Today I am delighted to feature Russell Day.
What genre would you say your
novels fall into, or do they defy classification?
Beyond saying ‘crime’, it’s
difficult to narrow my writing to a particular genre. At some point my
characters will break the law or be brought to justice (or injustice), but I tend
to mix elements together from the different sub-genres.
On one level, crossing genres is a problem because it makes
the books hard to market, but it’s nice to see people taking different things
from what I’ve written. What I aim for is a book that Agatha Christie and
Raymond Chandler might have written if they met up in a tattoo parlour, then
got drunk and woken up to a shared hangover.
What made you choose that genre?
I joke that it’s because I’m from
north London and grew up in a high crime area. There’s a grain of truth in that,
but mainly I write about crime because I like storylines and characters that
can’t be trusted. Writing crime makes that easy; as soon as you put a robbery
or a murder into a plot, the characters have to start lying and cheating.
It doesn’t hurt that I’ve got a soft spot for antiheroes. Not
that I consider Doc Slidesmith to be an antihero; I describe him as an almost
hero.
How long does it take you to
write a book?
Around a year seems to be my speed
for a novel. That’s the actual sitting down and typing bit, of course. The core
idea might have been bouncing around in my head for years. Having said that,
the novel I’m currently working on isn’t coming together as fast as I’d like. I
usually manage 1,000 words a day quite regularly, but for this novel that
hasn’t been happening. And, to rub salt in the wounds, at around twenty-five
thousand words I found out that one of my main plot devices didn’t work. I’ve
worked out a way around it but editing the first draft is probably going to
need a machete rather than a keyboard. That’s alright, I like machetes.
What is your work schedule like
when you're writing?
I don’t have a schedule as such.
When I have a project underway, I aim for 1,000 word a day, but that target is fairly
fluid. Also, I work full time, so all my writing is fitted in around shift
patterns. Basically, when I get a chance, I write. If I waited around for the
‘right’ time, nothing would get done.
Where do you get your ideas for
your books?
I don’t often ‘get’ an idea in one
hit. Usually I hear something or have a totally random image pop into my head,
and it starts a chain of thoughts, or questions. Where I end up is usually so
far removed from where I start, it makes my head ache.
For the novel I’ve just had published, Ink to Ashes,
I had a scene in my head of someone tattooing a corpse. That raised a few questions.
What sort of tattoo is it? Who’s it going on to? Why wait until they’re dead? How
did they die? Eventually I had a story.
Tell me something about yourself
your readers might not know.
I was once an extra in a photoshoot
for a porn mag.
When did you write your first
book and how old were you?
I started writing when I was a
teenager, but I didn’t really apply myself to it until I was in my late
forties. The first novel that got beyond first draft was Needle Song and
it was published as I turned fifty.
In hindsight, I wasted a lot of time sitting around waiting for
the ‘mood’ to take me. I also had this idea that writing was something you
could either do or not do, so I didn’t invest any effort in learning how to do
it properly. The upshot was the time I didn’t waste sitting around waiting for
the muse to call, I wasted making the same mistakes over and over again. Looking
back on it now, it’s quite embarrassing.
What do you like to do when
you're not writing?
When I’m not at work or doing the
family man bit I can normally be found on or around a motorcycle. One of my
tattoos (I’ve got a lot of them) reads:
1.
BLOOD
2.
OIL
3.
INK
What that means is: first my family,
then my bike, then my writing.
What was one of the most
surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Two things: the first is about the book I’m
currently writing, which revolves around a webcam model.
While researching the camming
industry/community I found out it’s possible to buy artificial semen. That was
something of a surprise. What really made my jaw drop though was finding it was
available by the gallon.
The second was that Agatha Christie was a keen surfer.
Back in the twenties she was among the first British ‘stand-up’ surfers.
How many books have you written?
Three novels to date, Needle Song
and Ink to Ashes - currently available
from Fahrenheit Press and Amazon - and King of the Crows which will
be coming out next year.
Needle Song and Ink to Ashes are the first two
books in the series featuring Doc Slidesmith. King of the Crows is a
standalone novel set in the near future during a pandemic that has wiped out
most of Europe. It’s another example of mixing genres and possibly pushes the
envelope of crime fiction, but I still regard it as a noir piece. It may be the
first ever zombie heist novel.
Which is your favourite and why?
I’d have to say King of the
Crows. It’s a bit off the wall and unlike anything I’ve written before. As
I said earlier, I like plots and characters that can’t always be trusted. In Crows
there are three narrative POVs and serval sources of information. All of them
have their own agenda and almost none of them can be trusted.
Do you Google yourself? What did
you find that affected you most (good or bad?)
I found someone on eBay was selling
two Writer’s Forum Magazines “featuring short stories from up and coming
writer Russell Day”. That was really an ego boost.
As a child, what did you want to
do when you grew up?
Ride a Harley Davidson and get
tattooed a lot. It’s worked out quite well really.
How many unpublished and
half-finished books do you have on your computer?
Not that many really. If I can’t get
something up to speed, I tend to hit delete and move on. I’ve got a few short
stories that I’m struggling to find endings for and a lot of weird titles. If I
hear or read a bizarre line somewhere, I often file it away for a future story
title. A few of my favourites are Turn Left at the One-Legged Pigeon and
Don’t be Alarmed, But I’ve Forgotten Your Future.
What I do have a lot of on my computer are opening pages and
disjointed scenes. Some popped into my head and seemed too good not to write
down and some are sections that I’ve edited from finished pieces.
I recently took three of these unconnected scenes and manged
to stitch them into a novella called Coming up with a Because, featuring
Doc Slidesmith. It’s with my publisher now and I’m on tenterhooks waiting for
their reaction.
Bio
Russell Day was born in London and
grew up in N.W.10, an area looking for an alibi. From an early age it was clear
the only things he took an interest in were motorcycles, tattoos and writing.
He has since added family life to the list and now lives with his wife and two
children. He’s still in London but has moved south of the river for the warmth
climate.
His first two novels, Needle Song and Ink to Ashes,
are available on Amazon or direct from Fahrenheit Press http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/authors_russell_day.html
A short story, Not Talking Italics, featuring Doc Slidesmith is currently posted online at https://www.bitsaboutbooks.net/not-talking-italics-russell-day/
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