This is aninterview that originally appeared on Ruth Jaco...
This is aninterview that originally appeared on Ruth Jacobs great web site ‘In the Booth with Ruth’, which is here: http://ruthjacobs.co.uk/2013/07/08/howard-linskey-interview/
What’s yourwriting background? When did you begin writing and what inspired you?
I started writingyears ago for a very popular Newcastle United fanzine ‘The Mag’. That was thefirst time I saw my name in print and it gave me the confidence to go on andbecome a journalist working for regional newspapers. I’ve written all sorts ofthings over the years, for web sites, magazines and newspapers but I was alsowriting fiction as well. Like most writers, I got plenty of rejection lettersbut they were nice ones. They usually told me my stuff was good and that wasenough to keep me going. Obviously I read books but I think I am even moreinspired by films if I’m honest. My first book ‘The Drop’ has been compared to‘The Long Good Friday’ and ‘Get Carter’, which I am pretty chuffed about, as Ilove both of those classic Brit ganster flicks.
How often do youwrite? And how do you manage to fit in writing among other commitments?
I try to writeevery day but it doesn’t always work out that way, as life gets in the way. Beforejacking in the day job, I could only write in the evenings and at weekends,which put a lot of pressure on me. There were points during the writing of my lasttwo books where I did feel absolutely knackered but I managed to keep goingsomehow. It wasn’t easy though and I had to be pretty disciplined. I hatewasting time, as I still don’t have much of it. I look after my daughter, whichis wonderful but it shortens my working day, as you can’t really write once aseven year old comes home from school. I never watch soap operas or reality TVor much TV at all in fact. I moved house a few weeks ago and still haven’trigged up the TV but I haven’t missed it. I try and ration myself to an hour aday with a DVD box set. Perhaps unsurprisingly I like something that has a bitof quality writing in it, like ‘The Killing’, ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Borgen’ or ‘BoardwalkEmpire’. I’m currently watching ‘Spiral’ the gritty French cop series, which isvery good.
In which genre doyou most enjoy writing?
I’m not too hungup on genre but I have no problem being described as a crime writer or referredto as an author of thrillers, though it doesn’t worry me to write outside thosegenres either. I have written a historical story set in World War Two, which Iam in the process of editing, so you might see that published at some point inthe future hopefully. I grew up reading John Le Carre, Len Deighton, JackHiggins and Frederick Forsyth so I’ve always enjoyed WW2 and Cold Warthrillers. I’m currently reading Peter Guttridge’s ‘The Thing Itself’, whichhas sections set in WW1, WW2 and the present day and I’m loving it so far.
What draws you towrite in that genre?
I’m led by thestory not the genre, so I came up with the idea of ‘The Drop’ then realised itwas a crime story. I enjoy writing crime because it gives you the opportunityto place your characters in pretty extreme, stressful situations involvingdeath or injury, imprisonment or betrayal and it brings emotion to a story whenso much is at risk for the characters.
Can you tell me about your current project(s)?
Now that mytrilogy of Newcastle gangster stories is complete, I’m giving David Blake andhis crew some time off. My new book is acrime story but this one has some different characters. I am tackling a bookabout a journalist who returns to his home to investigate the disappearance ofa missing girl. As usual with my books, itis more complex than that though, with several different story lines allhappening at once, over two time periods. Somehow I never seem to keep itsimple but I enjoy writing books that have a lot going on in them.
What are yourwriting plans for the future?
I don’t look toofar ahead but I want to keep on writing books for as long as people are keen toread them. I’ve been lucky so far. ‘The Drop’, ‘The Damage’ and ‘The Dead’ haveall been well received. I am published in the UK and Germany and the DavidBlake books will hit America in the autumn…or should that be ‘the fall’? Thebooks have been optioned for TV too, so I just want to build on all of that andkeep going.
No comments have been added yet.
