TOWER interview #3: Allan Guthrie

The Tower Interviews by Craig McDonald

In September 2009, Busted Flush Press will publish Tower (978-1-935415-07-7; trade paperback original; $15), a collaboration between award-wining crime novelists Ken Bruen (London Boulevard; Once Were Cops; The Guards) and Reed Farrel Coleman (Walking the Perfect Square; The James Deans; Soul Patch). Tower was edited by Edgar Award-nominated crime writer, editor and literary agent, Allan Guthrie (Kiss Her Goodbye; Two-Way Split; Slammer). In a series of interviews on the BFP blog, the trio discusses the process of writing and editing a novel that Publishers Weekly calls "brutally poetic." Edgar Award-nominated crime writer Craig McDonald (Head Games; Toros and Torsos) interviewed Bruen, Coleman, and Guthrie. Craig ("a genuine expert on the history of crime fiction" — Eddie Muller, San Francisco Chronicle) is an accomplished interviewer, and two collections of his interviews with major crime writers have been published: Art in the Blood (PointBlank Press) & Rogue Males (Bleak House Books). Here is the third interview, with crime writer/editor Allan Guthrie! [Interview #1, with Ken Bruen, can be found here, and interview #2, with Reed Farrel Coleman, is here.]

Craig McDonald: My understanding is [Busted Flush Press's] David Thompson sought you out for this editing post…
Allan Guthrie: That’s right. David’s known of my editing jones for some time—over the last few years he’s been a big supporter of PointBlank Press, where I picked up the habit editing writers like Dave Zeltserman, Duane Swierczynski, Ray Banks. And David’s known that it’s something I miss. As a literary agent, I edit manuscripts to various degrees for some of my clients, but the last book I worked on primarily as an editor was Ed Lynskey’s The Big Cheer, which was two, maybe even three years ago.

CM: What was your approach as editor in tackling this unique challenge of a two-person manuscript with contrapuntal narration?
AG: I approached it as I would any other manuscript. One author, two authors—doesn’t make any difference. Seriously, it’s not the number of authors involved, it’s what’s on the page that matters.

CM: Any special parameters or objectives you set in editing Tower?
AG: Other than trying not to make a fool of myself, no.

CM: Did you have to go back to one or either of the authors to adjust something that the other’s work mandated revising or tweaking?
AG: Reed was my first contact for all the edits, so they went through him and then came back with changes accepted or declined, bits added here and there, suggestions acted on or not and explanations as to why or why not. All very thorough and entirely peaceable.

CM: Were there times you were mediating between the two authors to make sure everything married up into a cohesive storyline?
AG: I came on board after the novel was written, so the storyline was already nice and solid. This sounds really boring but the truth is that this was a painless process, with no trace of ego. Nobody bit anybody’s ear off. Which I admit was a bit disappointing. I was hoping for a spot more carnage from those two.

CM: Did you have any role in the plotting—perhaps in terms of patching story problems or continuity issues?
AG: To a very limited extent. I suggested one or two things that the guys took on board, but my main contribution—I think—was just to help polish what was there. The book was already about 99% of the way done when I first read it and my suggestions were mainly along the lines of trying to make things a little clearer or more consistent. Most of the editing I did was in the details, although there were one or two places where I suggested something a little bigger—adding a scene here or there, something like that.

CM: This isn’t your first time editing Ken. Any special demands you find in handling Ken’s work?
AG: Special demands… well, Ken’s formatting is idiosyncratic, there’s no getting away from the fact. But I really like it. I’ve never seen his prose published the way he formats it, although I’d once planned to publish a story of Ken’s just the way it was written for an anthology I edited. Unfortunately the anthology got pulled at the last minute. Would have been interesting… and possibly a first.

CM: Ken’s manuscripts do have a very distinctive… look. The published version of Once Were Cops has a very striking single-sentence formatting that is much more in keeping with the more recent original manuscripts of Ken’s I’ve seen…
AG: Yes, even the very early manuscripts have that distinctive Bruen look. I’m glad to see the books being published more as Ken thinks they should look rather than as convention dictates. The way his writing appears on the page is clearly of huge importance to Ken.

CM: Ken credits you with making one or two “brilliant” tweaks to his portion of the narrative. Can you elaborate?
AG: Hell, no, I can’t think of anything remotely brilliant.

