It's rude to answer one question with another...
So, who is Conrad Hirst?
Try reading the book, then maybe you’ll find out.
Just kidding. This is the end of your hitman triptych, isn't it?
Yes, I think I’ve explored the character of the hitman from all the angles that interest me, at least for the time being.
Why didn’t you just write it as a series, carrying JJ through all three books?
Partly because that would’ve been limiting. JJ comes from a happy and settled background, Lucas has had a disturbed upbringing but has reached the point of having come to terms with it, but Conrad is halfway between the two – a normal upbringing followed by traumatic events which still haunt him. None of these characters would have been able to fit into the stories of the other two in the same way.
On top of that, my books tend to deal with characters who are facing once in a lifetime situations, but if the same person keeps experiencing those situations it becomes less believable, a sort of James Bond or Die Hard scenario.
You've said this is a love story – why?
I would have thought that was obvious. Because the whole book is about Conrad's love for Anneke and what losing her did to him.
So you don't believe in the old maxim that it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?
'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all – it’s Tennyson, written for a university friend who died, and of course I agree with it, but the joy of love doesn’t make the pain of loss any easier to bear.
So it's obviously a pain you can relate to yourself?
I see where you're heading – back off.
Why? You're not going to claim your books aren't about you at all?
My books are all about me, just as all art of any description should be about the artist, but that doesn't grant you any rights to the details of my life.
That's something of a contradiction.
Life's full of them – get over it.
But, for example, a lot of people tell me you're good fun to be around – that doesn't really come across in the books.
Maybe you're talking to the wrong people. Anyway, how about we stay on topic?
Okay, what about comparisons with The Bourne Identity and the rest of the series?
I haven't read any Ludlum but I've seen the films. My publisher used it as a marketing device in the early stages, but I suspect they were aiming at people who'd seen the movies rather than those who'd read the books. The similarity is that identity naturally plays a part in both works, but they deal with it in different ways. Jason Bourne has no idea who he is and is trying to find out, Conrad Hirst is certain who he is but sees that identity being chipped away as events unfold. Added to that, Bourne is something of a superman, whereas Conrad is all too human. And I seem to remember that Bourne doesn't like killing people, whereas it's Conrad's default option. Having said that, I'd hope people who liked Bourne would also take something from this book.
What about the film that's in the pipeline for this book, will it be like the Bourne films?
No. My understanding is that it'll be very dark, as befits the book.
Speaking of dark, any chance of you writing a book with a happy ending anytime soon?
The fat lady sings and throws herself from the ramparts – how is that not a happy ending?
