Karim v. Kernick

My comrade-in-arms, Ali Karim, wasn’t satisifed with interviewing the entire crime fiction world for the latest edition of SHOTS. His newest mammoth interview for January Magazine is up, and he talks to UK writer Simon Kernick, who writes some of the most hard-boiled, black-humored novels I’ve had the delight to come across. The newest book is THE CRIME TRADE, and Kernick talks about that, his path to publication, and the return of Dennis Milne, the sociopathic hitman cop hero of his first book (the very acclaimed THE BUSINESS OF DYING), next year. And in keeping with today’s theme of “where do you write,” Kernick has an unusual answer:

AK: Speaking of children, you have two daughters of your own — Amy, 5, and Rachel, 14 months. Do you think that having children affects your writing, either practically or psychologically?

SK: Psychologically, I don’t think it’s made that much difference. Practically, it does, though. Since having kids, I’ve had to decamp to my mum’s house just round the corner to do most of my writing. My house isn’t big enough for peace and quiet. Maybe one day when I get famous, I’ll have an annex of my own, but in the meantime, I have to hassle the parents. Most of The Murder Exchange and The Crime Trade were written round their house, which is embarrassing to admit, but absolutely true.