1. Can you introduce Carter Blake for those readers who are yet to meet him?
Carter Blake is a free agent who specialises in finding people who don't want to be found. He has a shadowy background in intelligence and special operations which has furnished him with the skills and experience to make him the best at what he does. As we read more about him, we start to get a bit more detail about his past.
2. The Carter Blake series is set in the US. Why do you think so many UK authors choose to set their thrillers outside of the UK?
Good question, and I think there are a few reasons. One of the most important for me was the fact that I've always loved American books and films, and it's always a good idea to write the kind of thing that you enjoy. I also think there is an advantage for UK authors writing about America because we share a language and many of the same cultural touchstones, but we bring an outsider's perspective as well. That's a good thing for writing any fiction, but particularly crime.
3. How much research did you do before writing The Killing Season and The Samaritan? What struck me is how authentic they felt in terms of their setting...Thank you! I do some general research before I start writing, but only enough to get me started. A lot of the real detail is added as I write and in subsequent drafts. I find it easier to come up with the characters and the big scenes and then try to ground them in reality as far as possible. In some ways that was easier for The Samaritan because it's mostly set in Los Angeles and I've spent some time there.
4. With praise from Lee Child and the success of The Killing Season, did that add to or reduce any nerves experienced when writing The Samaritan?
I was actually really lucky with timings on that, because The Samaritan was finished before Killing Season was published. It felt like I had the warm glow of having done my homework ahead of time. It was a different sort of pressure for the second book, because on the one hand I had a deadline and the expectations of my publisher, but on the other I had the confidence of knowing that they liked the first book, so I had clearly done something right.
The Lee Child quote was a fantastic boost, as he's one of my literary heroes. I got the chance to say hi to him at Crimefest this weekend, and he was really approachable and encouraging about the book.
5. Without going into too much detail we often learn a lot about Carter Blake's past, in The Samaritan especially, is he a character that you have fully plotted out or do you yourself learn more about him as you write? I have a pretty good idea of his background and where he's going, but I definitely do learn more about him as I write. I think it's more fun that way, because I get to find out more about him and flesh out his character and history over several books. Without giving anything away, you find out more about his past in The Samaritan, and even more in the third book, but there are still things about him I don't know yet. Like his real name...
6. What does a typical writing day look like for you?
I tend to write at night time. I have a day job and young children, so a typical day tends to mean putting the kids to bed and then typing away until midnight or so. Right now I'm editing the third book, so basically every spare moment is taken up with that.
7. This series is one of the most exciting new thriller series I have read in recent years. Can you reveal anything about the future of Carter Blake? Can we assume this is hopefully going to be a long-running series?
Thank you, that's really encouraging to hear! The big thing in his immediate future is that his past is about to come back to bite him in book 3. The ramifications of what happens in that book will spill over into the next one. I certainly hope it will be a long-running series, and I have ideas for another few Blake books after the fourth one. The great thing about the character is he can go anywhere and get involved in a lot of different types of adventures.
8. Having worked incredibly hard to become a published author, what have you found to be the most exciting thing about the whole process?
It probably won't come as a big surprise, but the single most exciting thing has to be walking into a bookshop and seeing a real book on the shelves with words inside that you wrote. I'm really glad that physical book retailing is surviving so far in the 21st century, because while seeing your book listed on Amazon is nice, it's not the same thing. In general I feel incredibly lucky to have such a great agent and publisher, and to be so supported in what I'm doing.
Thanks to Mason Cross for answering these questions. The Samaritan is released May 21st!
About Mason Cross
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