Joined: 12 Aug 2006 Posts: 1630 Location: Lincolnshire
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:00 am Post subject: Live Author Chat with RJ Ellory - post your questions here
Hi All
A reminder that Roger is joining us this evening for the live author chat. We'll chat on this thread - please post any questions you may have for him here.
Thanks
Anne
_________________ Currently reading: The Tent The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy and Granny The Pag by Nina Bawden
1001 Challenge Books read in 2009 - 3
1001 Challenge Books read in 2008 - 8
1001 Challenge Books read in 2007 - 13
You must have been told this a hundred times and more. Your voice in A Quiet Belief in Angels is so authentic I naturally assumed you were an American writer, from Birmingham, Alabama, not the Birmingham I'm familiar with!
So the first question I'd like to ask you is, what draws you to set your novels in America? Have you ever or would you like to live there? _________________ Reading: Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
Reading Challenge 2009: 7
2008: 4
2007: 10
Hi Roger and many thanks for joining us here on BB. I am hoping to join in with the live chat this evening, but I have 2 young children to put to bed, so I may have to dip in and out.
I have read A Quiet Belief in Angels and I'm now about two thirds of the way through City of Lies - which I'm completely hooked on! I can see the similarities in your style of writing between the two books, the character descriptions are so vivid and such imaginative use of language; but the pace is so different! Which type of book do you prefer to write - the slower pace of AQBIA or the fast-paced action / thriller / crime of City of Lies? Are your other books similar to either of these two novels or completely different again? _________________ Currently Reading:
Hi Roger and thank you for visiting us. Like Heather I hope to be able to pop in at some stage but also have two children to put to bed.
I'd like to know what inspired you to start writing and what did you enjoy reading as a child?
PS A Quiet Belief in Angels is a beautifully written book. _________________ Currently reading - The Italian Boy - Murder and Grave Robbery in 1830s London - Sarah Wise
I have read all 5 of your books, and have noticed you have written in the first person, third person, and even a mixture of these narrative styles. What factors do you consider when choosing which narrative style to use for a novel?
Thanks
Danny
Joined: 12 Aug 2006 Posts: 1630 Location: Lincolnshire
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:40 pm Post subject:
Hi Roger and welcome, thank for agreeing to chat to us.
I have a question from Patricia who is unable to join us, her message is:
Unfortunately my husband is having an operation on 17 June so I won't be on-line.
Spoiler:
I very much enjoyed Quiet Belief in Angels but wasn't sure about the ending. I found it hard to believe that the sheriff was the serial-murderer. It just didn't quite fit somehow. I would have preferred the identify of the killer to have been left open even though we know he did get shot at the end.
However the format of the story was riveting and some of the more unbelievable events e.g. teacher/pupil affair and the relentless nightmare of Joseph's life remained convincing. Though on reflection, when Bridget is killed I thought this was more about tidying up the plot to expose the real murderer, so less plausible. And surely as a sheriff he could have taken care of Joseph much earlier on
.
Sorry!
Patricia
A question from me; initially I was put off reading A Quiet Belief as it had been classed as a 'thriller'. I'm so glad I did read it and really think that 'thriller' is the wrong genre. I see it more as a 'coming of age' novel - what are your thoughts?
My other question is regarding your latest book - A Simple Act of Violence. How much of the CIA stuff is based on the truth? _________________ Currently reading: The Tent The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy and Granny The Pag by Nina Bawden
1001 Challenge Books read in 2009 - 3
1001 Challenge Books read in 2008 - 8
1001 Challenge Books read in 2007 - 13
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 20 Birthday: June Location: Birmingham
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:54 pm Post subject:
Glynis wrote:
Hi Roger and
Thank you for visiting us!
You must have been told this a hundred times and more. Your voice in A Quiet Belief in Angels is so authentic I naturally assumed you were an American writer, from Birmingham, Alabama, not the Birmingham I'm familiar with!
So the first question I'd like to ask you is, what draws you to set your novels in America? Have you ever or would you like to live there?
Hi there Glynis...just checking if this is how I post a reply as I have never done this before...
Okay, this seems to work now. So why America...well, if you look at the books I have written you will find that they are set in such places as Carolina, Florida, Louisiana etc. They are Death Row thrillers, books about the Mafia, fast-paced bank heist novels, and the last one was set in the 30s in rural Georgia. The best advice I was ever given as a writer was to write about those things in which I was interested. I am interested in post 1950 American culture, history and politics, and it's these things I find fascinating. And the truth of the matter is that the things I want to write about just wouldn't work in Chichester or York! So when it came to writing these books, it wasn't so much of a question as to what I should write about really...it was kind of there, and it felt natural to write about these things and people.
