Ane Riel questioned

Ane Riel was born on September 26, 1971 in Aarhus. Her father is a lawyer and her mother, Mette Brahm Lauritsen, is a children's book writer and illustrator. She graduated from Marselisborg Gymnasium in 1990 and started studying art history at Aarhus University the following year. In addition to her studies in Aarhus, she developed a great interest in jazz and was often found at the local jazz club Jazzbar Bent J.  In 1996 she moved to Copenhagen with the ambition to study illustration at the Danish Design School.  Instead, she worked at the Storm P. Museum, dedicated to the life and work of Robert Storm Petersen (1882-1949), a Danish artist known for his comics and satirical works. Storm P. also provided the subject for Riel's third children's book. When Riel did not write children's books, she pursued her love of music: going to as many concerts as possible, immersing herself in the Copenhagen jazz scene, joining the board of The Ben Webster Foundation and traveling with her husband Alex Riel, one of the most important and influential jazz drummers in Europe. 

Her book Hars (in Dutch! Harpik/Resin) was published last year, which many readers call impressive and oppressive. She answered our questions.

1. At a certain moment you made the leap from educational and children's books to adult fiction. Why did you make that transition and how did you like it?

Initially it felt very natural to me to work with children's books since I grew up with a mother who is a childrens' book illustrator. In fact I never even thought about writing fiction for adults untill it happened – almost by coincidence – when I was around 40. A friend persuaded me to write a short story for at competition, and so I did that. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, you could say I felt more free writing for adults since I didn't have to consider reading level, age and so on. Then someone suggested that I wrote a fiction novel and I thought: Well, why not!

I started on the novel right away without having a clue what I was doing and how the story would turn out. I simply improvised my way through, getting ideas and researching as I went along. I had so much fun doing it!

 

2. Where do you get your inspiration?

From everywhere really. I love to spend time in our local wood, it's very inspiring for me to be around trees. It was out there I got the idea of letting resin play a part in Resin. I also like to observe other people, their body language, voices, interactions etc. I get a lot of ideas for characters that way. Or I may stumble across an interesting article that makes me curious about something. My third novel Beast (that will be published as Beest in The Netherlands soon) was inspired by an article I read about a German boy who was born extraordinarily muscular in 2004.

As for Resin the idea for that book came to me in a very peculiar way, almost like in a dream: This little girl's voice popped up in my head one night while I was trying to fall asleep. She talked about how her father had killed her grandmother and how he kept a lot of stuff in their house etc. I got up at wrote down a couple of pages in the middle of the night. Then when I looked at it the next morning I realised that this would be the intro for my next book. I had never planned on writing a story about hoarding or anything like that. The idea really just came out of nowhere!

3. Resin wasn't published as thriler but won many specific awards for thrillers. How surprised were you when you won your first award?

It was surreal. The thing was that my debut novel, The Butcher of Liseleje, had won an award for best crime novel debut. That came as quite a surprise since it was written and published as a fiction novel! Then I wrote my second novel, Resin, which I never considered a crime novel/thriller either. Actually I thought of it as been even further away from the genre than the first one. That one too was published as a fiction novel (or literary fiction) in Denmark.

So as you can imagine I could hardly believe it when Resin won the award for best Danish crime novel of the year, soon followed by the Glass Key etc. Because of these awards Resin has been labelled as a 'thriller' in some countries, but in Denmark it's still called a fiction novel like it was intended to be.

4. You can have a discussion about whether or not a book is a thriller, but by the description of your book, it looks like it needs a different genre. What genre did you think you should get abroad? What is a thriller for you?

I've always felt it's a mistake to label Resin as a thriller (although I understand why some publishers choose to do that). It's all about expectations. I'd rather that you are surprised by the element of suspense in a fiction novel than disappointed that the story doesn't live up to your ideas of what a thriller or crime novel is. Luckily it's turned out that there are thriller readers out there that like Resin for whatever it is, and I'm very grateful for that. :) But still!

I guess I would prefer the book to be called a fiction novel or literary fiction since that is a broad definition that doesn't exclude an element of suspense or even murder for that matter. But it doesn't require it either!

If you call a book a 'thriller' I think anyone are in their right to expect a strong element of suspense in it. Also you may expect at focus on the plot which was really not my main focus in Resin. I was focusing on understanding and depicting these characters and their struggles, not least their inner struggles. And well, then it somehow got a bit suspenseful, lol. But that part was more like an extra spice that added itself to the story along the way.

