What's the story behind your latest book?
I wanted to write something that was not in any way a page-turner nor followed the path of the tightly-wound plots of modern literature. What I sought was to create a novel which spoke of many things, perhaps too many things, yet in spite of this, held a story beneath this verbosity, like a treasure hidden under the waves. So, hopefully those who are looking for an easy read will find this book, W.M.D., too difficult and turn away. That will be fine, For this current book, I would like to have only a small band of fans. More than ten may be too many, but that seems like a fine number.
When did you first start writing?
It was in Malta. I was in jail. 16 years old, if I recall. Don't ask my the details, they're inconsequential, but for that a fellow inmate asked me for a way to pass the time. And so we began trading stories. They came slow at first, for conjuring up characters on the fly was not something that came naturally then (nor now). Soon, one of the night guards found my tales, in particular, worth sharing. He handed me some paper and from time to time I would jot them down. His favorite was the tale of a rather rogue character who would romance other men's wives and then take their honor along with their money. One of the stories had this character doing so to a jailer's wife. The guard was quite entertained until some days later when I explained that the jailer was him, the rogue was I, and it was a true story. I cannot say which went worse from that point, his marriage or my stay, but it became a popular story around the village and inspired me to take a second look at this writing profession.
Read more of this interview.