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 20 Birthday: June Location: Birmingham
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:59 pm Post subject:
heathera wrote:
Hi Roger and many thanks for joining us here on BB. I am hoping to join in with the live chat this evening, but I have 2 young children to put to bed, so I may have to dip in and out.
I have read A Quiet Belief in Angels and I'm now about two thirds of the way through City of Lies - which I'm completely hooked on! I can see the similarities in your style of writing between the two books, the character descriptions are so vivid and such imaginative use of language; but the pace is so different! Which type of book do you prefer to write - the slower pace of AQBIA or the fast-paced action / thriller / crime of City of Lies? Are your other books similar to either of these two novels or completely different again?
The pattern that seems to be emerging is like there's three types of novels that I want to write. Candlemoth, A Quiet Belief In Angels, and the book I'm writing now for 2010 are more like slow-burn human dramas, smalltown settings and things like that. Ghostheart, City of Lies and the book for 2009 are more your standard crime thrillers, and could be classed as crime fiction in the strict sense of the word. The third type is like a vast political epic that encompasses such things as the Mafia (as in A Quiet Vendetta) and the CIA (as in A Simple Act of Violence, due out in October). So the answer to your question is that I like writing all three of them, and I change from one book to the next and never write the same type of book one after the other.
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 20 Birthday: June Location: Birmingham
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:05 pm Post subject:
lovely treez wrote:
Hi Roger and thank you for visiting us. Like Heather I hope to be able to pop in at some stage but also have two children to put to bed.
I'd like to know what inspired you to start writing and what did you enjoy reading as a child?
PS A Quiet Belief in Angels is a beautifully written book.
AS a child I read everything and anything I could lay my hands on. I was orphaned at seven and sent away to school, so I had plenty of time on my hands. I seem to recall that the vast majority of my childhood was consumed with cross country running and reading. I loved Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle, and then as I grew up I started reading Michael Moorcock, Harper Lee, even Stephen King (I read The Shining when I was 13, stuck in a sanatorium with chicken pox on my own, and all I could see through the round porthole window in the door was a long, long corridor with a black and white checkerboard floor!) So I pretty much had no reservations about reading at all, and when I got into my 20s I started reading Faulkner, Steinbeck, things like that, and was really taken by authors qwho not only told a great story, but also told it with style.
And thank you for your kind words about Quiet Belief!
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 20 Birthday: June Location: Birmingham
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:09 pm Post subject:
Sally3 wrote:
Hi Roger
I am always interested in what authors enjoy reading themselves.
What books have you enjoyed? or continue to enjoy? Did you have any childhood favourites?
I have just finished A Simple Act of Violence, I found some of the political theme a little challenging at times but I didn't give up!
Thanks for coming to BB and annecater for organising it. I hear she is quite a buddy of yours!
I enjoy a wide variety of authors and books. People I like are as follows:
Steinbeck
Faulkner
Capote
Harper Lee
Tim O'Brien
Michael Chabon
Philip Roth
Norman Mailer
William Styron
Carson McCullers
Willa Cather
James Agee
Henry Roth
Stephen King
James Ellroy
Saul Bellow
T.C Boyle
E. Annie Proulx
and I could go on...basically, the kind of author I like is the author that tells you a great story, but tells it with a particularly original style or voice, something that is a little more than just a mechanically correct plot, you know? I like to be captiavted by language and transported somewhere!
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 20 Birthday: June Location: Birmingham
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:12 pm Post subject:
Danny wrote:
Roger,
I have read all 5 of your books, and have noticed you have written in the first person, third person, and even a mixture of these narrative styles. What factors do you consider when choosing which narrative style to use for a novel?
Thanks
Danny
It's really a question of whether or not I feel the central character is strong enough to support a whole book. With first person, your central character has to be in every single scene, so a first person narrative is actually a good deal harder to keep tense and interesting as you have the same person in every scene. A third person narrative is easier as you can switch from one viewpoint to another. In a couple of books I have combined the two, and the trick there is to ensure that in writing two concurrent storylines you keep each storyline as interesting as the other. It has to be a conscious decision you make right at the start, because there's nothing worse than writing 30,000 words in first person and then deciding that you want to do it in third after all!
