Published in the Sunday Times
A Time of Torment
John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton)
Which book changed your life?
The first book I ever read alone and unaided, which was a Secret Seven book by Enid Blyton. It took a child at a reading to point out to me that the first book I ever read was a crime novel.
Where do you write best?
I can write pretty much anywhere now. Out of necessity – because of travel – I’m less precious about it than I used to be. Still, I like writing in my office at home, with a couple of sleeping dogs.
What is the strangest thing you’ve done when researching a book?
The most disturbing was visiting the Supermax facility at the Maine State Prison: 23-hour lockdown in a bare cell, possibly for the rest of your life. People, not surprisingly, go insane as a result.
What is the last thing that you read that made you laugh out loud?
I’ve just finished re-reading the Molesworth books by Willans & Searle, and Molesworth’s description of Armand, the little boy in his French textbooks, is perfect: “‘Are there boats on the sea?’ asks Armand, so you can see that i think Papa is only taking him to dieppe in order to drown him.” (Lower case according to Molesworth’s own peculiar spelling and grammar.)
What keeps you awake at night?
Apart from my mortgage? I find it hard to switch off when I’m in the final stages of a draft. Oh, and when I have a bad cold, I find that the lyric of a song will stick in my head and repeat itself over and over for an entire night. Sorry: overshare.
Do you keep a diary?
No. I suppose I consider my books a kind of record … also, diaries, with only a few honourable exceptions, are very dull.
Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with?
My friend Joe Long. His job is installing elevators.
Who is your favourite fictional hero?
Jeeves, although you can’t really have him without Bertie Wooster, who gave the world one of my favourite insults: “‘Very good,’ I said coldly. ‘In that case, tinkerty tonk.’ And I meant it to sting.”
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
At least one is unprintable, so we’d best move along from it. The other is probably “Yes”. I say “Yes” to too many things. It will put me in an early grave.
Which current book will you remember in 10 years?
Possibly DJ Taylor’s The Prose Factory, a history of writing, writers and publishing. I think it’s going to help me win a lot of arguments with literary purists.
You’re hosting a literary dinner with three writers. Who’s invited?
Given the country that it’s in, I’ll pick Deon Meyer, Mike Nicol and Margie Orford. They’re all splendid company.
What are you working on next?
The Parker book for next year, and something a little more experimental, which may never see the light of day.
Book details
- A Time Of Torment by John Connolly
EAN: 9781444751581
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