Robert McCaw
Author Interview - Robert McCaw
Author I draw inspiration from: In the Koa Kāne mystery series, the Big Island of Hawaii becomes a kind of character. The setting itself is an actor interfacing with and shaping its fictional human characters. Hawaii’s active volcanism, represented by Pele, the goddess of fire, is an excellent metaphor for the personification of Hawaii. In developing that aspect of the series, I drew inspiration from James Mitchener, a master at infusing life into the geography of a place. His settings speak to his readers . . . a skill to which I aspire.
I also want my readers to “see” inside Chief Detective Koa Kāne's head as he tracks a killer's trail. Barry Eisler's John Rain character is a killer and not a detective, but Eisler is extraordinarily adept at taking us inside John Rain's mind. I strive to master his techniques.
I look to Michael Connelly for the pace and the choreography of twists that make for a good detective story, and to Daniel Silva for the smooth continuity of narrative.
Author Interview - Robert McCaw
Favorite place to read a book: A few years ago, I stepped into an elevator where a young woman’s eyes were glued to her cell phone while she simultaneously brushed her hair with her free hand. I hadn’t uttered a word before she looked up and chirped “multitasking.” That describes my favorite way of reading or listening to a book. It used to be audiobooks while commuting, but it’s now audiobooks while exercising or taking long walks. A well-crafted story can keep me walking for miles or extend my time on an elliptical trainer.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: I’ve been stuck in an elevator, and it’s not an experience that I’d like to repeat. My first choice in a fellow prisoner, however, would be someone who could help me get out. Somebody more practical than Houdini with whom escape would only be an illusion. I would enlist Lee Child’s character, Jack Reacher, who invariably finds his way out of trouble.
Author Interview - Robert McCaw
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: More than 30 years ago, a professional colleague mused that a true novelist would be compelled to write. Shortly after that, I first visited the Big Island of Hawaii. I remember being on a beach at sunset, looking back to the east to see the dying day cast a red glow on the snowcapped peak of Mauna Kea. Something mysterious and magical in that scene inspired me to create a story about this unique island. Although I was in the midst of a demanding legal career, I wrote and edited in fits and starts over the next 20 years. I was driven to complete my first novel, no matter how long it took, until finally Death of a Messenger emerged.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Like many avid readers, I have transitioned in step with technology. Years ago, I traveled with a briefcase loaded down with hardcover and paperback books. Those days are long past. I, however, still turn to hardbacks and paperbacks for research and less commercial materials that haven't been digitized . . . and must admit I love the feel of a printed book. But ebooks with variable print size and search functions are too convenient to ignore. Commuting introduced me to audiobooks back when we rented them on tape cassettes, delivered and returned by mail. Now audiobooks come wirelessly to my smartphone and entertain me during my frequent walks and workouts. I do love to multitask with a book.
The last book I read: I just finished Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, which was made into a 1946 movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Chandler is a favorite author for many reasons. He pursued several other careers before becoming a writer, providing inspiration for those who would reinvent themselves. He constructs a masterful plot, replete with misdirection that distracts readers. Yet, the story ultimately reaches a denouement so glaring that readers can’t believe they missed it. He creates vivid characters, and writes in delightfully colorful language, often using over the top metaphors to convey perfectly the scenes he seeks to paint.
Author Interview - Robert McCaw
Pen & paper or computer: Like Linus with his blanket, I’m rarely without my electronic tools. As a writer/self-editor, I'm continually rewriting, changing words, reordering sentences, and moving whole sections around as I refine my story. Computerized word processing greatly facilitates that process, and the Scrivener program adds reorganizing tools that I once only dreamed of using. The notes program on my iPhone is perfect for remembering a unique turn of phrase. The recording function allows me to dictate my thoughts when new ideas strike. The camera app can record inspiring people or places and thus enable me to create better in-depth descriptions when I return to the keyboard than memory alone might allow.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: It’s tempting to pick a character from one of my books . . . maybe Zeke Brown, the incorruptible prosecutor, or Hook Hao, a seven-foot giant of a fisherman turned police informer . . . but that would be too easy.
No, I’d pick Kya, the heroine of Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing. Kya is not only the ultimate survivor but also an enormously bright and sensitive woman. She has a great deal to teach us about the environment we are relentlessly destroying, what it means to be ostracized as “the other,” and how vital a single friend or two can be in shaping the life of another human. I’d be honored to be her best friend.