CM: Could you preview some of your own current/coming projects?
AG: I have a new book out in the U.K. called Slammer, a prison novel about a young prison officer who can’t cope with the stresses of the job. It’s out in the U.S. in November. And in a couple of months [out now!] I’ll have a novella out in the U.K. called Killing Mum, about a guy who arranges contract killings and one morning gets an anonymous request to have his mother whacked.

CM: Anything else you’d care to get out there?
AG: Just to say it was a real pleasure working on Tower and I hope lots of people read it.

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Craig McDonald is the author of Head Games and Toros & Torsos (both from Bleak House). The third novel in the Hector Lassiter Series, Print the Legend, is forthcoming from Minotaur Books in winter 2010. His current book is a collection of interviews, Rogue Males: Conversations & Confrontations about the Writing Life (Bleak House Books), featuring discussions with James Crumley, Daniel Woodrell, Pete Dexter, James Sallis, James Ellroy and Ken Bruen, among many others. Visit him online at http://www.craigmcdonaldbooks.com/.

Allan Guthrie is the Edgar Award-nominated author of Two-Way Split (PointBlank); Kiss Her Goodbye (Hard Case Crime); Hard Man, Savage Night, and Slammer (all from Harcourt). Visit him online at http://www.allanguthrie.co.uk/.

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Look for a Tower excerpt soon, and even a contest to win your very own Tower galley! Tower will be published in September 2009. Ken Bruen & Reed Farrel Coleman will both appear at Bouchercon in Indianapolis! Reed will hit the road to sign Tower, with stops including New York, Minneapolis, Denver/Boulder, Phoenix/Scottsdale, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, and Houston (complete tour schedule to be posted soon).

Booksellers / librarians: Order Tower through Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, Ingram, and Baker & Taylor!

TOWER interview #2: Reed Farrel Coleman

The Tower Interviews by Craig McDonald

In September 2009, Busted Flush Press will publish Tower (978-1-935415-07-7; trade paperback original; $15), a collaboration between award-wining crime novelists Ken Bruen (London Boulevard; Once Were Cops; The Guards) and Reed Farrel Coleman (Walking the Perfect Square; The James Deans; Soul Patch). Tower was edited by Edgar Award-nominated crime writer, editor and literary agent, Allan Guthrie (Kiss Her Goodbye; Two-Way Split; Slammer). In the following interview, the trio discusses the process of writing and editing a novel that Publishers Weekly calls "brutally poetic."

Edgar Award-nominated crime writer Craig McDonald (Head Games; Toros and Torsos) interviewed Bruen, Coleman, and Guthrie. Craig ("a genuine expert on the history of crime fiction" — Eddie Muller, San Francisco Chronicle) is an accomplished interviewer, and two collections of his interviews with major crime writers have been published: Art in the Blood (PointBlank Press) & Rogue Males (Bleak House Books; May 2009). Here is the second interview, with two-time Edgar Award nominee Reed Farrel Coleman! [Interview #1, with Ken Bruen, can be found here.]

REED FARREL COLEMAN

Craig McDonald: The way it was explained to me, you were presented with Ken’s fragment, and essentially had to drive it home. What was your strategy for advancing the narrative and making it whole?
Reed Farrel Coleman: It was the hardest and, in many ways, the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. I had to develop the strategy as I went. Ken takes no credit for this, but the fact is that he left room to breathe in his half of the narrative. This allowed me the space to develop the storyline and to bring both lead characters to life. It also let me bring the book to a crescendo. If he had written his narrative more densely, it would have left me nowhere to go. As written, Tower builds (sorry about the bad pun) to, what I think, is a powerful and emotionally satisfying ending.

CM: One of the appeals of fiction writing is that autonomy and freedom to build worlds, set atmosphere, plot and to define character. Was collaboration at all confining for you in any of those areas?
RFC: It’s difficult to separate this answer from the first answer, but I’ll try. I tell my students that to be a writer you need to develop an incredibly strong and healthy ego. Not a big ego, a strong one. When you really think about it, the notion that someone is going to shell out fifteen or twenty-five bucks to buy a bunch of words that you strung together is pretty ballsy. In order to be a good collaborator, one needs an especially strong ego because you have to both subvert it and rely more heavily on it. To work with Ken I was willing and able to do that.

