Author interview with Michael Kurland
Author bio:
Michael Kurland is the recipient of two Edgar scrolls and was nominated
for an American Book Award for his first Moriarty novel, The Infernal Device. Among his other works are Death by Gaslight, Ten Little Wizards, A Study in Sorcery, The Unicorn Girl, and Star Griffin. His most recent work of nonfiction, an idiosyncratic history of Forensic Science called Irrefutable Evidence, has enjoyed a European vogue. The next Moriarty novel, Who Thinks Evil, will be released shortly to great acclaim.
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Hi Michael, Welcome over at The Book Plank and thank you for
taking your time to answer these questions for us.
MK: My pleasure.
BP: First off, could you give us a short introduction as to who Michael Kurland is? What are your likes, dislikes and hobbies?
MK: Here is a copy of a brief bio I have used:
Michael Kurland writes fantasy, sf and mysteries with equal hubris. He is the recipient of two Edgar scrolls and was nominated for an American Book Award for his first Moriarty novel, The Infernal Device. The latest, Who Thinks Evil, is the fifth in the series. Among his other works are The Last President (With S.W. Barton), Death by Gaslight, Ten Little Wizards, A Study in Sorcery, The Unicorn Girl, and Star Griffin. His most recent work of nonfiction, an idiosyncratic history of Forensic Science called Irrefutable Evidence, has enjoyed a European vogue. He is the author of It’s a Mystery to Me, an entertaining and informative work on how to write mystery and suspense fiction.
MK: My pleasure.
BP: First off, could you give us a short introduction as to who Michael Kurland is? What are your likes, dislikes and hobbies?
MK: Here is a copy of a brief bio I have used:
Michael Kurland writes fantasy, sf and mysteries with equal hubris. He is the recipient of two Edgar scrolls and was nominated for an American Book Award for his first Moriarty novel, The Infernal Device. The latest, Who Thinks Evil, is the fifth in the series. Among his other works are The Last President (With S.W. Barton), Death by Gaslight, Ten Little Wizards, A Study in Sorcery, The Unicorn Girl, and Star Griffin. His most recent work of nonfiction, an idiosyncratic history of Forensic Science called Irrefutable Evidence, has enjoyed a European vogue. He is the author of It’s a Mystery to Me, an entertaining and informative work on how to write mystery and suspense fiction.
His works have been translated into Chinese, Czech, Danish, French, German,
Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish,
Turkish, and some alphabet full of little pothooks and curlicues.
Mr. Kurland presently lives in a Secular Humanist Hermitage in a secluded bay
on the Central Coast of California, where he kills and skins his own
vegetables. He may be communicated with through his website, michaelkurland.com.
BP: You have been writing for many years now, do you still know when and where you decided that you wanted to become an author?
MK: I was walking down Madison Avenue around 79th Street with a friend when I was ten years old and he asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. “A writer,” I told him. Where this came from I have no idea. Perhaps I was mistaken.
BP: One series that you are well known for is the Professor Moriarty series. A lot of the detective series focus on Sherlock, why did you want to show Moriarty in particular?
MK: Everyone else was doing Holmes. And Moriarty is, to my mind, an intrinsically more interesting character.
BP: Some of The Professor Moriarty books were published back as far as 1978 and have been reprinted, Titan Books is also printing the whole series from the start. Did you change anything in the reprints?
MK: Not a word.
BP: You have been writing for many years now, do you still know when and where you decided that you wanted to become an author?
MK: I was walking down Madison Avenue around 79th Street with a friend when I was ten years old and he asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. “A writer,” I told him. Where this came from I have no idea. Perhaps I was mistaken.
BP: One series that you are well known for is the Professor Moriarty series. A lot of the detective series focus on Sherlock, why did you want to show Moriarty in particular?
MK: Everyone else was doing Holmes. And Moriarty is, to my mind, an intrinsically more interesting character.
BP: Some of The Professor Moriarty books were published back as far as 1978 and have been reprinted, Titan Books is also printing the whole series from the start. Did you change anything in the reprints?
MK: Not a word.