I don't know, maybe we need a definition of books that are somewhere in between literary fiction and the thriller/crime genre. Or maybe we just need to get rid of that constant labelling. It may be a helpful guide sometimes but it's also very limiting. I often hear people claiming that they "only read crime novels" and others claiming that "they never read crime novels". I bet that both parties miss out on a lot of great books and that's really sad.

5. In our reader group for thrillers, your book is praised every time for its exceptionally intense story. How did it feel for you to write such a story?

That's nice to hear, thanks! It felt very intense to write it. It's essential to me that I sympathize with my characters, no matter how they act. And so I try to put myself in their place, you could even say I try to "become" them and feel what they are feeling. I'm not exactly a 'hoarder' myself ... or a man for that matter ... or a murderer (yet), so to depict a complicated character like Jens Haarder as sympathetic and credible as possible was quite a challenge. Sometimes I pushed myself to the limit, and even beyond it, writing specific scenes that I felt very uncomfortable with. There are parts that I wrote with tears in my eyes. But I've also giggled and even laughed out loud several times. I'm aware, though, that not everybody pick up the humour in there.

6. You probably did the necessary research for your books. What is the oddest you've ever searched or found for your books?

That's hard to say. There's been so much and you only use a fraction of all the research you do. With Resin I researched a lot on 'hoarding' and that led me to some weird examples from the real world. Take the famed Collyer brothers in New York, their (true) hoarding story is insane! I also watched a documentary about a British family planning the mummification of their terminally ill husband/father a few years back. Eventually he died and they actually mummified him. Sounds horrible but in a way it was a beautiful story about holding on to your loved ones. And letting go.

7. After writing a book with so many awards, how do you start writing a new book? Does it provide you extra pressure, or are you able to move that aside while writing?

I did take a while for me to start on the third one (Beast) because so much kept happening with Resin. And yes, expectations to your next book certainly feels like pressure while at the same time you're so grateful people trust in you. You really don't want to disappoint anyone, but you also know that you need to forget about that. It's a very complex thing.

Anyway, I eventually wrote a very different kind of book. When something is a succes you may be tempted to try to "copy" that, but copying a succes rarely goes well so I wanted to try out something else. Also, I'm still new in this field and I need to develop my writing skills by challenging myself with different formats etc. I like the idea that you can 'recognize' the author in the writing, but at the same time I wouldn't like to be labelled as someone who writes certain stories in a certain way within a specific genre. That thought makes me claustrophobic! That's also very much why I reject to the thriller/crime writer label.

It certainly would be a huge mistake to label Beast as a thriller as it's nowhere near that (although someone gets killed ... quite a few really!). It's more of an epic novel, partly inspired by the muscular German boy I mentioned earlier and partly by John Steinbeck's authorship. Like Resin it's been translated into Dutch by the brilliant Kor de Vries.

I've just started writing my fouth novel, and again I looks like it's going to be different from the other three.

8. Your book appeared in more than twenty countries. Do you have copies of them all and which one do you find the most exceptional?

Yes, it's been sold to 26 countries but hasn't yet been published in all of them. I probably have 12 of them so far. The covers are very different, and you wouldn't think it was the same book if you compare them. The most exceptional is probaly the Korean one because it's so simple and poetic. It looks like crumbled white paper with only a few Korean signs on it. It's really beautiful.

9. Are you a collector of certain objects, without being as obsessive as in your book?

No, I'm not collecting anything in particular. I like to be surrounded by books, art, nice furniture and so on. But I prefer to keep it tidy. In fact I wouldn't survive an hour in Jens Haarder's home, so it really was a challenge to write that book, lol.

10. How does a typical writing day look for you?

It depends on where I am in the writing process and how much office work I have to do. But usually I get up quite early and do my morning work-out. I also take time to read literature while I have my breakfast. It's very motivating to start your day like that with food for body and soul. If there's time for a walk sometime during the day that is just perfect. I prefer to write/do research in the morning and early afternoon and push office work for later if possible. Of course sometimes I spend the evening and night working, especially up to a deadline – or if I'm in a productive writing flow and just can't stop!

