Ask the Author: Stephen Wade
Answered Questions (10)
Stephen Wade
The fictional world I am most drawn to is Philip Kerr's Berlin. It seems like a realistic art but there is the spirit of Raymond Chandler hanging over it. The late Philip Kerr writes such a compelling story that I'm sure anyone trying his books for the first time will be fascinated by the narrator, Bernie Gunther.
Stephen Wade
I tend to read several books at a time, according to mood or according to research. This summer I've loved The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective by Susannah Stapledon. I recommend that to everyone, whether they read crime history or not. Also, I've not been able to put down Terrence McCauley's western, Dark Territory. I write westerns, and so I need to keep up with the best, and Terrence does a cracking story.
Stephen Wade
Hello Peter - good to know that someone else is taking an interest in TR.
Regarding your questions: yes, it seems certain that he and Howitt joined forces on Grinagain. The British Museum experts seem to think so. As to Betsey, I know no more than Bernard Falk, the main source, who thinks it more than likely that she was placed in the same grave asTR. I know of no joint headstone. At least we have the blue plaque down the side of the Charing Cross Hotel. Good luck with your own research. I feel that, as there have been four books in print since my light read, there is some proper acknowledgement of his genius at last.
Regarding your questions: yes, it seems certain that he and Howitt joined forces on Grinagain. The British Museum experts seem to think so. As to Betsey, I know no more than Bernard Falk, the main source, who thinks it more than likely that she was placed in the same grave asTR. I know of no joint headstone. At least we have the blue plaque down the side of the Charing Cross Hotel. Good luck with your own research. I feel that, as there have been four books in print since my light read, there is some proper acknowledgement of his genius at last.
Stephen Wade
They -or it, as I could not be sure - stood in the dark corner, and I could see only eight eyes. My call to them came out as the growl I thought had gone from my being, and the eyes dissolved, with a yelp of fear.
Stephen Wade
I rarely experience this, but when I do, I find that walking and staring into space helps, with coffee in hand. Also people-watching is useful. That usually awakens a character in my head, and then a scenario follows. Best of all is a strong sea-breeze and maybe dogs acting stupidly on the sand. Ben Jonson said it best: 'The mind is like a bow, the better for being unbent.'
Stephen Wade
The best thing is being free to believe in your story, open to give it life, with the elbow-room made by your mind, linking with the essential hunger to communicate, to be read, to be part of a shared story that might change something or might entertain. To think that something I have written might draw someone away from troubles for a while- that's magical.
Stephen Wade
My advice is to ignore the market and trends, and to follow your impulse to create whatever story is in you, and it needs to be one that you are burning to write. When you really believe in the story, go for it and cover those first pages. Let the story start shaping itself as you persevere with it. It might not work, but you have to give it every chance.
Stephen Wade
I'm now more concerned with fiction than with my usual non-fiction, and I'm putting the finishing touches to a novel about the Leeds alleged killer, Louie Calvert, in 1926. I've also written about her in my forthcoming book, Murder in Mind, from Scratching Shed Publishing. I suppose Louie came in and commandeered my imagination for six months.
Stephen Wade
I suppose I'm lucky, in that the Muse, when invited, usually comes in, rather that waiting to be invited! But in order to encourage the Muse, I keep notebooks and develop ideas when there is enough basis to carry on.
Stephen Wade
The idea came after discovering the beginnings of journaling in California, back in the 1970s. I realized that it might help people in all walks of life, and more particularly, perhaps, it might help aspiring writers. But that is a spin-off from the basic self-help principles.
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