Sharon Long recently caught up with author Linwood Barclay to discuss his latest thriller, Elevator Pitch. Let's see what he had to say.
Your book jacket mentions
that your thriller does for elevators what Psycho did for showers and Jaws did
for the beach. What are your thoughts on this description, should we be
afraid to ride in an elevator?
No
more, I suppose, than when we step into the shower or go to the beach.
But what Psycho and Jaws did was take familiar
places — ones we did not previously have reason to
fear — and make them terrifying. I’m hoping that’s what
I have accomplished with Elevator Pitch. I’m going to make you rethink something you
might use every day, see its potential to scare the wits out of you.
“Elevator Pitch” has such a unique
premise. I have to know, where did your inspiration come from?
I would love to say the idea
came to me when I was trapped in an elevator, but the truth is, I had heard a
report on the evening news that Toronto did not have enough elevator
inspectors. And the idea was just there: a serial killer who sabotages
elevators throughout Manhattan.
Readers like to know how
their favorite authors write. Do you finish one book before starting
another or do you have several projects going at the same time?
When I am in the thick of
writing a book, that’s the only book I’m in the thick of writing. But that
doesn’t mean I won’t have to switch gears to proofread another, or work on a
television project that has an urgent deadline, or write a short story I’ve
promised to someone.
What is the nicest fan
email/letter you have received?
I had a wonderful email a few
weeks ago from a woman who said her grown son, a very successful guy, had never
been a reader. I think it may have been dyslexia-related. But he read No Time
for Goodbye, loved it, and now was reading all my books. That was pretty
gratifying.
I know authors are also
readers, what is in your To Be Read pile?
The new Robert Crais, the new
Laura Lippman, the new Richard Russo.
Do you have a favorite
mystery author?
No writer made a greater
impression on me than Ross Macdonald (real name, Kenneth Millar), author of the
Lew Archer novels.
Who is the one author, past
or present, you would love to have dinner with?
When I was 21, I got to have
dinner with my favourite writer on the planet, the aforementioned Ross
Macdonald. So, dream achieved. But I’d love to go out for wings with Stephen
King.
For our readers, what are you
working on next?
I thought I knew. I’ve
finished a thriller that’s a bit more Michael Crichton-ish, about a test
community of self-driving cars where a virus gets introduced into the system,
and the vehicles become homicidal. But I just got another idea I think is so
good I should do it now while it’s fresh in my head. So, I’m not sure which
book will be next. I’m also working on a possible TV adaptation of my Promise
Falls trilogy. Fingers crossed that happens.
Many thanks to Linwood Barclay for taking the time to chat with us. To read a review of Elevator Pitch on Mystery Playground CLICK HERE.
Many thanks to Linwood Barclay for taking the time to chat with us. To read a review of Elevator Pitch on Mystery Playground CLICK HERE.
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