11. I understood that you live together with a famous drummer. Can you write while he practices?

Haha, it may sound strange but we have a very silent home in spite of the fact that we have two drum sets in the living room and we both love music. Alex has been a pro for more than 60 years and he rarely has to practise so that's really no problem.

12. What do you love to do the most when you're not writing?

Reading of course. And spending time in the wood. Or with friends. Preferably in a bar! Other than that I've been a passionate jazz fan for 30 years so I go to concerts every now and then.

13. Which books of other authors are in your favorite's list and would you recommend to us?

My all time favourite book is the incredibly charming My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. Other favourites would be: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. East of Eden by John Steinbeck. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Seven Gothic Tales by Karen Blixen. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. Crime and Punishment by Fjodor Dostojevskij ... well, the list goes on and on.  

14. Finally: you studied art history once and worked in a museum. Did you ever regret never finishing those studies? What artist - and his work - should we look up?

No regrets. But I'm happy I studied because that was how I got to publish my first educational book.

What artist should you look up? Well, I adore Rembrandt but I guess you know him already! :D If you want to check out a contemporary Danish artist who is known for his really grotesque works you should look up Michael Kvium. I must warn you, for most of his paintings are extremely morbid – and rarely pretty in the traditional sense – but they also contain a lot of symbolism, wisdom and humour. I'm quite fascinated by that!

For other news:

http://aneriel.dk/

All photocredits to Laerke Posselt

Ilaria Tuti questioned

The writer of (in Dutch) Kind 39 was questioned by us

Hi! I am so glad to be with you Thrillerlezers!

*Who is Ilaria Tuti? Which five words will described you best and why?
I was born in a little village in the northeast of Italy, near Austria and Slovenia. I still live there with my husband Paolo, our two-year-old daughter Jasmine and two dogs. Since I was a child, I loved spending my spare time close to nature and these feelings and memories are present in the stories that I write.
I have a degree in economics and I manage public procurements for a private company. I like reading, writing, painting, cooking. I also like photography. The five words:
Private (I don’ speak very much about me)
Arachnophobe (I am trying to overcome the problem, with poor results)
Tsundoku (a Japanese word: I buy books compulsively, more than I can ever read)
Quiet (I love the silence, the primordial symphony of nature, smooth atmospheres)
Creative (I am always thinking about something new to invent)


*How did you come up with the plot of this first book?
The settings are my mountains, frozen and mysterious, and yet full of life.
My land is very important to me, with its millennial history, intact nature, the arcane charm of pre-Christian traditions and its powerful suggestions. The sense of belonging that I feel is very strong.
 My mountains are the true beating heart of the book. While I was writing, I felt the need to convey the emotions that these places arouse to me. Words were not enough; the descriptions could not end with a dot at the end of the sentence: they had to create an echo in the reader. That is why I tried to write a sensory novel: I used shadows and lights, smells, the sensation of heat and frost on the skin, colours, the primitive melody of the forest, the heat of the burrows, the breaths of the animals in the night...
For the description of the killer – a mind unknown to the criminal psychology manuals – I took inspiration from a real fact (a psychological research).
Teresa Battaglia is an unusual protagonist for a thriller – a Police Inspector in her sixties, suffering from diabetes and facing a potentially devastating new diagnosis. She appeared in my mind three years ago: slightly tetchy but compassionate, struggling with being overweight, she is a woman with wonderful maternal and protective instincts, though she has never been a mother herself. She is so good in her job because she is a rational being, but she knows when to let her heart guide her. The real inspiration behind Teresa Battaglia’s character is the strength of ordinary women who have made an armour out of their own insecurities and who have transformed difficult circustamces into a hymn to life. This novel is also dedicated to the many women who wake up more tired every passing day, and who battle solitude and illness: may they never cease to love themselves.



*What character in the book has most of you in it?
Teresa, beyond her temperament, is the kind of person that I would always want to be: straight, compassionate, with great integrity.

*Kind39 is your first book and is sold to several countries: how are your feelings about that?
I feel immense gratitude towards all the people who made it possible. I feel I have a great responsibility towards the readers who loved this novel, the booksellers, the bloggers, and the journalists who believed in its potential. I want to give them only my very best story.


*Do you have a writing-routine or any writing rituals, and if so, what are they?
I love collecting diaries. I buy them in every trip that I make, every time I go into a bookstore. So they are my writing-routine: when I get ready to write a new story, I choose the diary that I feel most suitable for those atmospheres. I write the date, maybe a title that I have in mind, and start writing the first notes.


