Edward Wright Interview
Chris High

Los Angeles based Crime novelist, Edward Wright, winner of the Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger in 2004 for Clea's Moon and also of the 2005 Shamus Award for Best Mystery of the Year with his second novel, The Silver Face, talks about his latest John Ray Horn outing, Red Sky Lament (Orion) with Chris High.

Your time in the navy must have had sporadic periods of boredom. Is this when your interest in writing came to the fore?
No, I fought the boredom by reading anything I could get my hands on. It was actually during my navy hitch that I came up with the idea of going into journalism. For a number of years I worked as an editor, first at the Chicago Tribune and later at the Los Angeles Times. It was only when I decided to stop newspapering that I began to wonder if I might be able to write fiction.

Red Sky Lament is an absorbing tale set in late 1940's "Red Scare" America. What made you decide to set the novel during this period?
I developed an affection for the 1940s while researching my first completed novel (never published). The first two books in the John Ray Horn series are set in post-World War II Los Angeles. I wanted the third book to reflect even more of that world, so I decided to draw on some of the politics of that interesting time. Since the first of the congressional investigations into Communist influence on Hollywood films occurred in 1947, it seemed an ideal setting for a murder story with a political backdrop.

The atmosphere in the novel is incredibly authentic. Did your research lead you to meet some of those people involved and affected by the tribunal hearings in Washington?
No, but fortunately there's a wealth of information available on that subject. One particularly good book is Otto Friedrich's City of Nets, a comprehensive look at the Hollywood of the 1940s that's especially strong on the politics of the time.

I particularly liked the use of the Lone Ranger / Tonto pairing in John Ray and Mad Crow riding to the rescue. I also liked the allusion of the brushfire / "Red Scare" changing the landscape permanently. How do you go about writing a book that has such metaphors in their telling, without overplaying their importance and slowing down the telling of the tale?
That's one of the hardest things to do. I think every writer wants his story to go beyond the literal, but you have to be careful with the metaphors, because readers don't want to be led by the hand or hit over the head. All I can do is try to keep the imagery as specific as possible, suggest metaphors without being too broad, and hope they're effective.

Will John Ray return?
You bet, if I have anything to say about it, (and if the readers and publishers want to see more of him.)

Your career in journalism must have brought you into contact with some interesting people. Are these represented in your books?
Yes, but usually as composites. I don't think too much about drawing on real life to create a character. For me, I think it's more of an unconscious process, in which individual traits of real people–little idiosyncrasies in walking or talking, for example–will quietly insinuate
themselves into characters.

Does the thrill of seeing your books on shelves and winning awards still generate the same excitement as it did at first?
I suppose not, I'm sorry to say. I don't know how anything could equal the thrill of that Debut Dagger award for Clea's Moon or the satisfaction of holding that first copy in my hands. But there are always new sources of excitement, and I like the challenge of wrestling with each new book and hoping it will succeed.

What are you currently reading and which authors have acted most as inspiration?
I seem to be reading outside the mystery category right now. I just finished re-reading Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men, one of the best novels about American politics. And I just started Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose's history of the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore North America in the early 1800s. As for inspiration, I often recommend James Lee Burke, who I think is writing some of the best prose in crime fiction today.

Will you be coming to the UK this year?
It doesn't look like it, unfortunately. But I remember that Clea's Moon was published there before it appeared in the U.S., and I feel as if I have a special relationship with the Brits. So whenever I'm able to go, I go.

How important do you think it is for authors to be willing to promote their own work? I notice that you don't have a Website, is this through choice or have you simply not got around to it yet?
Becoming a published writer has been a voyage of discovery for me, and the importance of promotion has been one of the biggest discoveries. I do what I can, but I'm sure I could always do more. As for a website, that's definitely on the list. My wife, who's more promotion-savvy than I am, has been agitating for one, and I'm sure we'll have one eventually.

For an up and coming author, what would you say are the three most important components needed to be successful?
First, apply backside to chair and write on a regular basis. Second, be willing to write less than brilliantly, because there will be long stretches when you feel it's not going well, (I have a little sign posted over my computer that says, "I give myself permission to write crap today.") Third, find someone whose opinion you respect, beg them to read and critique your work, and, when they do, try to lose your ego. (That part is always the hardest.)

Finally, what are you working on currently?
A stand-alone mystery-thriller set in present-day rural east Tennessee featuring a disgraced ex-Chicago newspaperman (no relation, I hope), a former governor, the unearthing of a murdered girl's bones, a smattering of Civil War history, and many other things.

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http://www.chrishigh.com

Reviews - Clea's Moon by Bernard Knight - Red Sky Lament by Chris High

Clea's Moon - Orion

The Silver Face - Orion

Red Sky Lament - Orion