You are best-known for your ‘Ranger’s Apprentice’ children’s fantasy series. What prompted you to branch out into adult crime and what appeals to you most about this genre?

I’ve always chosen to write the sort of books I enjoy reading. Typically, over the years, this has meant fantasy and crime fiction. And Storm Peak isn’t a branching out. In fact, I was developing it at the same time I was working on the ‘Rangers’ series. It’s just that ‘Rangers’ found a place in the market first. As to the crime genre, I’m more concerned with character interaction against a crime and/or action background than in creating a ‘whodunnit?’ type of book. There’s obviously a mystery to be solved in Storm Peak but personally, I think it’s secondary to the action and the interaction of the main characters.

Your prose style in Storm Peak is at times reminiscent of ‘hardboiled’ crime writers such as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett: laconic, wry, punctuated by terse, deadpan remarks. Which authors were you most influenced by when writing the novel?

Thank you for the reference to Raymond Chandler. He was one of my earliest influences and I loved his style. Then I followed the English author Gavin Lyall, who had a wonderfully wry style in his earlier novels. Since then, I’ve loved the work of Ed McBain--the master of dialogue, Michael Connelly, Nelson de Mille and James Lee Burke. All of these writers excel in character-driven stories. They all create characters the reader cares about.

Many of the characters in Storm Peak will have a familiar feel to readers: the reclusive detective scarred by his role in his partner’s death, the sexy, gun-toting female sheriff; the cool seductive blonde... To what extent did you set out to write a genre piece and how did this shape your characters and plot?

I set out to write an action/adventure story. When I first had the idea, the concept of a female sheriff was a pretty radical one (the book has been in the works for a long time). I’m not sure I even know what a genre piece is. I guess the choices open to an author wanting to write this type of book come down to a crime novel or a spy novel (in one form or another). I used to read a lot of the latter but in recent years, world events have made them less attractive to me. As to shaping the characters, in a way, the plot itself shaped them. Jesse had to have a major problem somewhere in his background or he wouldn’t be back in Steamboat as a ski bum. And of course, the source of Jesse’s problem-- the accidental shooting of his partner--returns to haunt him. I enjoy that sort of circular structure. It’s one of the joys of writing, pushing the pieces round and seeing where they fit together, where they clash.

You develop a suspenseful ‘cat-and-mouse’ atmosphere by shifting narrative perspectives between the police detectives and the man they are trying to catch; a bullied and neglected child grown into a cold, vengeful serial killer. Was the latter intended to be a purely villainous character or did you intend the audience to sympathise with him at all?

No. I never wanted the audience to sympathise with the killer. I felt it was necessary to show why he had become the way he was, rather than have him spring forth fully formed as a serial murderer. I think the back-story makes it fairly clear that he always had an inordinate streak of viciousness in his makeup. After all, plenty of people go through similar experiences without turning into killers. But in his case, those early events released his dark side and gave it form. I don’t like him and I don’t expect readers to like him either.

As an Australian author, what motivated you to set the book in an American ski town rather than in Australia? In relation to this, how important is your cultural identity to you as a writer?

I set the book in Colorado because I love Colorado. My wife and I spent ten years skiing the major ski resorts there and Steamboat Springs was always one of my favourites. I think the ski town background is fascinating and a little exotic--particularly for Australians. (That’s a purely personal view but I hope readers will share it). In addition, it’s relatively untapped as a locale for thrillers. As to my cultural identity, I always intended to write books for a potential international audience. The ‘Rangers’ series is set in the equivalent of mediaeval Europe. The fact that I’m Australian is coincidental. As I said at the start, I write to entertain. Earlier on, you used the words wry and laconic to describe the style. I guess that’s a function of being Australian. But it translates to a wider audience and I believe that’s essential if I want to make a living writing books. I need to appeal to that wider audience, be they Australian, American or any other nationality.

What are you working on next?

My immediate task is to start on the ninth book in the ‘Rangers’ series. But I have a second book featuring Jesse Parker and that needs some editing and re-writing. (I’m hoping my editor doesn’t read this and say ‘Yeah, a lot of editing and re-writing’). I don’t mind working on two projects at once. In fact, I quite enjoy it. And my editors at Random House are expert at organising my time and setting a workable schedule for me. I’m lucky. I enjoy writing. (See review, page 48.)

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