* What was the soundtrack while you were writing? Are your listening to music while writing?
I love the contemporary composers of soundtracks: Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, and Steve Jablonsky. I listened to their music while I was writing Kind 39.

Hans Zimmer You tube


*Do you plot out your book from start to finish and then write it down or let you your characters lead the story and see where they take you?
I plot it out chapter by chapter, from start to the end: I need to write down every idea, excerpts of dialogues, situations, atmospheres… Then, when the plot is ready, I can finally dedicate myself to real writing, without having to worry about anything other than the pure pleasure of playing with words.

*What can distract you from writing?
Actually, my daughter is a great distraction!

*What kind of books do you like to read yourself?
I read very different genres, fiction and non-fiction. I love Primo Levi, Umberto Eco, Stephen King, above all. Then Raymond Carver, Michela  Murgia, Joe R. Lansdale, Gillian Flynn, Jo Nesbø, Camilla Läckberg  and so many others... I am a very curious person, I like studying history, psychology, anthropology. Now, for example, I am reading a book about the Lombard goldsmith art and its connections with pagan religion.
I love criminal psychology and profiling because they throw light on the depths of human mind. They make us understand that the line between good and evil is not as clear as we like to think. Monsters do not exist: serial killers are human beings, just like us, and most of the times they were abused children.


*When did you discover you wanted to be a writer?
It was a slow path: first, I started painting, when I was a little child that could barely hold a brush. Then, when I was a teenager, I became passionate about photography. As an adult, I realized that they were mediate and mysterious ways to tell stories. The portraits were characters, the landscapes were settings of the stories that I was telling in my mind. At that point, starting to write was natural.

*Can you name some books we have to read?

If this is a man – Primo Levi
Salem’s lot – Stephen King
The name of the rose – Umberto Eco
Gone girl – Gillian Flynn
Bloody January – Alan Parks

Cathedral – Raymond Carver
Accabadora – Michela Murgia
Phantoms – Dean Koontz
…


*Are you already working on a new book?
Of course! I have so many stories to tell.

*Can you shed some light already?
My second novel with Teresa Battaglia will be released in Italy in May 2019. The title is Sleeping Nymph. Also this novel is set in my land. The season will be different: a lush spring, full of symbolism. It speaks about a little-known valley with an extraordinary history, a mysterious painting and a love story that spans the decades and survives death. Actually, it survives more than a death.

Thank you very much! It was a pleasure.

Ilaria

C.J. Tudor questioned

C Mariel Kolmschot

C.J. Tudor is one of mine favourite authors at this moment and what a surprise that we may asked some questions. 

She was born in Salisbury and grew up in Nottingham, where she still lives with her partner and young daughter.
She left school at sixteen and has had a variety of jobs over the years, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, shop assistant, ad agency copywriter and voiceover 


While writing the Chalk Man she ran a dog-walking business, walking over twenty dogs a week as well as looking after her little girl. 

*********************************************

*Who is C.J. Tudor? Which five words will described you best and why?

Daft. Honest. Realistic. Disturbingly cheery.

I don’t take myself seriously. I hope for the best and plan for the worst. I hate negativity. If you are always thinking about what you don’t have you’ll never appreciate what you’ve got. The most important thing in life is to be kind.

*How did you come up with the plot of this first book?

A friend gave my little girl a tub of coloured chalks for her second birthday. We spent the afternoon drawing stick figures all over the driveway. Then we went inside and forgot about them. Later that night, I opened the back door and was confronted by these weird chalk drawings everywhere. In the darkness, they looked incredibly sinister. I called out to my partner: ‘These chalk men look really creepy in the dark. . .’

*What character in the book has most of you in it? Chloe?

Actually, probably Ed. I share his dark sense of humour and I’m a little odd myself – although I share more of Chloe’s dress sense . . . and taste in music!

*The Chalkman is your first book and is sold to 39 countries: how are your feelings about that?

How have you celebrate?

Still pretty amazed. It’s a very surreal feeling. We cracked open some champagne when we got the news. Oh, and we bought a new fridge freezer! Very rock and roll!

*Do you have a writing-routine or any writing rituals, and if so, what are they?

Not really. As long as I have somewhere to sit, a drink and my laptop I’m good to go!