Wordsworth wrote a sonnet that I often refer to entitled “Nuns Fret Not.” The sonnet is a very strictly defined form and the life of a nun has many strictures. Wordsworth’s point is that even with severe constraints a person can achieve much satisfaction. So it was with Tower. That I had to write characters that weren’t my own invention within a structure that was not my own and according to a timeline that had already been laid out for me was nearly impossible. However, it drove me to do things and reach for strengths I never knew I possessed both as a writer and a person. I am a far better writer for having even tried it.

CM: What particular challenges did you face in writing this book, as opposed to one of your own novels?
RFC: Well, the obvious ones. The characters weren’t my own invention nor was the plot, but that’s not all bad. As a non-outliner, plot develops for me organically. With Tower I was relieved of that gnawing tension that I suffer through with my own novels. The plot was laid out for me. The tough part was making Todd, the character I was responsible for, a reflection of me as an author. This was the brilliance of what Ken did. He gave me an empty vessel into which to pour my vision of Todd. I look at it this way; Ken gave him a name and I gave him a life.

CM: Ken says the “Rashomon” approach of presenting certain events from varying perspectives evolved as you began to expand the work. Was this something you consciously pursued in the early phases?
RFC: I think we need to back up some and get something straight. Doing stuff with Ken isn’t like doing stuff with anyone else. I mean that as an extreme compliment. Ken and I discussed the book in passing, but just like an idea. You know: “Reed, I’ve got this idea for a book. Maybe we could do it together. Here’s what I’m thinking…” Then we didn’t talk about it again for months. One day I get an email and attached is Ken’s half of the book and a prototype book cover he had done with out names on it. The email said something like, “Have at it, buddy!” I mean, that is so Ken. We didn’t really discuss it or plan it. That’s the thing you gotta love about Ken. He can do things like this. He understands challenges and challenging his friends. I took the challenge of Tower as the greatest compliment Ken could give me. He trusted me enough not to screw it up and rise to it. So I guess that’s a roundabout way of saying there wasn’t a lot of preplanning and conceiving here on my end.

CM: What was the most satisfying aspect of this project?
RFC: There are many, but I think the most satisfying will be when I stand up with Ken at the launch party and we read from the book.

CM: Is there anything in the experience you found frustrating?
RFC: In the beginning of the process, there were a million. I’d never taken on anything like this. I really struggled with self-doubt and finding my way ahead. I was frustrated because I couldn’t rely on the old tricks I use with my own stuff. It was like learning a new language all on my own.

CM: How was the editing process in terms of having another writer involved?
RFC: Here’s where Ken really understood the process of collaboration. He had his say, but for the most part trusted me to do the early editing. Then I ran the changes by him and there was very little disagreement if any. We did need an objective eye for the final edits and to make sure we didn’t miss anything because we were so close to the project. This is where Al Guthrie, a splendid writer in his own right, with a sharp editorial eye who knew our work, did a splendid job.

CM: How would you measure the character of Todd against your other series characters?
RFC: I wouldn’t, but for argument’s sake I’ll have a go at it. I went more deeply into Todd’s psyche than I’ve ventured with Dylan Klein or Joe Serpe—the character I write under "Tony Spinosa"—or even Moe Prager. Todd is more violent than any of those characters and has much less impulse control. In fact, loss of control and trying to regain it is the central drive in Todd’s life. That’s the note I hit on because it was a reflection of the task set before me by Ken. How could I regain a sense of control in a book that wasn’t mine to begin with. I realized it only in retrospect.

CM: Have you read the Bruen/Starr collaborations? If so, was there anything you consciously did to avoid comparison with those books?
RFC: I’ve read them, yes, though I’m partial to Bust, which was, in part, dedicated to me—Thank you, boys. And being privy to Jason and Ken’s process for their books helped a lot with Tower. All collaborations are different and neither Ken nor I was interested in trying to repeat what he and Jason had accomplished. From the start, the tone was diametrically opposed to the satirical, winking pose Jason and Ken take for their books. Tower is many things, but funny isn’t one of them.

CM: Tower bears the Bruen convention of heading chapters with quotes from other works. Did you choose your own quotes, or was that style point something overlaid by Ken?
RFC: I enjoy the thing Ken does with the quotes because I learn from them and they, like a prologue for an entire book, help set the tone of the chapter. I used my own quotes and hope they are more in line with the character of Todd as the quotes Ken used are more in line with Nicky. It was great to break out of my own stylistic constraints and try on some different clothing. I’ve always been good at imitating voices and this was a way to do it in writing.