The pattern that seems to be emerging is like there's three types of novels that I want to write. Candlemoth, A Quiet Belief In Angels, and the book I'm writing now for 2010 are more like slow-burn human dramas, smalltown settings and things like that. Ghostheart, City of Lies and the book for 2009 are more your standard crime thrillers, and could be classed as crime fiction in the strict sense of the word. The third type is like a vast political epic that encompasses such things as the Mafia (as in A Quiet Vendetta) and the CIA (as in A Simple Act of Violence, due out in October). So the answer to your question is that I like writing all three of them, and I change from one book to the next and never write the same type of book one after the other.
That's interesting. Do you find that when you start out on a new book you're able to look at the genre in which you're writing from "fresh eyes" as it were? As you wouldn't have written in that style for 2 books previously.
Where do your ideas come from? Are you influenced by real life events, or perhaps other fiction writers who write in similar styles? _________________ Currently Reading:
Joined: 12 Aug 2006 Posts: 1630 Location: Lincolnshire
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:16 pm Post subject:
Thanks for answering the questions so fully Roger. It's fascinating stuff.
Do you think your life experiences have helped you when writing your books - i.e. being orphaned, going to boarding school, working with substance misusers etc? _________________ Currently reading: The Tent The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy and Granny The Pag by Nina Bawden
1001 Challenge Books read in 2009 - 3
1001 Challenge Books read in 2008 - 8
1001 Challenge Books read in 2007 - 13
Hello Roger, nice to "meet" you.
In "Angels" the central character, Joseph, is a budding author. Is there anything about his early experience as a writer that is autobiographical?
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 20 Birthday: June Location: Birmingham
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:22 pm Post subject:
annecater wrote:
Hi Roger and welcome, thank for agreeing to chat to us.
I have a question from Patricia who is unable to join us, her message is:
Unfortunately my husband is having an operation on 17 June so I won't be on-line.
I very much enjoyed Quiet Belief in Angels but wasn't sure about the ending. I found it hard to believe that the sheriff was the serial-murderer. It just didn't quite fit somehow. I would have preferred the identify of the killer to have been left open even though we know he did get shot at the end.
However the format of the story was riveting and some of the more unbelievable events e.g. teacher/pupil affair and the relentless nightmare of Joseph's life remained convincing. Though on reflection, when Bridget is killed I thought this was more about tidying up the plot to expose the real murderer, so less plausible. And surely as a sheriff he could have taken care of Joseph much earlier on.
Sorry!
Patricia
A question from me; initially I was put off reading A Quiet Belief as it had been classed as a 'thriller'. I'm so glad I did read it and really think that 'thriller' is the wrong genre. I see it more as a 'coming of age' novel - what are your thoughts?
My other question is regarding your latest book - A Simple Act of Violence. How much of the CIA stuff is based on the truth?
Two different questions here. Firstly, a book is subjective of course, and everyone has a different view. I have been told in numerous e-mails that the identity of the murderer was obvious/not obvious/unlikely/brilliant and many other things! The simple fact of the matter was that ultimately it could not have been anyone else, as everyone else had either moved on, died, fallen by the wayside etc. It is a trick to be able to surprise every reader consistently, and I don't know that it can be done. People think in different ways, they have hunches and feelings about things, and often they are right. The death of Bridget was simply a case of the murderer turning up to kill Joseph, and finding her in the house he had to kill her to protect his own identity. A good number of people were upset with the fact that Bridget died, in that this seemed to be Joseph's chance at happiness, but the truth of the matter is that the book was about one person's ability to soldier on despite all and see that justice was done, no matter what happened and no matter the numer of obstacles.
The other point about whether or not the book was a crime thriller, I actually agree and feel that my books are not 'crime fiction' in the strictest sense of the word. A lady at the Bookseller magazine once said that I didn't write crime fiction, I wrote 'human dramas' and I would agree with her. In most of the books, in fact in all of them, the crime is very much a secondary thing. It's simply a means by which people can be tested. The common thread through all of the books is the fact that we have put an ordinary individual into an extraordinary situation, and we see how he/she deals with it.
As far as the second question is concerned, regarding A Simple Act of Violence, let me just say this...we have had to have a libel reading done by a legal expert to see where we have crossed the line. The truth of the book is that a great deal of things happened in Nicaragua that should not have happened, and all of them have been reported factually in the book. Scary, but true!
I was going to ask a similar question based on your answers, Roger.
