhaps time to promote him to a starring
role.
At
that point, I knew very little about crime fiction. I’d read most of
Ian Rankin’s books because my dad was a fan and I could nick them when
he’d finished them. I’d read all of Stuart’s books, often several times
as they went through various drafts. I’d also read RD Wingfield’s Frost
books, and remembered reading Agatha Christie when I was young, The
Hardy Boys when I was even younger. That formed the basis of my first
attempt at writing crime fiction, which was a series of six short
stories based around DI McLean. The fourth of these, Natural Causes, I
extended into a novel of the same name.
3 - What crime novel would you most like to have written?
I’m really not sure I’d like to have written anyone else’s book. It’s hard enough writing my own.
4 - Who is your favourite author outside of crime fiction
and why?
So many writers and you want
just one? Oh, all right then. Terry Pratchett. He has such a splendidly
sideways view of the world and is probably one of our greatest living
satirists. There’s not many authors make me laugh out loud from time to
time, but he’s one.
My big breakthrough came from
self publishing my first two crime novels as ebooks, so I am of course
in favour of them. On the other hand, I couldn’t wait to sign with a
professional publisher. Self publishing properly takes an enormous
amount of time and effort, which detracts from the writing. I always
wanted to be a writer, not a publisher, editor, designer, web-monkey and
marketer. That said, my books failed to find a publisher for a very
long time as they were just a little too far from the established norm
for either fantasy or crime. Self publishing allowed me to prove that
there was an audience for that kind of story, and I am enormously
grateful to Amazon and all the others for the opportunity they gave me.
Interestingly,
I find his books much easier to listen to as audiobooks these days. I’m
not sure if that’s because he dictates them, or just that Stephen
Briggs is a brilliant narrator. The structure of his books - no
chapters, just lots and lots of sections stitched seamlessly together -
means that to really get the story you need to read the whole thing in a
sitting. Alas, I just don’t have the time for that kind of indulgence
these days.
5 - Who are you reading right now?
Craig Robertson’s new book, Last Refuge, set in the Faeroe Islands. I
was sent a proof copy - it’s not out yet. It’s shaping up very well
indeed. A nice murder mystery with a brilliantly realised setting and
deftly painted characters.
6 - If you weren’t a writer, what else could you see
yourself doing?
Well, in addition to the writing, I also run a livestock farm. So I guess that would be my other choice.
7 – What was the last great book that you read?
The Copper Promise by Jen Williams. It’s an old school fantasy - lots of
adventure, lots of action, swords, magic and a dragon. Jen and I share
an agent, and again I read this as an advance proof copy, but it’s still
a wonderful book. It reminded me of the fantasy books I loved when I
was young, and why I wanted to start writing in the first place.
8 - How do you feel about ebooks vs. print books and
alternative vs. conventional publishing?
My big breakthrough came from
self publishing my first two crime novels as ebooks, so I am of course
in favour of them. On the other hand, I couldn’t wait to sign with a
professional publisher. Self publishing properly takes an enormous
amount of time and effort, which detracts from the writing. I always
wanted to be a writer, not a publisher, editor, designer, web-monkey and
marketer. That said, my books failed to find a publisher for a very
long time as they were just a little too far from the established norm
for either fantasy or crime. Self publishing allowed me to prove that
there was an audience for that kind of story, and I am enormously
grateful to Amazon and all the others for the opportunity they gave me.
You
pose the question as this vs. that, but I really don’t see it that way.
Ebooks won’t destroy print, but what they have done is made reading
easier for a great many people. Self publishing has allowed niche
interests to be catered for (sometimes rather unhealthily), and gives
writers another means for their work to reach an audience beyond
immediate friends and family. Yes, there is a lot of rubbish out there
(some of it mine, no doubt), but the net effect is more books being
read, which as a writer I have to say is a very good thing.
9 - What five words best describe your average day?
Feed cows, feed sheep, write.
10 - Sum up your latest novel in less than 20 words.
Investigating a series of seemingly unrelated hangings, DI McLean finds the truth too close to home for comfort.