CM: My understanding is that the prologue and epilogue are yours. What inspired this framing decision?
RFC: Pragmatism, plain and simple. When both of our narratives were done, the book still wasn’t of a piece. It wasn’t complete. We both saw that and some of our early readers agreed. So I tried several different prologues—to go back to the question about frustrations, this was the biggest one I had—and, after what felt like a million tries, I hit upon the solution. Ran it by Ken and he loved it. Still, we needed something contextual to round it out. The prologue had created a different kind of imbalance. Prologues and epilogues are more my style than Ken’s, but he let me try an epilogue. I don’t know where I pulled that one out of, but the introduction of a third narrative voice just seemed right. Part of being an artist is knowing when you’re not done and when you’re done. When we took a look at the book with both prologue and epilogue included, we knew it was done.

CM: Was there any disappointment arising from the fact the novel kept you in your NYC setting? Did you wish you’d had another shot at writing Ireland, à la Dublin Noir?
RFC: To tell you the truth, I couldn’t have taken any more challenges with this book. If I had to imagine our characters in another setting, I would have gone completely out my mind. Maybe somewhere down the road, Ken and I can do something set in a different place.

CM: Have Ken and you discussed how you might divide eventual awards/Edgar® statuettes?
RFC: I think we’ll worry about that if and when we get there. Ken and I are both two-time Edgar losers and I don’t think tempting the gods is going to help any.

CM: What are your thoughts on the state of the genre presently?
RFC: I think the genre is indestructible: good times or bad. I believe that. As to the state of the industry… I think they have to look back at what befell the music industry and make some hard decisions. The music industry, as those of us older than forty understood it, no longer exists. It’s a shell of what it was and I would hate for that to happen to publishing. But I would hope that publishers would include the suppliers of their product—writers and agents—in their considerations of how to move ahead. The Kindle is a good idea, but it’s way too expensive to have a huge impact. If the price comes down or if it’s simply given away with the reader guaranteeing to purchase X amount of books, it could be huge. What do I know, I’m just an author?

CM: What’s next for you?
RFC: I’m working on a new book with a new protagonist, but I don’t want to give too much away. I’ve also been working on a very complex novel for many years. It has so many moving parts that I need to step away from it for long periods of time in order to refine it. But I never know exactly what’s next.

CM: Anything you’d like to add?
RFC: I’d like to thank David Thompson for believing in us and for being a publisher on the rise. With the industry in the state it’s in, Busted Flush Press is well-positioned to give a home to great authors and to keep careers alive and flourishing.

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Look for the 3rd interview (with editor/crime writer Allan Guthrie) to run soon, along with an excerpt and more! Tower will be published in September 2009. Ken Bruen & Reed Farrel Coleman will both appear at Bouchercon in Indianapolis! Booksellers / librarians: Order Tower through Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, Ingram, and Baker & Taylor!

TOWER interview #1: Ken Bruen

The Tower Interviews
by Craig McDonald

In September 2009, Busted Flush Press will publish Tower (978-1-935415-07-7; trade paperback original; $15), a collaboration between award-wining crime novelists Ken Bruen (London Boulevard; Once Were Cops; The Guards) and Reed Farrel Coleman (Walking the Perfect Square; The James Deans; Soul Patch). Tower was edited by Edgar Award-nominated crime writer, editor and literary agent, Allan Guthrie (Kiss Her Goodbye; Two-Way Split; Slammer). In the following interview, the trio discusses the process of writing and editing a novel Edgar Award-winner Megan Abbott (Bury Me Deep) declares “baleful” and “swaggering.”

Edgar Award-nominated crime writer Craig McDonald (Head Games; Toros and Torsos) interviewed Bruen, Coleman, and Guthrie. Craig ("a genuine expert on the history of crime fiction" — Eddie Muller, San Francisco Chronicle) is an accomplished interviewer, and two collections of his interviews with major crime writers have been published: Art in the Blood (PointBlank Press) & Rogue Males (Bleak House Books; May 2009). Here is the first interview, with the "Pope of Galway" himself, Ken Bruen!

KEN BRUEN

Craig McDonald: Tower began with you…
Ken Bruen: Yes, and halfway through, I thought it would really work as a two-hander.

