Lucky 13 Interview With Joseph Knox

1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your latest book? The Sleepwalker opens with Detective, Aidan Waits sitting on a hospital ward working protective custody, essentially passing time waiting for a terminally ill mass murderer to die. This mass murderer has been inside for a decade, basically mute, after confessing to the slaying of an entire family. But after a shocking assassination attempt, the convicted killer recants his confession, forcing Aidan to ask tough questions about the original case, and to confront the possibility that the real killer is still out there. 2 – Are you a plotter or a punster? I never plot. 3 – Savoury or sweet? Savoury. I live on bits of crisps and bread like a disgusting pigeon. 4 – Three books to a desert Island. Go! The collected essays of Geoff Dyer for a laugh. The Magus by John Fowles as a book that's very dear to me. Ulysses by James Joyce - Something challenging to soak up the time. 5 – Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Trek, but Next Generation and Deep Space Nine only. 6 – Music or silence when writing? Depends. Never music with drums or singing when writing, though. Very jealous of writers who can work with pop songs going off. 7 – You’re a professional wrestler. What would your ring name be? Sulk Hogan. 8 – If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose? Los Angeles, Barcelona or Tokyo - depending on what kind of isolation I want to feel. 9 - Your favourite karaoke song? When You Say Nothing At All - Ronan Keating. I was once ejected from a nasty London boozer for singing this in a frankly offensive Irish accent. They liked that, but objected to me walking across the tables, holding hands with elderly women, looking into their eyes while I sang. I got dragged out by the head but was with two friends on leave from the military, and that's probably the only reason I lived to answer this question. 10 – One piece of advice to an aspiring writer? Don't worry about all the shit outside of that piece of paper you're working on. I knew nothing about publishing or hot books or anything when I started Sirens, and I'm glad. It took eight years and people still gasp when I say that, but I didn't have a clue what the right amount of time was so it was one less thing to worry about. So many new writers want advice on 'breaking in', but from what I know, the best way possible to break in is to write and finish a good book. It's very hard but unless your parents are wadded and/or connected, it's the only way. 11 – You win £1 million, but you must give half to charity. Which charity do you chose, and what do you do with the rest of the money? Homeless charities in Manchester, where the homeless population has increased ten fold in the last eight years. I'd probably drink the rest of it, become destitute and end up being supported by the same charity... 12 – Horror films, yes or no? Yes! 13 - What are you currently working on? I wrote Sleepwalker in a way that ensured the next thing would have to be something totally different. Also some TV stuff.