Lucky 13 Interview With Will Carver

1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your current book?

My current book is called NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY. It opens with nine people, who do not know each other, meeting on Chelsea Bridge before they each tie a rope around their neck and jump over the edge at the same time. They are part of The People Of Choice, a suicide cult run by an invisible leader, where nobody knows that they are a member until it’s too late. This event sparks a movement in London that eventually grows globally. Obviously, this is just the premise. It’s about a lot more than that and explores mental health and the way we consume information and present ourselves on social media. It’s dark. And very angry. 2 – Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I spend a lot of time on the set-up. I really do plot that part out. And I always know how the book will end. Everything in between is a journey. I may plot a few chapters ahead at a time but I like to see where things take me. Also, the words pantser is horrid. 3 – Savoury or sweet?

I used to have such a sweet tooth. But I’ve been vegan for years now and it’s not as easy to get hold of sweet things, so I guess I’m more savoury these days. Honestly, the biggest treat you could give me would be a pot of hummus. 4 – Three books to a desert Island. Go!

Easy. Fight Club, The Book Thief and The Great Gatsby. (Although a large, inflatable book might also come in handy…) 5 – Star Wars or Star Trek?

Original Star Trek is brilliant. But I’m definitely more of a Star Wars kinda guy. I saw the trailer for the new one at the cinema yesterday and got overly excited. (I was watching Joker, which is well worth a couple of hours of anyone’s time.) 6 – Music or silence when writing?

Music is an important part of my writing. Whenever I finish a book I like to blast out The Weight by The Band and drink a huge whisky. When I read through, I enjoy Ennio Morricone or George Gershwin. When I edit, I tend to listen to the second Bon Iver album. (How good is Holocene?) But, when I am writing, I don’t like to have anything with words, usually. So it’s mostly silence. That said, for NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY, I really wanted to write with an anger, I had to get myself worked up to get those words out in the way I wanted. And Eminem’s Kamikaze album provided so much of that emotion. So, it’s different with every book when I’m writing, but the editing and finishing rituals remain the same. 7 – You’re a professional wrestler. What would your ring name be?

Hmmmm. I think maybe Bastard or The Bastard or Utter Bastard. But you have to say it like Sean Bean would say it in Sharpe to get the full impact. 8 – If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose?

Manhattan is pretty much my favourite place in the world. (I’m going in December.) It feels so amazing to be there. Films, books, music. It just works for me. Also, for the writer who never sleeps, it seems right to be in the city that never sleeps. However, Paris would be my choice but only if I could live there in the 1920s. 9 - Your favourite karaoke song?

I’ll hammer anything out. Maybe warm up with a little Lionel Richie before I smash out Smooth by Rob Thomas and Santana. Weirdly, I seem to have an affinity for the songs of Alicia Keys. Our tones are so similar, I kid you not. 10 – One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?

I always say that if you can do anything else, anything at all, you should do that. Because being a writer sucks. But if that doesn’t turn you off the idea, you need to sit your arse in a seat and fucking commit some time and effort. It’s as much about discipline as it is about creativity. 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?

That’s a lot to give to one charity. I kinda feel like I’d do more good to split it over several charities. I’ve always given to NSPCC, so I’d probably veer in that direction. With the remainder I’d be really boring and pay off debts/mortgage and split the rest between the kids. There aren’t a lot of things that I *want* so I’d use the money to sort out the things I need. 12 – Horror films, yes or no? And any favourites if yes.

Yes. I love them. I get really creeped out by redneck stuff. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an obvious favourite. The first few Nightmare on Elm Street movies really freaked me out when I was younger - I was too young to watch them, really. In recent times, I’d go for anything by Rob Zombie but his best is House of 1000 Corpses. I’ve never found anyone else who likes this film, though. 13 - What are you currently working on?

I have a few things on the go at the moment. One is a non-crime/thriller project about a character that believes he may be God. But I am putting most of my effort into the next crime/thriller. It tells the story of a minor character who appears in both GOOD SAMARITANS and NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENED TODAY. I’m trying to explore the concept of evil. I’m writing it in a different way to the last two, trying to push things. That said, I deleted the entire book a couple of weeks ago to start again so who knows whether this way will work? I always have a few things burning so I’m never worried about being short of material. Though I should maybe stop deleting entire novels.