CM: This is your second time collaborating with another author. You have such a distinctive voice. What entices you about blending your prose with another writer’s work?
KB: I think because I was always told it can’t be done and that always gets me thinking… Oh yeah?

CM: When/how did Busted Flush enter the picture?
KB: Well, first we love David and the publishing company and he seemed to get the book better than anybody.

CM: Was your portion of the Nick narration written and then the rest of the plot thrashed out between you and Reed, or did you leave him a clear course for his sections of the novel?
KB: I did my piece and then let Reed run with it. I have to say, he did the real Trojan work and made the book sing.

CM: Did you go over or add anything to Reed’s portions of the novel?
KB: Not one single word. His work was so good that I had truly nothing but admiration.

CM: Did he change anything of yours in the Nick narration?
KB: No. We deliberately kept it the two distinct points of view.

CM: Yes, there is a “Rashomon” quality to the novel in the sense we get certain key events from the particular perspectives of the two narrators. Was this your idea, Reed’s, or something you came to in tandem?
KB: It evolved as Reed began to write his part. It wasn’t a definite plan but took shape as Reed’s narration deepened.

CM: Nick is named for Hemingway’s Nick Adams. Hem’s Nick’s relationship with his father is a running theme through Hemingway stories. Your Nick has father issues; your Nick also flirts with playing father to a Down Syndrome child. How important do think father/son tension is to the mind or development of a writer?
KB: Vital. At least in my case. And it seems to add that tension that is always underlying that dynamic.

CM: You’ve remarked you look for music that fits a character in the process of writing your books. What kind of tunes does Nick favor?
KB: No two ways about it, he’s a real Tom Russell kind of guy.

CM: How did Al Guthrie come to serve as editor for this project?
KB: David asked him and Al, being the soul of generosity he is, readily agreed and phew, sure did one superb job.

CM: Did Al’s handling of that task require anything significant from your end in terms of changes or additions?
KB: Very little, apart from one or two brilliant changes that made a huge difference.

CM: Any other collaborations coming down the pike?
KB: No, I’m back to flying solo. Means double the work, dammit.

CM: The Celtic Tiger — has it officially ceased its roaring? How are things in Ireland as the world economy continues to go to pieces?
KB: Today’s paper has a photo of 500 people lining up for food parcels. I cannot tell you how that just destroys me.

CM: What’s next for you? There are rumors of a rather different kind of Jack Taylor novel, and of a memoir dated for release this year…
KB: The new Jack Taylor is finished and titled… The Devil. And it deals with, yup, the supernatural. Scared the hell outta me. Not going down that road again.

CM: London Boulevard and Blitz are going before cameras. You’ve done some acting. Can we look forward to Bruen cameos?
KB: Alas, yes, as I’m just about the worst actor in the world. I have three lines in London Boulevard.

CM: What’s the status of the Jack Taylor adaptation?
KB: It begins filming in September as four TV movies and the actor playing Jack is… Guess? Not me, thank Christ.

CM: I saw something the other day that indicated you might be writing a children’s book. Can you share a little more about that?
KB: It’s titled Peter and His Magic Pencil. It’s about a little boy who can make his mum, friends, etc., happy by writing it down in his notebook. Alas, he also discovers that he may have to erase some of the joy as in the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” It was a joy to write and Eoin Colfer has nothing to worry about. It was a one off, for [my daughter] Grace.

Look for the 2nd & 3rd interviews to run soon. Tower will be published in September 2009. Ken Bruen & Reed Farrel Coleman will both appear at Bouchercon in Indianapolis! Booksellers / librarians: Order Tower through Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, Ingram, and Baker & Taylor!

Coming soon... TOWER interview

We're excited to announce that Edgar Award-nominated crime writer Craig McDonald (Head Games; Toros and Torsos) will be interviewing Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman, co-authors of the forthcoming novel Tower (September), and Edgar-nominated crime writer Allan Guthrie (Kiss Her Goodbye) who edited the project. Craig ("a genuine expert on the history of crime fiction" -- Eddie Muller, San Francisco Chronicle) is an accomplished interviewer, and two collections of his interviews with major crime writers have published: Art in the Blood (PointBlank Press) & Rogue Males (Bleak House Books; May 2009). Look for the Tower interview to run in mid- to late-April.