BP: The latest addition to the Professor Moriarty series,
Who Thinks Evil, is being published this July, it’s the first Moriarty book
since 2006, did you have any troubles getting back into the mind of the
Professor?
MK: My first editor for the Moriarty series, a lovely lady named Judy, looked up at me from her desk after finishing the ms to The Infernal Device and said, “Kurland, you do realize that your Moriarty IS you?” I’ve seen no reason to doubt her. In some corner of my mind the professor and his minions lurk, awaiting the next opportunity to go forth and Confound Sherlock Holmes while rescuing England, or perhaps the entire world, from some dastardly plot.
BP: What was the hardest part when you were writing Who Thinks Evil?
MK: A whole clump of research on certain aspects of Vatican politics — which I turned out not to use.
BP: Besides the hardest part, which part of the book did you enjoy writing about the most?
MK: I enjoy writing the characters, who seem to have a life of their own, and sometimes tell me in the midst of creation that the dialog I’ve given them is not what they would say, and I must go back and rewrite, paying more attention to their voice.
BP: With Who Thinks Evil being published, do you have plans for more Moriarty books to follow?
MK: Yes.
BP: Do you have other projects that you wish to pursue in the near future besides the Moriarty series?
MK: I am now in the midst of a book set in pre WWII New York, with excursions to Washington DC, London, Berlin and other places. The tentative title is “The Bells of Hell.”
MK: My first editor for the Moriarty series, a lovely lady named Judy, looked up at me from her desk after finishing the ms to The Infernal Device and said, “Kurland, you do realize that your Moriarty IS you?” I’ve seen no reason to doubt her. In some corner of my mind the professor and his minions lurk, awaiting the next opportunity to go forth and Confound Sherlock Holmes while rescuing England, or perhaps the entire world, from some dastardly plot.
BP: What was the hardest part when you were writing Who Thinks Evil?
MK: A whole clump of research on certain aspects of Vatican politics — which I turned out not to use.
BP: Besides the hardest part, which part of the book did you enjoy writing about the most?
MK: I enjoy writing the characters, who seem to have a life of their own, and sometimes tell me in the midst of creation that the dialog I’ve given them is not what they would say, and I must go back and rewrite, paying more attention to their voice.
BP: With Who Thinks Evil being published, do you have plans for more Moriarty books to follow?
MK: Yes.
BP: Do you have other projects that you wish to pursue in the near future besides the Moriarty series?
MK: I am now in the midst of a book set in pre WWII New York, with excursions to Washington DC, London, Berlin and other places. The tentative title is “The Bells of Hell.”
BP: Everyone enjoys science fiction and fantasy in their own
way, what do you like most about it?
MK: You can make up entire universes and then play around with them to see how they work. But you must always remember that you owe your readers, in addition to a great story, complete internal consistency, or the fabric of reality you have created will be torn asunder.
BP: If you would have to give your top 5 favorite books, which would they be?
MK: You mean aside from my own stuff? Kipling’s Stalky & Co., Robert Graves’ I Claudius, Charles Mackay’s Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Gore Vidal’s Collected Essays, Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland. Of course if you ask me tomorrow you’ll get a completely different set.
BP: And just lastly, can you tell us a bit about what is in store for the reader of The Professor Moriarty books?
MK: I have no idea. But it will be great fun for me to find out what the professor has in store for us next.
BP: Thank you very much for your time Michael and good luck with your future writing projects!
MK: And thank you…
MK: You can make up entire universes and then play around with them to see how they work. But you must always remember that you owe your readers, in addition to a great story, complete internal consistency, or the fabric of reality you have created will be torn asunder.
BP: If you would have to give your top 5 favorite books, which would they be?
MK: You mean aside from my own stuff? Kipling’s Stalky & Co., Robert Graves’ I Claudius, Charles Mackay’s Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Gore Vidal’s Collected Essays, Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland. Of course if you ask me tomorrow you’ll get a completely different set.
BP: And just lastly, can you tell us a bit about what is in store for the reader of The Professor Moriarty books?
MK: I have no idea. But it will be great fun for me to find out what the professor has in store for us next.
BP: Thank you very much for your time Michael and good luck with your future writing projects!
MK: And thank you…
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