Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I graduated in classics from the University of Glasgow and taught in Scottish secondary schools. Thereafter I had a wander through Southeast Asia like the Buddha reincarnated. I now live quietly with my wife in Argyll, Scotland. My interests are, above all, in language,thought and culture. I am fascinated by the ways in which people acquire, use and abuse language, and also by the ways in which it may guide or dominate our thoughts. I am, therefore, interested in some of the insights of Buddhism.
I did write a previous novel about twenty years ago – on the mindset of academics. This received some favourable comments from agents, but no one offered to publish it. Perhaps it was too short or perhaps I needed to marinade my thoughts rather longer. The theme, however, has stayed with me.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book which I am offering on Kindle is called The Mekong Trap. It was inspired by a number of things. One was a trip along the Mekong in the Isaan region of Thailand, and the realisation that a couple of plane flights could take you into a world where beliefs, behaviour and the challenges of survival were very different from those in the West. The other was the process of learning Thai and the further realisation that its patterns were as far away from those of Indo-European languages as, say, Buddhism is from Christianity. I wondered then, and I wonder still, if language has more impact on thought than Noam Chomsky would have us believe. So the protagonist of The Mekong Trap struggles to understand when his girlfriend – who is ‘very Thai’ – seems to believe that they can coexist with evil.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always write long-hand before I commit anything to the computer. If I am stuck – which is certain to happen at least twice a day – I recline on my couch, as Wordsworth might do, and allow my subconscious to roam freely. It always works.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My chief influence was undoubtedly Graham Greene, who takes you, as all good novelists do, to places you have never been. I have also been inspired by Carl Hiaasen, whose rollicking style draws you into his story and his characters – even when those characters are desperadoes. Recently, I have also read a lot of John Burdett: although he is perhaps rather hardcore for some people’s tastes, he has a very sharp scalpel when it comes to dissecting Hong Kong or Thai society.
What are you working on now?
I am putting the finishing touches to a novel set in Hanoi. It’s called The Towers of Hanoi and is about a private detective from Glasgow and a captain in Vietnam’s People’s Police who are forced to work together on a double murder case. Ostensibly, the central theme is corruption in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (and there’s no shortage of real-life stories there), but on a different level it’s concerned with the attitude which people have to the self and others, especially in the academic world.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There’s a good question, to which I don’t have a useful answer. I’m a novice when it comes to self-promotion.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes! Forget about agents and publishers. Forget about making a fortune. Go where you want to go, and I’ll bet that includes plunging into your subconscious and that of other people. The exploration is fascinating in itself.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
From Graham Greene; words to the effect that ‘writing is all about the subconscious.’
What are you reading now?
A book entitled Habit, by Charles Duhigg. A little too discursive for my taste, but interesting enough on the way the brain encodes, stores and replays the patterns of a habit.
What’s next for you as a writer?
A novel is in gestation: about two insomniac friends who set out to make some money from their affliction. I won’t be doing a lot of research on this one.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Graham Greene, The Human Factor, to remind me how lucky I am to be far away from civilisation.
Carl Hiaasen, Skinny Dip, to inspire me if I change my mind and want to escape.
Scott Smith, A Simple Plan, so that I’m prepared when a plane with a few million dollars crashes on the beach.
John Burdett, Vulture Peak, just in case the island is in Thailand.