What if your perfect home turned out to be the scene of the perfect crime?
I hope you take this time to check out Mr. Simon Lelic latest novel called The House. If that headline didn't capture your curiosity then my interview questions with him might just be the thing to spark your interest. So go ahead and get to know a bit about the author and his latest novel...
1. How did you get the idea for The House?
The very best way to get ideas, I find: by talking to a stranger in a bar. This bloke (whose name I have forgotten, if indeed I ever knew it) mentioned a friend of his who’d recently bought an apartment that had come complete with all the former owner’s belongings – which seemed just too spooky an idea not to develop further . . .
2. Could you tell me a little bit about the leading couple in the novel?
In many ways Jack and Syd are diametric opposites. Jack is (ostensibly) the solid, dependable type; Syd is effusive and emotional, quick to both laughter and anger. But somehow they complete each other. As Jack says, ‘She stops me gazing at my feet so much, I stop her floating off into the sky.’
3.Did you know how the novel would end before you started or did you go along and eventually things fell to place?
I never know how a novel will end when I start writing it. I think writers are split fairly evenly between those who sketch out a structure before they start work, and those who prefer to feel their way forwards in the dark. I am firmly in the latter camp, which makes the process more exciting (I think) but perhaps also more wasteful.
4. How do you select the name of your characters?
Frequently the name will be there the instant the character comes into being in my mind. Other times I am forced to graze the spines of the books on the shelves near my desk for inspiration, or even consult the little book of babies’ names I stole from the house after we’d settled on a name for our third child.
5. What was the hardest scene to write in The House? (which scene did you rewrite over and over to death)
Without wanting to give too much away, the scenes that delve into Syd’s personal history. Which I hope will also be the hardest scenes to read.
6.What was your favorite novel as a teenager?
I could name a dozen, but I would probably have to say The Lord of the Rings.
7. What is the first book that made you cry or laugh? (either/both would be fine to answer)
I’d probably laughed at a book before I got to Douglas Adams, but I don’t think I had any idea a novel could induce such uncontrollable hilarity before I read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
8. What is the first book that made you think for days after reading it?
Tough one. Again, there were probably many, but no author came close to having as much of an impact on me as Tolkien did when I was a kid. I was a bit of a Middle Earth nerd.
9. Which fictional character did you admire?
Strider. See above!
10. What book have you read over and over again?
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Technically and philosophically, it probably isn’t McCarthy’s best book. But it’s my favourite of his novels (and one of my favourite novels of all time), if only for the devastating portrait he paints of a father’s love for his son.
11. If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
Read more. I mean, I read a lot – but I could have always read more. Which still holds true today, actually.
12. What television show do you binge watch right now?
My wife and I are between box sets at the moment, having just finished Big Little Lies. So any recommendations would be welcome!
13. If you could be any animal for a day, which animal would it be?
A sloth.
14. Would you like to see The House made into a feature film?
Rather thrillingly, the novel has already been optioned with a view to turning it into a TV series – which would be even more amazing than seeing it on screen as a feature film.
15. Last question, Who is your favorite male and female tennis player? (on your website you stated tennis as a hobby of yours)
Oddly, I love playing tennis, but I hate watching it! I’m a big sports fan generally, and the relationship I have with tennis is one I don’t have with any other sport.
Thanks to Mr. Simon Lelic for answering my questions and sharing his wonderful story to the world. I hope you all would give The House a try. If you want to know more about the author and his other works please check out his website: www.simonlelic.com/ Take care and as always thanks for visiting my blog. I hope each and every one of you have a fantastic day and a happy read:) Stay amazing, everyone.