James Swallow
Author Interview - James Swallow
Author of Ghost.
“As devastating attacks unfold across the globe, Marc Dane must call on all his skills and ingenuity to track down the mysterious figure behind it all - a faceless criminal known only as "Madrigal". Before they plunge the world into war . . .”
Author Interview - James Swallow
Author I draw inspiration from: It’s tough to pick just one; I’d say there’s three authors who made the biggest impression – William Gibson blew me away with his landmark cyberpunk thriller Neuromancer, Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels were a staple of my reading landscape growing up, and Douglas Adams, whose Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was so much fun to read.
Author Interview - James Swallow
Favorite place to read a book: Either: on a comfy sofa with a cup of tea and some classical music in the background, or somewhere in the Med beneath some shade by the pool with a cold beer.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Jason Bourne, because I’m sure he’d have a way to get us out of there pretty swiftly!
Author Interview - James Swallow
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: In English class as a kid, when I realized that not only could I tell my own stories, but that other people might actually want to read them.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: I’ll read anything in any format, I’m not picky – but I do have a special fondness for dog-eared mass market paperbacks of a certain vintage. It’s a fact that I cannot pass any second-hand bookstore without going inside and buying something...
The last book I read: BOX 88 by Charles Cumming, a great multi-layered spy thriller split across two time periods with an interesting, companionable hero. [HBL NOTE: Box 88 is coming out in October and I could not find links to it on either bookshop.org or Amazon, so the links below go to other Charles Cumming novels.]
Author Interview - James Swallow
Pen & paper or computer: I fill dozens of notebooks with story ideas, snippets of dialogue, cuttings and the like – but for the work of writing itself, it’s all done on computer. I had a typewriter before I had a personal computer, and I’m happy not to go back to those days!
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: I reckon I’d get on pretty well with Peter Grant, the hero of my friend Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. We come from similar backgrounds and have the same love for our home city.
Author Interview - James Swallow
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: Less well-adjusted person, for sure.
Favorite decade in fashion history: The 1980’s, I guess, considering that I still dress pretty much like I did back then...
Place I’d most like to travel: I love visiting ancient historical sites, so places like the Pyramids or Petra in Jordan would be at the top of my list.
My signature drink: Vodka, with a dash of lime, or a nice crisp IPA.
Favorite artist: Musical? Jimi Hendrix. Otherwise, futurist Syd Mead.
Number one on my bucket list: A supersonic suborbital flight, or if not that, jumping out of a perfectly good aeroplane.
Anything else you'd like to add: My new action thriller novel Ghost is the third in my Marc Dane series (following on from Nomad and Exile) and it’ll be out in digital, audio and hardcover editions across the US from November. I hope your readers will check it out!
Find more from the author:
You can find out more about me at my website (www.jswallow.com), including Rough Air, a free downloadable Marc Dane novella; and you can find me on Twitter posting under the handle @jmswallow.