Is Joseph based on yourself and your experiences? He suffers so much loss but always comes through, I admired that about him. I loved his character and still think about him, wondering what he'd be doing - that must sound silly, but he was a really memorable and likeable character for me. I liked how resilient a character he is, and having lost a parent when I was small, could relate to his feelings. _________________ Reading: Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
Reading Challenge 2009: 7
2008: 4
2007: 10
Joined: 12 Aug 2006 Posts: 1630 Location: Lincolnshire
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:28 pm Post subject:
I had a feeling that you were going to say that all that CIA stuff was true. Although I'm aware that there is loads of stuff happening that the public dont know about, this is quite horrific. It's made me want to find out even more now.
I'm glad you agree about the 'crime thriller' label - I dont like labels, but if they are going to be used then they should be correct.
I love your explanation regarding the Sherrif in A Quiet Belief - I'll admit I did wonder about it, but as you say, knowing who the murderer was doesnt change the book - it's all about Joseph (who incidentally, we all fell a little in love with!) _________________ Currently reading: The Tent The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy and Granny The Pag by Nina Bawden
1001 Challenge Books read in 2009 - 3
1001 Challenge Books read in 2008 - 8
1001 Challenge Books read in 2007 - 13
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 20 Birthday: June Location: Birmingham
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:31 pm Post subject:
heathera wrote:
cicero5 wrote:
The pattern that seems to be emerging is like there's three types of novels that I want to write. Candlemoth, A Quiet Belief In Angels, and the book I'm writing now for 2010 are more like slow-burn human dramas, smalltown settings and things like that. Ghostheart, City of Lies and the book for 2009 are more your standard crime thrillers, and could be classed as crime fiction in the strict sense of the word. The third type is like a vast political epic that encompasses such things as the Mafia (as in A Quiet Vendetta) and the CIA (as in A Simple Act of Violence, due out in October). So the answer to your question is that I like writing all three of them, and I change from one book to the next and never write the same type of book one after the other.
That's interesting. Do you find that when you start out on a new book you're able to look at the genre in which you're writing from "fresh eyes" as it were? As you wouldn't have written in that style for 2 books previously.
Where do your ideas come from? Are you influenced by real life events, or perhaps other fiction writers who write in similar styles?
Yes, I think I do. The first thing I establish is where the book will be set. Thesecond thing is the kind of emotional effect I want to create. the best description I ever heard about the difference between fiction and non-fiction was that non-fiction had as its primary purpose the conveying of information, whereas fiction had as its primary function the evoking of an emotion. I think that's very accurate, and I always work towards generating an emotion in the reader. basically, if it doesn't get to me, then I know it won't get to whoever is reading it. Once I have established those two things, I am then sort of 'living' the book if you know what I mean. For the weeks or months I am writing it I sort of carry it around in my head, as if the characters are with me. I don't want that to sound like I have multiple personality disorder, but I think you know what I mean. I am looking at the incidents and occurrences through a character's eyes, and sometimes their attitudes becomeso real that I find myself changingthe way I had intended the book to go as I realize that such and such a character wouldn't do that!
I think I am primarily influenced by life. I tend not to read anything while I am writing a book as I find that an author's style can insidiously creep into your work. I think once I have established the main thrust of the story and the voice of the central characters then the style in which it needs to be written comes through. If anyone has read more than one book of mine they can quite easily see that though it might be obvious that they are written by the same person, they are in fact quite different in their style and pace. That's a challenge to me, and something that I try to do to keep things fresh and interesting.
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 20 Birthday: June Location: Birmingham
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:35 pm Post subject:
annecater wrote:
Thanks for answering the questions so fully Roger. It's fascinating stuff.
Do you think your life experiences have helped you when writing your books - i.e. being orphaned, going to boarding school, working with substance misusers etc?
I think you'd have to be a very strange person not to have some of your own experiences and life creep into what you write. I don't know necessarily that I can place specific instances of my past into fiction and say 'There, I've written that because such and such happened', but I do feel that the way in which you have experienced things influences how you perceive them. For an example, I think if you have lost someone very, very close then you do have a better ability to perhaps describe how that felt. Sometimes I read back over things I have written and I think 'That reminds me of so-and-so or such-and-such an event...', and it's in hindsight that I can see the subtle influences.
I think boarding school gave me independence and the ability to go on working even when I don't want to or don't feel like it, and as far as the whole area of drug rehab is concerned, I don't think that you can avoid having touched the more raw and rough edges of life for so long and then not let it inform how you think and thus how you write.
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