*What was the soundtrack while you were writing? Can you name your 3 favourite numbers of the 80s? And contemporary ones?

I don’t listen to music while I write as I find it too distracting. My favourite 80’s songs are probably the classics: Love Cats by The Cure videoclip , Tainted Love by Soft Cell and Don’t You want Me by the Human League.

Now: Mr Brightside by The Killers videoclip , Get Better by Frank Turner and Walk by Foo Fighters.

*Do you plot out your book from start to finish and then write it down or let you your characters lead the story and see where they take you?

I hate plotting – I would be bored before I started. I like to let my characters lead the way, take me on a journey. You find more interesting diversions that way!

*What can distract you from writing?

Twitter. My little girl.

*When did you discover you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve written stories since I was little. I was an only child and lived in a total make-believe world. I always wanted to write but I didn’t think people like me could become authors. My parents encouraged to have more realistic aspirations!

A teacher of yours predicted that you would be writing a bestseller or become prime minister.  What was the base for these great expectations?

Well, I think it was a joke but my English teacher – Mr Webster - really encouraged my writing. I was also a big fan of debating. I love a good argument!

*You left school at the early age of 16, did you hate it that much?

I didn’t hate it but I didn’t have a great time in school either. I suffered from an eating disorder and, although I did very well in all my exams, the pressure of the school environment wasn’t good for me.

*What kind of books do you like to read yourself?

 

Pretty much what I write. Dark, twisted thrillers. Anything a little supernatural and I’m partial to a bit of sci-fi too.

*Can you name some books we have to read?

Well, out of recent reads: Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough.  The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J. Harris and The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd.

All time faves: The Shining by Stephen King, Spares by Michael Marshall Smith and Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan. Oh, and anything by Harlan Coben.

*In your biography is the funny text: the last time she ran on heels she broke a tooth. So no more heels now ?

I have never worn heels since. I didn’t wear them much back then – probably why I fell over. Well, that and the wine!

Geir Tangen questioned

C: Haakon Nordvik

GEIR TANGEN  is a writer, teacher and crime book blogger from Haugesund, Norway, whose bestselling debut crime novel, Maestro, has been sold to 15 countries.
Thrillerlezers questioned the author


Who is Geir Tangen? Which five words will described you best and why?
I have answered this question a couple of times the last few days, and I`ll say the same thing here: I am 48 years old, a teacher and a writer. But who am I actually? I might say that I am a dreamer who never grew up. In my head I am still this crazy teenager who thinks that he can manage everything if I put my mind to it. I still think that I can be a pop star, an Olympic athlete or ... a famous crime author. There are no borders, and no strings that is holding me. But of course ... These dreams are only in my childish head when I am all alone in my car or have the apartment all by myself. In real life I am pretty boring, actually. A father and a grandfather, a husband and a friend. A teacher and a writer.

Five words: Kind. Playful. Seeking. Creative. Workoholic.
That is because I get anxious when I have to much spare-time. I have some creative genes that need to be stimulated, and I love to play with the characters, trying to stretch them as far as they can go. My books are cruel and you might as well say dark and bloody, but me as a person is all kind. Actually I am described as “stupid kind” by my friends and family. My mother and father raised me that way, and I always try to think twice how my actions will effect others around me. Maybe that’s why I am an evil bastard when I sit down writing 😉 Finally, I can be cruel without hurting anyone.

How did you come up with the plot of this first book
I started out writing “Maestro” (Het Meesterwerk) in 2010, but the story that I wrote until the summer of 2012 were rubbish, actually. I wrote without a plan, and suddenly I understood that I didnt even know how it all would come together in the end, and I didnt belive a word of the story myself, so I just deleted it. (!) Then ... The same day, I drove my kid Daniel to his mother, and I heard a Norwegian song on the radio called "Maestro". I listened to the lyrics for the first time, stopped the car, had a cigarette - and understood that the lyrics just gave me a fantastic crime fiction story that I wanted to write. So I did :) It took my 3,5 years from the first word on the screen until it was published in january 2016. I was stunned by the idea of making a thriller that at the same time was a tribute to the crime fiction genre, and this story had a lot of opportunities to do just that. Maestro is ment to be a chocking nerve-wracking thriller, but at the same time a joyful ride were the author playes with the reader.

