Lucky 13 Interview With Tim Leach

1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your latest book? I think of The Smile of the Wolf as a kind of frozen Western. Set in medieval Iceland, it’s structured around a bloodfeud between two families in a culture where honour is everything. Ultimately, though, it’s a book about friendship - the beauty of it, and the price that we sometimes have to pay for it. 2 – Are you a plotter or a panster? Somewhere in between! I think of myself as a navigator. I’ve got a rough map with a few key landmarks and bearings written on it when I start out, but there’s lots of improvisation and exploration in how I move between these waypoints. 3 – Savoury or sweet? Savoury, absolutely, I’m a complete cheese fiend. 4 – Three books to a desert Island. Go! Watership Down, War and Peace, and a spare copy of Watership Down. 5 – Star Wars or Star Trek? Got to be Trek, for its willingness to tackle complex themes and ideas. At its best, The Next Generation in particular shows real imagination and heart, and an uplifting optimism about one possible future for humanity. 6 - Music or silence when writing? Music, usually something without words - often electronic, though film and video game soundtracks are also good to write to. ‘Supermarine’ by Hans Zimmer (from the Dunkirk soundtrack) is my “get on with it and do some bloody work” track if I find myself procrastinating. 7 – You’re a professional wrestler. What would your ring name be? My family nickname is Timberwolf (because I used to howl so much as a child), so probably that, or something similarly lupine... 8 – If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose? Venice, I think, it’s an absolutely magical city. Sadly probably soon to be under water, so in this fantasy I’d probably have to find a way to halt climate change too... 9 - Your favourite karaoke song? Livin’ On A Prayer, Bon Jovi. There’s really nothing better to belt out drunk and out of tune, and the key change is a thing of cheesy beauty. 10 – One piece of advice to an aspiring writer? Editing is everything. Learning to be inventive and ruthless in editing is what usually takes a writer to the next level. 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? Probably Medecins Sans Frontieres, I greatly admire their courage and determination for heading into the very worst conflicts in the world. I think I’d probably bank 50k of the rest of it and then either see if I could help out some friends and family members in need or buy some land for some kind of communal farm project. 12 – Horror films, yes or no? Yes, but I’m very picky. I don’t like jump scares, but I do enjoy a sense of persistent dread and tension, and I’ve got a love of sci-fi horror or monster movies rather than slasher films. Alien, The Thing, and Jaws are particular favourites. 13 - What are you currently working on? I’m always superstitious about saying too much about work in progress, but I’m working with an unlikely theory about a very well known myth, and I think I’m going to try and write a series this time...