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Authors: Doug Johnstone

Tags: #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Mystery, #Thrillers & Suspense, #Crime, #Crime Fiction

Hit and Run (19 page)

BOOK: Hit and Run
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Going back to
Smokeheads
, you set the whole novel on the island of Islay, which was a brilliant move, dramatically, and also of course gave you the hook of single malt whiskies. I wondered when the ideas for that novel first started to all come together for you? 
 

Well there were a couple of starting points really, which kind of meshed together. I’ve long been a fan of James Dickey’s novel
Deliverance
, which I came to from the classic Burt Reynolds movie. I loved the contained tension created by the physical constraints on the action, and I thought that doing something similar on a Scottish island would be interesting. I’ve been a big fan of single malt whiskies for many years, specifically Islay ones, which have a very distinct style and personality. It struck me that you could have a kind of buddy movie thing similar to
Sideways
by Rex Pickett with whisky instead of wine, then flick a switch and turn it into
Deliverance
crossed with
The Wicker Man
. OK, that doesn’t exactly sound like rocket science or great art, but hopefully what I’ve created has some kind of merit, at least as a decent piece of storytelling. 

You’re also an experienced musician; I wondered what you saw as the similarities and differences between songwriting and novel writing? 
 

For me, songwriting is a lot more instinctive than novel writing. Of course, there is still a creative element to each, but a novel takes so much more planning – at least the way I do it. I write huge amounts of notes in preparation for writing a novel, as well as character profiles, scene sketches, loads of stuff, and then when I’m brimming over with material, I kind of just splurge it onto the page. The songs seem to come in a much less planned way, much more of a scattershot approach. You really can write a song in five minutes if you’re in the right mood, and often those are much better than the ones you slave away over for ages and spend weeks crafting and re-shaping. 

Looking ahead, what's next, fiction-wise? 
 

I’m working on the next novel, which I think will fit in stylistically with
Smokeheads
and
Hit and Run
, while hopefully having deeper psychology behind it and a wider social commentary. I don’t want to say too much about it at the moment, but it’s set in Edinburgh again, this time mostly in the area around Portobello beach, where I now live. It’s about a man whose wife goes missing, leaving him to look after their young son while also following the trail of her disappearance, a trail that unravels into something of a nightmare situation. It’s the most disturbing subject matter I’ve tackled so if I can pull it off, it’ll hopefully make for a powerful read. 

And finally, rapid-fire round, it’s time for some of Doug Johnstone’s recommendations: 
 
Favourite novel?
 

Preston Falls
by the massively underrated David Gates. 

Favourite album?
 

Probably
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot,
the first Sparklehorse album. 

Favourite single malt whisky?
 

Obvious, given the context of
Smokeheads
, but it has to be Laphroaig.

 

By the Same Author

Tombstoning
The Ossians
Smokeheads

About the Author

 

Doug Johnstone is the author of three previous novels,
Tombstoning,
The Ossians
and
Smokeheads
, and is currently writer in residence at the University of Strathclyde. He is also a freelance journalist, a songwriter and musician, and has a PhD in nuclear physics. He lives in Edinburgh.

 
For more information see:
 
dougjohnstone.wordpress.com
dougjohnstone.bandcamp.com

First published in
2012
by Faber and Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London
WC
1
B
3
DA
This ebook edition first published in 2012

 

All rights reserved
©
Doug Johnstone
,
2012

 

The right of
Doug Johnstone
to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

 

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

 

ISBN
978–0–571–27046–0

 
 
BOOK: Hit and Run
6.55Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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