I loved the book The House That Jack Built
although it took a while to work out Jack’s connection to it. It also put me in mind of those old houses in
the suburbs, Victorian houses. It was a
well thought out story. I did grimace
when Jack’s skull came in for a pounding.
What drove you to write such a complex story
like this that had so many characters.
How did you keep up with them all?
Guy:
I’m glad you liked it!
I make
things ever so difficult for myself because I don’t plan my books on paper, I
retain it all in my head. It’s just the way I’ve always worked.
I have a
real habit of writing books with large cast lists too. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT was sparse compared to some of mine, THE WORLD HOUSE for example or the HEAVEN’S GATE books for Solaris, the
latter of which was rejected by a different publisher with the comment ‘I think
that’s the most absurd cast of characters I’ve ever seen.’ Naturally I took
that as a compliment.
For me,
writing stories is about coming up with an initial idea, a flavour, an
atmosphere, and then populating it with people I’m happy to spend some time
with. After all, however long the reader’s going to spend in my world it’s
nothing compared to how long I have to live in it, I may as well try and make
it enjoyable!
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT was
developed at the same time as THE WORLD
HOUSE, my first original novel. Both were me wanting to play in the haunted
house territory, albeit with vastly different results.
When writing
a haunted house story for TORCHWOOD the trick was to find a way to make it fit.
What would a haunted house be like in that world? What would be the scientific
background? The cause? Once I’d nailed that the rest was just about trying on
those characters, both the team from the show and the original characters I’d
created.
I enjoyed
writing Jack, Gwen and Ianto a great deal. I think I got them right as
characters too, I found their voice.
What is it about horror that you like in
terms of genre?
Guy:
Oh, that’s an elusive one really... on one hand I like the freedom of
it, the way a world can be bent (or broken) to suit your story. There’s a
thrill to it as well, of course, dredging up things that frighten. Most of all
there’s a sense of awe and power to the best horror fiction I think, a bubbling
energy that underlies the words, something that could escape at any time and
either fill the reader with terror or wonder. Preferably both!
Have you written any other horror
stories/novels?
Guy:
Lots. Most of my work has elements of horror in it. I do tend to mix up
genres a great deal so I’ve rarely written a book that you could class purely
as horror. The closest I’ve come are probably the adaptations of Hammer Horror
movies I did for Hammer Books. I wrote three, KRONOS (based on CAPTAIN KRONOS - VAMPIRE HUNTER) and HANDS OF THE RIPPER and COUNTESS DRACULA. The latter two, in
particular, are pretty straight horror narratives. They were great fun. We were
encouraged to make drastic changes to the original stories so they’re more
remakes than novelisations.
Everything I
do tends to tread into dark waters at some point or another though, it’s where
I’m most comfortable swimming.
Guy:
I love all sorts. My main workload these days are three different novel
series for three different publishers and they show my tastes pretty well. The HEAVEN’S GATE books (THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE INFERNAL
and the forthcoming ONCE UPON A TIME IN
HELL are a stew of spaghetti western, fantasy and horror; the DEADBEAT books have a thick vein of
pulp crime to them alongside the more fantastical stuff and THE CLOWN SERVICE books are spy novels,
albeit spy novels with horror elements.
I also tend
to have a fair amount of humour in my writing, something that makes people
uncomfortable at times (I see no problem in switching from something terrifying
to something funny, but not everybody agrees with me!)
I blame this
obsession with flitting between moods and atmospheres entirely on the two
things that developed my love of story (see how I slip into answering the
second part of your question so seamlessly? What a pro...) DOCTOR WHO and
comics. I devoured both endlessly as a kid and still do. Since when did DOCTOR
WHO ever care about presenting a single tone? It’s funny, scary, high concept,
dramatic and absurd. Usually all within a single episode. Bob Holmes, he didn’t
care about making you laugh AND scream within the space of five minutes either.
What a hero.
Comics are
the same, they tell stories that flit between genres without batting an eyelid.
Throw it all in there, why tell fantasy stories and then limit yourself? Let
your stories explode on the page.
Luckily I’ve
started writing those too. A series called THE
ENGINE from a company called Madefire (who are doing ground-breaking stuff
with digital) and ULYSSES SWEET - MANIAC
FOR HIRE for 2000AD, another childhood ambition filled.
