10 Questions with Benedict Jacka
1. Where did you come up with the Ask Luna segment for your blog?
It’s a really long time ago now, but I think I got the idea from a webcomic that had one of its characters answer reader-written messages. I spent a while trying to figure out which character would do the answering – I thought about using Alex, but decided in the end that Luna would have more of an outsider’s perspective (plus it’d give me a break from writing everything in Alex’s voice all the time).
2. Who has been your biggest influence as a writer?
Probably Agatha Christie. In my teens and twenties I think I read almost every single one of her novels (and she wrote a lot of them). Multiple times over in some cases.
3. Do you have an end in mind for your Alex Verus series or is this a series that can keep going indefinitely?
No, it’s going to have an end. I’ve always hated endless-series syndrome, where something just goes on and on forever until the readers get sick of it and/or the creator dies of old age. Don’t know exactly when the Alex Verus series will finish, but it will.
4. What type of scenes do you most enjoy writing?
Nowadays, dialogue. I used to enjoy action scenes more, but as the characters have developed and evolved I find that I enjoy bouncing their personalites off each other.
5. What made you start writing?
Not actually sure. I wrote stories when I was young, but no more so than any other kid who likes books. Then one day I started writing a story, and it just went longer and longer until it turned into a book. I’ve never really known why.
6. What do you like most about living in London?
It’s pretty, it’s familiar, and it’s dense. You can live your whole life in a London borough and still not know half its secrets.
7. Is there any subject that is off limits for you as a writer?
There’s nothing 100% off-limits, but I try not to make things too graphic. Sometimes it’s necessary, though.
8. You do a great job of worldbuilding in your Alex Verus series as can be seen in your Encyclopaedia Arcana on your website. Did you borrow from other sources in creating this magical world or is it entirely your own doing?
I borrow from a lot of sources, but from so many that it’s often hard for me to remember exactly where! The more that I’ve done, though, the more it’s become my own creation, and the less it’s assembled from other places.
9. What is your best quality as a writer?
No idea. You’d have to ask the people who like my books!
10. If Hollywood was making a film adaptation of your Alex Verus series, and the director asked you to cast the role of Alex, who would you choose?
I’ve actually had people ask me this one before, and it usually stumps me. I probably would have had a better idea when I was younger, but these days I don’t watch enough films. That said, some of the secondary characters in the Alex Verus series were originally written with a TV or movie character in mind as a visual model – Talisid, for one.
It’s a really long time ago now, but I think I got the idea from a webcomic that had one of its characters answer reader-written messages. I spent a while trying to figure out which character would do the answering – I thought about using Alex, but decided in the end that Luna would have more of an outsider’s perspective (plus it’d give me a break from writing everything in Alex’s voice all the time).
2. Who has been your biggest influence as a writer?
Probably Agatha Christie. In my teens and twenties I think I read almost every single one of her novels (and she wrote a lot of them). Multiple times over in some cases.
3. Do you have an end in mind for your Alex Verus series or is this a series that can keep going indefinitely?
No, it’s going to have an end. I’ve always hated endless-series syndrome, where something just goes on and on forever until the readers get sick of it and/or the creator dies of old age. Don’t know exactly when the Alex Verus series will finish, but it will.
4. What type of scenes do you most enjoy writing?
Nowadays, dialogue. I used to enjoy action scenes more, but as the characters have developed and evolved I find that I enjoy bouncing their personalites off each other.
5. What made you start writing?
Not actually sure. I wrote stories when I was young, but no more so than any other kid who likes books. Then one day I started writing a story, and it just went longer and longer until it turned into a book. I’ve never really known why.
6. What do you like most about living in London?
It’s pretty, it’s familiar, and it’s dense. You can live your whole life in a London borough and still not know half its secrets.
7. Is there any subject that is off limits for you as a writer?
There’s nothing 100% off-limits, but I try not to make things too graphic. Sometimes it’s necessary, though.
8. You do a great job of worldbuilding in your Alex Verus series as can be seen in your Encyclopaedia Arcana on your website. Did you borrow from other sources in creating this magical world or is it entirely your own doing?
I borrow from a lot of sources, but from so many that it’s often hard for me to remember exactly where! The more that I’ve done, though, the more it’s become my own creation, and the less it’s assembled from other places.
9. What is your best quality as a writer?
No idea. You’d have to ask the people who like my books!
10. If Hollywood was making a film adaptation of your Alex Verus series, and the director asked you to cast the role of Alex, who would you choose?
I’ve actually had people ask me this one before, and it usually stumps me. I probably would have had a better idea when I was younger, but these days I don’t watch enough films. That said, some of the secondary characters in the Alex Verus series were originally written with a TV or movie character in mind as a visual model – Talisid, for one.
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