20 Questions For…..Rod Reynolds

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Latest victim (participant? Random author I found on the street?) in my 20 Questions for feature is that guy again who randomly turns up a lot AKA Rod Reynolds.

I’d like to point out that the photo I have chosen was taken on the last morning of Crimefest at which everything was Rods fault. Just to be clear.

So, The Dark Inside came first…can you remember the lightbulb moment when you wanted to write THIS book as opposed to any other?

Yes. It was when I stumbled across the true story of the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, the unsolved case the book is based on, and just felt terrified and excited all at the same time. I knew I wanted to make a novel out of it. I ditched the manuscript I’d been working on for several months there and then.

How many times do you reckon you’ve sung “Wheels on the Bus” by now?

Infinity + a few. I know all the actions.

Charlie Yates is an old school reporter and both The Dark Inside and Black Night Falling are old school noir novels with a modern twist – What do you LOVE about writing within that era?

I like that everyone played a bit hard and fast with the rules back then, and that parts of the US hadn’t moved on very much from the Wild West era, even by the 1940s (at least in some respects). The truth of that time period is a long way from some of our more genteel assumptions.

If we asked your toddler the question would she choose Daddy or Chips? (or other)

Daddy. She’s not big on chips. But if the question was ‘…or chocolate?’, you wouldn’t even be able to finish the question before she picked chocolate.

Which novelist gives you writers envy? In fact I’ll give you two given your tendency to write like you are from a bygone era – one modern writer, one classic…

Well, I’m duty-bound to answer James Ellroy somewhere in every interview I do, so I’ll take him as my modern pick. (I’m not as keen on his last couple of books, but his five book run from ‘The Big Nowhere’ to ‘The Cold Six Thousand’ is as strong a body of work as anyone’s ever put together).

For classic – I’ll go with Dashiell Hammett. When Raymond Chandler cites you as his inspiration, you must be pretty good.

What did you have for breakfast?

Porridge and banana – same as everyday (unless I’m really hungover).

The last book you read that you wanted to immediately give to everyone you ever met ever?

The Cartel by Don Winslow.

Does your wife manage to suffer fools gladly?

No. Although I seem to have slipped through the net somehow.

What is your favourite type of crisp?

Someone else’s.

You are definitely the type of writer who has more than one idea brewing – what is the most insane idea for a novel you’ve had? (And would you ever write it?)

Hmm…I had an idea for a novel once where the government has secretly been hiding the fact that they’ve found a way to cure death. I wouldn’t rule out having a crack at it at some point, but I could never come up with a story beyond that. So a one page novel, consisting only of a massive conspiracy reveal, doesn’t sounds that great…

Life with kids – how much sleep do you expect to get in the next 5 years? (You answer I’ll tell you if you are even in the ballpark…)

One night?

It is getting easier, but I think I’ve been awake more hours in the last three years than the previous 20 combined.

One night is about right actually. Thats with a bit of luck…

Two things that drive you utterly irrationally mad?

Prologues and cold floors.

Charlie Yates I believe will return for book 3. What the HECK are you going to do to the poor chap this time?

He takes a wicked beating on about p5, and it gets worse from there. Hollywood sleaze, mobsters, a nascent Las Vegas, the mob, missing starlets, rogue FBI agents – lots of good stuff. But Charlie does have a bit more help this time from a familiar face…

Writing perfectionist or slap it down worry about it later?

Bit of both. I tend to edit what I did the day before as a way of keeping everything tight and easing myself into a day’s writing. But I learned not to get too bogged down as momentum is really important when writing.

What would you call a gathering of Crime Writers?

A crime scene in the making.

Stupidest thing you’ve ever done (in a funny way)

Agreeing to be ballast for a Hell’s Angel who needed to test ride a Harley Davidson with a sidecar.

Steph and I both need you to do something and you can’t do both. Who do you say yes to and who do you annoy? 😉

I clone myself.

Last time you swore…

Fuck knows.

As a writer what is your dream…book prizes? Stephen King type fame? Simple peace and quiet and not having to answer a million interview questions?

Earning enough to keep writing full time and provide a decent living for my family.

(Optional extra: that and a mansion with a speedboat somewhere in the Florida Keys.)

How much do you hate me right now?

No more than before.

Thank you! You may now consume alcohol.

Oh, sorry, I didn’t realise I was supposed to be sober.

I judge not.

Follow Rod on Twitter HERE

To purchase Black Night Falling try HERE

Or The Dark Inside HERE

Happy Reading!

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