C: Haakon Nordvik

What character in the book has most of you in it? Viljar?
Yes, sadly enough, Viljar is the one character that has most of my own thoughts and behaviour. His nicotine addiction, his oblique glance to the world and the people he meet, his childish mind and his leisurly way on solving boring rutine-jobs is all me. So I guess I have given him all my down-sides … 😉

Het meesterwerk (Maestro) is your first book and you published in 2016 the book first by yourself. How is the story to Gyldendaal?
The story is the same in the first version and in the Gyldendal-version. Nothing is changed, actually. They did a copyediting and some correction-job of course. But maybe you asked how the story ended up at Gyldendal after I published it myself in January 2016? The answer to that is that I got picked up by the Swedish literature-agent Astri von Arbin Ahlander, and she sold the rights to 15 countries, including Gyldendal in Norway. So, I am a norwegian author who is sold to a Norwegian publisher from Sweden 😊

The foreign rights of your book is sold to 15 countries. What is your feeling about that? How have you celebrate that?
Both my first two books are sold to 15 countries, and the third will come out in Holland as well as in Norway. It is overwhelming. I am extremely glad that my stories are reaching out to so many readers all around the world. It is a fairy tail and a dream come true. The first country that bought “Maestro” were Denmark, and that night when it happened my wife and I had a hilarious party all night long, but after that there hasn’t been that much celebrating. We have bought a new apartment by the seaside in Haugesund, and have travelled a lot.

What kind of books do you like to read yourself?
It is all crime fiction for me. Nothing else. I get inspiration from reading other crime fiction authors, and I get ideas. It has been this way for several years. I got a little tired of reading general fiction when I took my exams in literature, and I find it kind of boring. That doesn’t mean that I don’t recognize quality when I see it. I just don’t take time reading it any more.

Do you have a writing-routine or any writing rituals, and if so, what are they?
I need silence, and I have to check my mailbox and social medias before I write. A bad habbit, but I need to know what happens in the world before I write. I usually write in the morning before anyone is up, or at night when everyone has gone to bed.

Do you plot out your book from start to finish and then write it down or let you your characters lead the story and see where they take you?
I am a planner. I plan and write summary of all the scenes in the book before I start writing it. Every detail is planned up front, and the clues and misleads are cruelly placed where I need the story to take a twist or a turn.

What can distract you from writing?
Everything. My phone, my wife, the internet, TV, sports, media, the cat snoring, … I am easily distracted as you can see. Not because I don’t want to write, but because I am inside a bubble when writing, and everything else happening in the world keeps on making a sting in that bubble.

C: Haakon Nordvik

When did you discover you wanted to be a writer?
Early on. As a kid I loved being at the library just looking at the books, dreaming that my name would be placed on the back of one of them. 10 years old I wrote manuscripts that I read for my friends, and made them actors who could play out the scenes that I wrote. I have always loved writing, and have worked spare time as freelance journalist for nearly 20 years before I ended up as an author.

Scandinavian Thrillers are very popular here in the Netherlands, have you an explanation?
Yes, I think I have. First of all – the quality of Nordic crime fiction authors is extremely good. They know how to write! But then again I think that dutch people find a lot of similarities between their own society and the Scandinavian. Personally I am fund of stories that manage to mix the dark minds and the dark deeds with the Scandinavian way of living and thinking. No heroes with swelling muscles and catchy one-liners beating the crooks with their bare hands. No, instead we have these calm investigators with a real life who use their mind solving the mysteries. And then of course you have the angle of the murderer describing why crimes like this can happen. It makes the stories more interesting and exciting. I think that dutch readers can recognise these qualities in the Nordic noir-stories.

Which Norwegian author can you advise? (Only translated authors)
If you like to read traditionally detective stories with a social twist: Gunnar Staalesen
If you like the down to earth police-investigator with focus on solving the mystery: Jørn Lier Horst
If you like it dark, bloody and creepy: Ingar Johnsrud

If you like journalist-crime at high speed: Thomas Enger
If you like historic mysteries with hidden objects, codes and Dan Brown: Tom Egeland
If you like pure quality literature with suspense and nerve: Karin Fossum

Besides of a writer of books are you a famous crimeblogger: how will that started?
It all started out when my wife published her first novel, and I looked for places on the internet were they talked about books and literature. Suddenly I found this great society of books-bloggers. I thought that I could do the same, only focusing on crime fiction. It became a huge success, and by 2017 over 350.000 readers had visited the blog.

