I started out reading The Hardy Boys mysteries, then moved on to Agatha Christie around Grade 6, and around Grade 7 I discovered the Nero Wolfe novels by Rex Stout. I was also reading Ray Bradbury and Star Trek novelizations, and about midway through high school I stumbled upon the Lew Archer novels by Ross Macdonald (real name, Kenneth Millar). Macdonald's work seemed like a real step up from everything else I had been reading, with its emphasis on character, and larger themes, like the environment, and alienated youth.
Would you say your childhood and teenage reading has had a distinct influence on how you write fiction now, and why?
I think Macdonald had the most profound effect on me. His work showed how a mystery could be more than just a mystery, that the form of a crime novel could be used for social commentary.
What did you do before you became a published novelist, and how did you come to write your first novel and get it published?
I spent more than thirty years working in newspapers -- as a reporter, then an editor, and for the last fifteen years, as a columnist -- before becoming a full-time author. I'd had four books of non-fiction published (three humour books, and a memoir) that kind of grew out of my reputation as a columnist, but I had always wanted to write fiction. I'd written two or three novels by my mid-twenties that were not published, thankfully. Back in 2002, I started on the book that would become Bad Move, sent the early chapters to an agent who liked them, and once the book was finished she sold it.
How would you describe your style of fiction or your approach to writing fiction during your first few novels?
My first four novels were more comic. I switched gears with the novel No Time for Goodbye. It was a darker, much less funny novel, with a good hook. That became my breakout book.
Was your first published novel standalone or part of a series, and what advantages or disadvantages did this present for you?
The first four novels, prior to No Time for Goodbye, were a series. Starting a new book in a series is easier, to me, since half the work is done. You have your setting, your characters, established relationships. All you need is another plot. But with standalones, you're starting from scratch every time. But the advantage to to that is, you have no prior constraints. You can do whatever you want. A series does kind of lock you in.
Did you find writing your second novel easier or more challenging than writing your first novel and why?
It was just another book. But after you've had a bestseller, as I did with No Time for Goodbye, you worry some about expectations. The second book faces all sorts of comparisons.
Who is another novelist whose fiction writing you admire and why?
There are so many I hardly know where to begin. I admire Philip Roth's work. He can pack more energy into a single paragraph than most authors can pack into an entire book. A few others I like: George Pelecanos, James Lee Burke, Anna Quindlen, Richard Russo, Lawrence Block, Stephen King, Margaret Laurence. I could go on.
Pick a series of novels you have written. How would you describe what makes that a cohesive series with strong appeal for readers? If you have not written a series of novels, how would you describe what makes one of your favourite series by another novelist a cohesive series with strong appeal for readers?
I think any book, series or non-series, needs a strong narrative drive, and a great hook to draw you in.
How would you summarise one of your novels in one paragraph?
Every once in a while, you read about an entire family that's murdered in their home. What would you do if you lived in the house next door? Would you want to move? Or would you think it was like a lightning strike -- that nothing like that could happen to two houses side by side. In a way, you're safer than you've ever been. And then you find out the killers went to the wrong house.
How would you describe the appeal of this novel to readers?
It gets them where they live.
Author website: www.linwoodbarclay.com
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