I was a big science fiction fan. I would get my pocket money – about 30 pence (50 cents) and go to a used book shop in my town, buy a novel by Asimov or Arthur C Clarke and work my way through all the greats. I then moved on to Tolkien and then discovered ‘out there’ literature such as Herman Hesse, John Fowles and others.
Would you say your childhood and teenage reading has had a distinct influence on how you write fiction now, and why?
Definitely. I think the books you read between the ages of 10 and 20 stay with you more than anything else. In fact, I find it hard to read modern literary fiction nowadays because I have the sense that I’ve read it all before – in those formative years.
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 was a college lecturer in Oxford. Then I wrote 26 non-fiction books, mainly biographies and popular science titles. But I had always wanted to be a novelist and I wrote 6 novels in parallel with the non-fiction. All of these were universally rejected by publishers. Then, with my seventh attempt I struck gold. That was EQUINOX.
How would you describe your style of fiction or your approach to writing fiction during your first few novels?
I’m interested in writing up-market thrillers often with a mystical or occult twist. I think this reflects on the earlier question about the influence of books read as a teenager. I have always been interested in the occult and the history of science, so those things have blended in my mind with conventional thriller writing.
How would you describe your style of fiction or your approach to writing fiction now?
I don’t think it has changed that much. My latest book is THE RETURNING which is due to be published in 2012. It is less gory and violent than books like EQUINOX. It is perhaps more literary than my earlier books, but hopefully still fast paced and exciting.
Was your first published novel standalone or part of a series, and what advantages or disadvantages did this present for you?
EQUINOX was a standalone as was my second novel THE MEDICI SECRET. I then wrote two connected books THE BORGIA RING and THE ART OF MURDER which were set in East London and had the same cast of main characters. I also wrote a trilogy of fast paced thrillers under the pseudonym Sam Fisher. This was the E-Force series.
At first it felt strange writing a sequel, but I grew to really enjoy it, especially the Michael White books set in London. There are advantages and disadvantages in writing sequels. It’s nice to develop characters over a longer stretch than a single book. The disadvantage is that you have to give enough explanation of past books to the reader who has not read them, without boring readers who have been following your series.
Did you find writing your second novel easier or more challenging than writing your first novel and why?
I found writing the second novel THE MEDICI SECRET considerably harder than writing my first, EQUINOX but only because there was such a weight of expectation on me to deliver a book that would be at least as successful. I actually really enjoyed writing TMS and it took shape pretty easily. I also enjoyed the research for it.
Who is another novelist whose fiction writing you admire and why?
I really like the British thriller writer, Robert Harris. He writes such a great variety of novels – Fatherland, Pompeii, Enigma. His most famous is probably The Ghost which was a movie recently. This is actually his weakest book, I think.
I also like Michael Dobbs’ set of novels about WWII and Churchill.
In terms of greats from the past. I still like Asimov and Clarke. I still love Tolkien, but there is a special place in my heart for Hemingway, Henry Miller and Herman Hesse, as well as Dickens and some Shakespeare.
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?
My series of high adventure novels in the E-Force series is a trilogy STATE OF EMERGENCY, AFTERSHOCK and NANO. They are centred around a team of talented individuals who are part of a rescue organization…E-FORCE. They use technology that is about 20 years ahead of the present time such as Mach 10 jets and cybersuits. The books were great fun to write and what holds them together is the sense of purpose of the team and the interaction of the characters. The books also include some really bad baddies!
How would you summarise one of your novels in one paragraph?
I’ll tell you about the one I’m working on. It is taking the premise …what if reincarnation was real? It’s about a science writer who is a skeptic and is regressed to his last life under hypnosis when he was a press officer for Kennedy. He ‘wakes up’ on 22nd November 1963 and is there when Kennedy is shot. Because he is an insider, he accidentally learns who was behind the assassination. So, when he ‘comes round’ to the present day, he knows the big secret!
How would you describe the appeal of this novel to readers?
Hopefully it will have all the elements in it that make it appealing to a wide audience – the occult, the Kennedy mystery. etc. It also has a lot to do with soul mates and eternal romance. Although few people believe in reincarnation (I’m a skeptic myself), I think everyone would like it to be true.
How would you summarise a chapter from this novel in one paragraph?
That’s a tough one. There is a cool car chase in the middle of the book when the regressed character in 1963 accidentally learns who murdered Kennedy and is himself exposed. He flees for his life and is chased across Washington by the CIA.
How would you describe the contribution this chapter makes to the novel?
It is a key scene because it ends with something quite unexpected but this is integral to the whole reincarnation aspect of the story and leads the main character onto a path a long way from the one he was originally following.
Author website: www.michaelwhite.com.au
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