Some other questions:
*If you had to stay on a deserted island for a year, what 3 things would you take with you?
Fresh water for a year, my Kindle, and at last I would take one for the team and bring Donald Trump with me, so the rest of the world would get rid of him for a year.



*If you have someone over for the first time, what do you cook for them?
He he … My little secret 😉 I would make a delicious carrot cake.

*What makes you very happy?
Making other people happy. Seeing my kids managing the world. My wife smiling. My readers telling about their reading-experiences.

*Have you a quilty pleasure by music?
In the 80`s it was all hardrock for me. AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Accept, Dio. Then came the 90`s and I loved the grunge period. B52`s, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Nickelback. The last 20 years I have listened to Norwegian music, and my three books all have their titles from a Norwegian rock-band “Kaizers Orchestra”. Their lyrics of their three songs “Maestro”, “Hjerteknuser” and “Død manns tango” has been an inspiration to the the three books with the same title.
Here can you listen to maestro

Clare Mackintosh questioned

Clare spent twelve years in the police force, including time on CID, and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant, and now writes full time.

Clare’s debut novel, I Let You Go, was a top ten bestseller  and was the fastest selling title by a new crime writer in 2015.


*Would you like to introduce yourself to the Dutch readers, using five characteristics?

I am creative, curious, interested in people, addicted to words and easily distracted...



*Your books are  absolute psychological thrillers. How dit you come up with the plots?

My first novel, MEA CULPA, was inspired by a real-life hit-and-run that occurred when I was a police officer, and my second was the result of a journey to London, watching commuters going to work. My third novel is also inspired by a real-life situation, but telling you about it would spoil the story!

*What character in the books has most of you in it?

There is a little piece of me in every character that I write. In LET ME LIE, my most recent book, I empathised with Anna - a new mother - but also with Murray, a retired detective. Although I am not (quite!) as old as Murray, I remember the feeling of impotency when I left the police, and think I put something of myself into his character as a result.


*The covers of your books are the same for all translations. Did they do that on your requirement?

Each country chooses the cover that will best suit their market, and I’ve been thrilled with them all.


*I really love the cover of your first book. Did you have a vote in choosing the image and front style?

I have a great design team who work hard on a cover before presenting me with their thoughts. I have always been delighted, and so impressed with their interpretation of the story.



*You spent twelve years in the policeforce, how do you look back on those years?

I loved my police career and still miss it from time to time. It gave me a fantastic training ground in people observation: when you’ve been the victim of crime, or you’ve witnessed a crime - or even if you’ve committed a crime - your emotions are at their most raw, and that’s very valuable for a writer.


*You took a degree in french and management, worked as a policeofficer and now you're a fulltime writer. What
is it you wanted to be when you were a little girl?

I wanted to be a writer, so that’s worked out well :-)


*What kind of books do you like to read yourself?

I love to read crime and psychological thriller books, although I find that many of them are very similar. I break things up by reading funny novels, or non fiction.


*Can you name a favourite book, and tell me why it is your favourite?

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier, is one of my all time favourite books. It has a tremendous sense of place which adds to the building tension.

*Do you have a wrinting-routine or any writing rituals, and if so, what are they?

I listen to the same playlist over and over again when I’m writing. It’s a very dull instrumental album - the sort of music you might hear in a spa - and I hardly notice it any more, but it puts me instantly in the right frame of mind for writing.



*What can distract you from writing?

Friends, my children, Twitter.


*What are your future plans?

To carry on writing books that people enjoy reading.


Some other kind of questions:

*What is your guilty pleasure in music?

I don’t believe in ‘guilty pleasures’. One shouldn’t be ashamed to enjoy any kind of literature, music, television. I like all sorts of music, depending on my mood. When I’m writing I can’t listen to anything with lyrics, otherwise I can’t concentrate on my own words.


*If you had to stay on a deserted island for a year, what 3 thinks would you take with you?

The complete works of Shakespeare. I have a lovely book I was given when I was a teenager, with every single Shakespeare play (in very tiny letters). It would keep me busy for a while. A keyboard, so I could teach myself to play the piano. And a mammoth slab of chocolate.



*If you have someone over for the first time, what do you cook for them?

I like meals that prompt informality and sociability, so we often have fondue, or raclette, or fajitas.


*What makes you very happy?

Writing. If I take more than a few days off I start to twitch.