Who was your favourite author as you were
growing up, and do you still hold the same tastes in authors?
Guy:
I don’t have a single favourite anything really, I’m too flighty in my
reading habits. I could rattle off a list of youthful favourites but I’ll
probably miss someone obvious... Steven King, Michael Marshall Smith, Clive
Barker, M. R. James, Grant Morrison, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, P.G. Wodehouse,
Douglas Adams... Oh, I don’t know, I could hammer out names endlessly I
suspect.
Tastes do
change of course, though most of those still please me (which is why they
sprang so easily to mind I guess).
Out of all the books you’ve written what has
been your favourite and why?
Guy:
Hmm... another one that’s impossible to answer I think. Not because I’m
being evasive but just because I’m too subjective to really choose. I don’t
often enjoy the actual process of writing so that can contaminate my opinion
too. I think THE CLOWN SERVICE is
probably quite good, for example, but I had such a lousy time writing it that I
find it hard to like the thing.
Both TORCHWOOD books rank quite high though
as they were fun and (I think... I hope... quite successful in achieving
what they set out to do).
When you’re writing do you write in quiet or
do you have music and if so which?
Guy:
I vary. I have to edit in silence because I need to concentrate. On a
good day though, when the words are coming easily, it will usually be to music.
I often write to soundtracks because then the lyrics don’t distract. Hans
Zimmer is a favourite, particularly his two Sherlock Holmes scores and the brilliant INCEPTION soundtrack. Ennio Morricone often raises his head for the
westerns (Ecstasy of Gold is
probably the greatest piece of music ever written). I’m trying to remember what
I played when writing the Torchwood books... I know THE MEN WHO SOLD THE WORLD
was a blend of John Powell’s Bourne
soundtracks and THE BUENA VISTA SOCIAL
CLUB but I just can’t remember for THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT.
Your novel The Men Who Sold The World I
absolutely loved. It didn’t read like a
Torchwood book. I’d read a blog
somewhere, probably on one of the online groups or Pages on FB that said they
found the book disappointing because it hardly mentioned Torchwood, was this a
conscious decision to write as little as possible about Jack and Gwen at this
time?
Guy:
I can see why some would be disappointed but it was a practical
limitation really. Those three prequel books all had a specific brief, mine
being to feature Rex in an action-packed thriller that could bring him close to
the world of Torchwood but never fully expose him to it (as he had to retain
his cynicism for the start of MIRACLE DAY). So it was a juggling act, including
strong sci-fi elements but always at sufficient remove from the central
character that he could remain ignorant.
The couple
of flashback scenes featuring Jack, Gwen and Ianto were late additions,
initially it was thought best I didn’t feature them at all. That said, there
are a number of hidden references in there, in the origin of some of the weaponry
for example.
I found the characters, especially the gunrunners;
the mercenaries with this weapon that tapped into their brains making them
react differently perhaps than normal, really interesting characters,
especially the ringleader. He was cold
and calculating. I felt sorry for the
guy that was travelling with the killer with the gun, you kind of knew he
wasn’t going to make it.
Guy:
So few of them did! It was a real change of tone for me, a real macho,
gun-toting affair. I’m very good friends with James Goss who wrote one of the
other prequels and he read mine with a nervous squint. His bookshelves are
filled with old murder mystery paperbacks, books about charming dowagers
knitting and catching murderers. I think mine is the only book he owns with a
machine-gun on the cover.
I was never a fan of Rex Matheson, but this
book as books before this have changed my views on other Torchwood cast
members, changed it. Rex was brilliant
in this.
Was it easier writing a story that didn’t
involve Torchwood as much and is Rex your new favourite character?
Guy:
Actually it was very difficult because I only had Russell’s pitch and
initial script to go on. It wasn’t till long after I’d written the book that I
got to see Rex Matheson in action. In fact, Mekhi Phifer wasn’t even cast when
I started work on it.
Luckily
Russell’s writing is so good, his characters so clear, that I had a fairly
solid idea of what Rex was going to be like. It helped being a fan too, I know
the sort of characters Russell likes to write, the wit that will come out in
the dialogue, the sharp edges. I sat down and second-guessed him basically,
through years of adoration!
