ALAN BRENHAM NTERVIEW WITH PAOLO VINCIGUERRA – ATMOSFERE LETTERARIE BLOG- Part One

NTERVIEW WITH PAOLO VINCIGUERRA – ATMOSFERE LETTERARIE BLOG- Part One 10/18/2015     Alan, thank you for granting to blog Atmosfere Letterarie this interview. For us it is really a great privilege and honor. Thank you again. 1. Il prezzo della giustizia is the debut novel in Italy for Detective Jason Scarsdale. Could you tell us how this character was born?         A – I created this character’s first name using               my nephew’s first name and used the               name of a city in New York for his last name.               His habits, morals, and straight-arrow               attitude came from the melding of               personalities of a few police detectives with               whom I worked years ago with a little bit of               me thrown in as well.      2.  I've found Scarsdale different from the other typical detectives of           American thrillers for moods, introspection and characteristics: I think           that he seems more “European”. Is this impression correct, in your           opinion?             A – That’s probably very close and likely due to the subtle influences his                   German-born friend and co-worker, Dani Mueller, had on him. Also I                   applied some of the influences I acquired during my travels in                   Europe which probably helped forge a “European” persona for                   Scarsdale.     3.   When was your passion for writing born? At the beginning, have you ever            thought to reach these excellent results among book reviewers and            readers?             A – I would have to say that my writing passion was born when I finished                   reading a novel by David Baldacci and one by John Sandford. When I                   began writing fiction, I never thought I would win any awards or                   collect the number of positive reviews that I have.     4.   How much your long experience in Police and as Prosecutor/Lawyer            affects in your writing? Have you ever been inspired by real events or they            are just figments of your imagination?             A – My police and lawyer backgrounds played a very important role in                    every one of my novels. I have used actual cases I worked as a                    police officer after changing names and locations. Occasionally I wil                    l adapt a real event I saw or read in news media to one of my                    stories. Most of the “crimes” and situations that appear in my novels                    are figments of my imagination.     5.   Obligated question: is there something of Alan Brenham in Jason            Scarsdale?                      A – Definitely. Both of us fell in love with European ladies – his                     happened to be from the Bavarian area of Germany while mine                     happened to have roots in the Lake Como area of northern Italy.    6.   What is for you the thriller genre?              A – To me, the thriller genre is about creating suspense, tension, and                    excitement. If I craft the story well enough, the reader will feel a high                    level of anticipation, surprise, terror and a lot of anxiety.    7.   In Italy it is often maliciously said that there are many more writers than          readers. Publishers have many difficulties. What is the situation of          publishing in the United States?            A – In the United States, we have both a lot of authors and a lot of                   readers. With the advent of self-publishing, literary agents and                   traditional publishers are feeling the pressure. Some agents have                   moved on to other careers and smaller publishers are closing their                   doors.    8.   American thriller books, usually, have different details from European           thrillers which, perhaps, are darker and put in the light the inner torment           of the protagonists more than the story itself. Your novel "Il prezzo della            giustizia" seems to be different from American thrillers and it's closer to            European style. Thinking also to your experience as a reader, do you            agree with this analysis?                           A – As a reader, I do agree with your assessment of American thrillers.                     Except for Stephen King, I have found that any American thriller                     authors stop short of venturing into darker territory in their stories.    9.  “Il prezzo della giustizia” has been skillfully translated into Italian.          Translation is fundamental, it is almost a rewrite of the book. Are there          close and continuous contacts between the writer and the           translator?                          A – Absolutely. Without close collaboration between the two, an                      effective and accurate translation would fail.