Q + A and Ross Macdonald

I did a Q & A for The Big Thrill, the International Thriller Writers magazine, talking about Sunset & Jericho, the Wakeland series, my writing process, and more. Adam Gill’s questions were thoughtful and worth sharing.

When you first created your protagonist for this book, did you see an empty space in crime lit that you wanted to fill? What can you share about the inspiration for that character?

There’s a romance to the detective genre other mysteries lack. A celebration of of language and wit, of human diversity and extremes in human nature. There’s a connection to daily life in the city, usually, but life anywhere. I love the genre.

And Wakeland is a part of that. He likes a drink, he likes music, he likes moody introspection, and he’s competent with his fists when backed into a corner. He responds to vulnerability, looks for truth, believes in love, and despises cruelty and hypocrisy. He leaves himself open to be hurt, but instead of closing up, absorbs it and keeps going.

But he’s never only those things. Wakeland operates in the present day—in a postcolonial, postindustrial, multivalent world. He’s of that world and he functions in that world. Which means instead of being a loner with a shithole office, he sometimes works in a corporate-friendly office environment, with a business partner who understands that world. As tough as Dave is, he comes up against people who train in MMA, carry modified assault weapons, people who don’t recognize acknowledge a shared humanity or don’t care. He’s frequently outmatched.

SUNSET AND JERICHO starts with Wakeland alone, with Sonia having moved to Montreal for her career, and the Wakeland & Chen office stricken with the flu. Dave turns down a chance to work for the mayor, instead doing a favor for Ryan, chasing down a gun stolen from a transit cop who was nearly blinded in an attack. This gun connects him to the murders of a young radicalized working class guy, and the mayor’s brother.

It’s a book that leads Wakeland through a series of moral crossroads. His relationships to others have never been more critical–and he’s never been more desperately alone.

Read the rest of the Q and A here.

”How a Rough Childhood in Vancouver Inspired One of America’s Greatest Crime Novelists” is my article on the early days of Ross Macdonald. RM is one of my heroes, and it was very cool to research his early life—the lifeguard who watched over him as a child was Joe Fortes, Vancouver’s “Citizen of the Century.” I used to go to the Joe Fortes library as a kid.