When he read
it he was relieved and very pleased that I’d got it right. Which made my day.
Watching the
show was strange because Rex felt hugely familiar of course. I felt a tad
proprietorial over him, which was ludicrous, naturally, and hugely misplaced
but hard to avoid having lived in his head for so long.
The one
character that I had to change was Esther. When I first started work on the
book we didn’t really know what she was going to become onscreen and the
character I wrote was miles off. She’s the one that still stands out to me now
as being wrong. It couldn’t be helped though.
When the ideas were being put together for
The House That Jack Built and The Men Who Sold the World, was Steve Tribe
involved in this?
Guy:
Ah! Tribe! He’s a good pal thanks to these Torchwood books. The work he
did on the range, steering it into interesting directions and making brave
choices, doesn’t get enough credit I think. He was great to work with.
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT was one of
three ideas I submitted to him and he suggested a few changes (including the
title, which I’d dismissed as I thought he’d hate such an obvious pun!).
THE MEN WHO SOLD THE WORLD was a more
specific commission as I said above. He knew exactly what sort of tone he
wanted, the kind of book it needed to be. I just did my best to provide it. The
title was intentionally to please him as we’re both massive fans of David
Bowie.
The readers
who have enjoyed the TORCHWOOD books owe the man a drink, he’ll take it too,
nobody rejects free booze in publishing.
Although TW deals with horror and violence of
the world we live in and the aliens, is there a limit on how much violence you
can write in the pages?
Guy:
There’s a limit in what would be acceptable within the books I think,
yes. Though it was never made explicit to me. The trick to all tie-in fiction
is to capture the tone of the show, if I (or any of the other writers) had
written something that felt wrong in that context then we’d have been missing
the point and Tribe would have brought us up on it. That’s not to say you
shouldn’t occasionally test those boundaries a little, if the story demands it,
but to bulldoze merrily through them would be unprofessional.
In Wikipedia it mentions that you’ve worked
as an actor and a comedian, what roles have you taken and are you still acting
and what can we expect to see you in next?
Guy:
I haven’t acted for years, unfortunately. I miss it actually. I had
great fun for a number of years and played some great roles (particularly on
stage where you can get away with less obvious casting!). I’ve played
Hemingway, George Bernard Shaw (with a cracking beard that I naughtily tinged
yellow with crafty, offstage fags), Ebenezer Scrooge (shaven head and a lot of
scowling), Sherlock Holmes, Hitler (dancing to Benny Goodman), classy gents
all.
As for
comedy, Wiki says I did stand-up (which I haven’t), but that’s OK, Wiki has to
get a few things wrong. I actually toured a sketch show for eighteen months
with a good friend of mine Phil Jarrett. We wrote the material too.
When you were 12 what were your aspirations?
Guy:
To be an actor and play three specific roles: Sherlock Holmes, Scrooge
and The Doctor. Two out of three ain’t bad!
Pauline Howard asks: What inspired you to write stories for Torchwood, Life on Mars and Sherlock Holmes?
Guy:
Well, the horrible answer is that writing is my job and so, as much as I
loved writing those books there was a financial incentive at play too. That
said, I only ever tried to get work on ranges that I thought I could do a good
job with.
The TORCHWOOD books came about because
three separate people recommended me to Steve Tribe. When you’re that lucky
he’d have had to really hate me not to give me a chance!
The LIFE ON MARS books were my break as a
professional author and I rather stumbled into the first two. I had a meeting
with the people at Kudos TV and Film with a friend of mine, designer, Lee
Thompson. I’d sent an email to them suggesting some unusual ideas for books
based on the shows they produced (I honestly can’t even remember why at the
time, Lee and I were involved in a small publishing outfit and I’m pretty sure
our hope was to get the licence to publish them rather than actually work on
them). They called us in and we left the building attached to a proposal for
two ‘making-of’ books about Life On Mars. Simon and Schuster came onboard as
the publisher and all of a sudden I was a professional writer and he was
working as a book designer.
Sherlock Holmes... That was
more of an active attempt on my part. I’ve always loved the original stories
and when I saw Titan were republishing some old spin-off novels I asked if they
might consider me should they ever fancy doing something original. Six months later
I got an email saying they did. I’m writing a new Holmes short story for them
at the moment actually!
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