Author Interview - Robert McCaw
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a: Ever since college, I've been interested in astronomy, a field in which human knowledge has exploded during the past 100 years. My astronomy-envy grew dramatically in Hawaii. Friends worked at the Keck Observatory, and I heard world-class astronomers discuss their discoveries and insights into the inner workings of the universe. So, if you’d asked me a year ago, I would have answered that in an alternative universe, I’d have been an astronomer.
That changed as I began writing Fire and Vengeance, my third Koa Kāne Hawaiian mystery. The plot I created required me to research the effects of brain injuries. That field, too, is rapidly developing as doctors learn to treat a flood of brain-damaged survivors from the Afghan and Iraqi wars. Extraordinary advances in medical imaging technology have made it possible for physicians literally to “see” the workings of the human brain. Just imagine the possibilities for understanding what makes us as human beings tick . . . and maybe even learn the roots of consciousness. So today, I'd opt for a role in the cutting-edge field of brain research.
Favorite decade in fashion history: Three-piece suits, suspenders and bow ties, fedora hats and wingtip shoes for the guys. Great Gatsby, Downton Abbey or flapper dresses, bell lady hats, and black satin shoes for the gals. Free-flowing liquor in speakeasy bars. Art Deco buildings. John Dillinger on the loose. Take me back to the Roaring 20s . . . but get me out before the crash of ’29!
Place I’d most like to travel: I suspect that the authors of this question expect me to name a place . . . something like Winner, South Dakota, where my mother was born . . . but I’ll be a non-conformist. I’d like to travel through time. I’d like to go back in time to pre-Columbian America when the Incas reigned throughout present-day Peru or to the time when the Aztecs ruled Mesoamerica or maybe when the pharaohs presided over ancient Egypt. I could even meet Confucius, Alexander the Great, Isaac Newton, Sigmund Freud, and Albert Einstein. Just think what I might learn . . . and the books I could write!
In writing the Koa Kāne mystery series, I've read many theories about how and why the first Hawaiian traversed 2,000 miles of hostile ocean from Tahiti to discover their new home. I’d love to go back and see for myself how they navigated this extraordinary journey in double-hulled canoes without sextants, maps, GPS, or other modern technologies.
My signature drink: Writers often adopt the habits of their fictional characters and vice-a-versa. While researching and writing Off the Grid, which begins with a body discovered in an active volcanic zone, I discovered the Lava Flow Cocktail, a visually stunning concoction of rum, banana, strawberries, pineapple juice, and coconut milk. Long ago, Scotch was my cocktail-hour drink of choice, and I have often savored a Rusty Nail after dinner. Thus, it should come as no surprise to my readers that Zeke Brown, the incorruptible prosecutor in the Koa Kāne series, favors such libations. Nowadays, I turn to an elegant and buttery Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley, an American Viticulture Area in Sonoma County, California. That’s my current signature drink . . . and Nālani, Koa's girlfriend, shares my passion. I wonder why?
Favorite artist: Maurits Cornelis Escher, a Dutch graphic artist, has long been a favorite of mine. His mathematically-inspired lithographs portray seemingly impossible worlds in which people and animals morph in and out of existence. In his images, up can somehow become down, and one can climb stairs only to find oneself back at their starting point. Two of Escher’s masterpieces hang in Chief Detective Koa Kāne’s office. As he would say, Escher’s lithographs reflect the many strange behaviors of people in a world where all is not what it seems. And the complexities of Escher’s drawings enhance Koa’s ability to think outside the box.
Number one on my bucket list: I’d like to visit what I hope is a future America where we respect our fellow citizens regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity, gender, language, or politics. I hope it is a place of empathy and compassion in which we also respect and cherish our earthbound neighbors near and far. I hope it is a place where we preserve our environment, delight in the beauty of our home planet, and enjoy the magnificent wonders of the universe around us. I hope it is a place where we can distinguish truth from falsehood and revel in the accumulated knowledge of the brightest minds of those around us as well as those who have come before us.
Anything else you'd like to add: I like to thank my many readers, who inspire me to continue to create.
Author Interview - Robert McCaw
