Interview Keith Slater

by

Jane Toombs

1. Is DCI Gilling featured in more than one book? Or, if this is his/her first appearance, will he/she be featured in other books?

Yes, he has already appeared in my previous Wings e-book, “The Day of Rest.” I’m also in the process of developing more books in which he appears, but these (two done in detailed outline at present) are currently stalled because I’m too busy writing other things (see below).

2. What led you to choose this particular character's personality and appearance as the detective?

I didn’t actually choose them; they just evolved, as the first book took shape, in response to various needs of the character and plot development.

3. Do you usually write mysteries? If so, what is it that appeals to you about writing them--and, I assume, reading them?

I like writing (and reading) mysteries because I enjoy the detection/deduction process, but I write a lot of other book genres as well. I’ve published about 25 books of non-fiction in my professional capacity (textile science and environmental issues) plus about 20 plays and a how-to book on directing amateur theatre from my hobby as an actor. I also have about 30 short stories in magazines. My plays are occupying most of my time at present (I have one on stage at the moment and another accepted for winter) because I love seeing my writing come to life when they are performed. The rest of my spare time is spent in getting a series of lectures ready for an assignment in November, when I’ve accepted an invitation to be a special lecturer on a cruise ship.

4. When you began writing No Encores, did you know at the start who the killer was? And is that who turned out to be the killer?

I had a vague idea of the personality of the killer, but I didn’t have a complete picture of him/her (you’ll have to get hold of a copy to find out which it was!) until I’d done a lot of plot and character development. I suppose I then directed the killer to be the person I’d planned.

5. Do you plant red herrings about who the killer might be as you write, or do you go back and insert them later?

Both during and after the first draft writing process. I always have a few red herrings on hand before I start writing, then plant a few more as writing progresses and ideas come to me, then review the “near-final” version to see if I can add more to make the plot more intricate

6. and 7. Please name two of your favorite modern mystery writers and tell why they appeal to you. Please name your favorite old time mystery writer and tell why.

It all depends on what you mean by modern! I don’t at all like the mysteries that are emerging at the moment, full of psychological side-tracks or exhaustively detailed description of clothes/rooms, etc, and very thin on actual plot or mystery development. I have some 180 to 200 crime fiction authors on my bookshelves, ranging from 19th to 21st century, but I haven’t yet found a recent writer to match those of the mid-20th century in my opinion. I suppose my preference is for writers who use the English language more skillfully, like Michael Innes, Ngaio Marsh, Marjory Allingham or Dorothy Sayers. I find Agatha Christie’s plots too convoluted to be believable and her writing style cumbersome, so I suppose I’m a pariah among crime readers!

8. How long have you been writing? What was your first break-through as to getting published?

 I’ve been writing for about 40 years, but my original break-throughs were in my professional field, with scientific papers (about 250 altogether to date) giving me my first taste of excitement. However, I began to find the publish-or-perish bread-and-butter stuff boring and turned to fiction about 20 years ago, when I went to a writer’s week in England and wrote my first short story there. It was published with a lot of kind help from a very generous and gracious editor, who kept suggesting revisions through three drafts and then paid me ₤25 on acceptance. I’ve never forgotten her kindness and tried to give the same sort of level of advice to new writers when they ask me for it.

9. Are there any man-woman relationships in No Encores (I don't mean romance per se)?

Yes, there’s an extremely modern woman in the books who has set her sights on Gilling (even though he’s a married man) without his realizing it and is determined to embarrass him if he won’t succumb to her charms. In the next two books (in “No Encores” his wife already has a degenerative disease which will obviously soon be fatal), I plan on developing this relationship into an uneasy (at least on his part) love affair.

10. What in your life experience led you to write this mystery?

No particular reason, though I suspect that my theatre background (actors are always trying to deceive people!) might have played a part. I was just tired of reading the modern stuff (see above) that spent too much time on broken relationships, irrelevant details and psychological factors, cheating me as a reader out of a good mystery, and decided I could write an old-fashioned crime novel if I tried; I did, and did!