Our next edge-of-your-seat anthology, A Hint of Hitchcock, will be released in time for Halloween, and is available for Kindle pre-order today for just $1.99 instead of $3.99. While the suspense is building, we're interviewing the contributing authors so you know a little more about what makes them tick...
Hi Roger, thanks for agreeing to be interviewed. Let’s get started!
The first question is inevitable...which Hitchcock film is your personal favourite, and why? Which actor or actress do you think was the best he worked with?
Narrowing it down to just one is too difficult, so I’m cheating and picking one along with a runner-up: The Man Who Knew Too Much (the 1956 Jimmy Stewart/Doris Day edition), and The Birds as runner-up. As to the actors, again it’s too difficult to name only one so I’m cheating again, and picking two: Jimmy Stewart and Tippi Hedren (her performances in The Birds and Marnie have stuck with me for decades).
What is it about Hitchcock's films that makes them so timeless, or is it just the opposite, that the appeal lies in that bygone era?
Hitchcock’s ability to expose the disturbing potential lurking inside the ordinary makes it seem like his stories could plausibly happen to anyone in any era, which makes his themes universal and timeless. And his actors’ performances are so pitch-perfect they reinforce the sense that what’s happening on the screen could happen to me, in my house or my neighbourhood or my town.
Do you have a favourite director, other than Hitchie himself, of course?
Mark Romaneck, who did the near impossible by bringing Never Let Me Go to the screen in a beautifully understated fashion that nevertheless made the movie as powerful and affecting and haunting as the Kazuo Ishiguro book on which it was based. Coming in a close second are Oliver Stone, for most of his movies, and Ridley Scott for the astounding, chilling vision of the future he created for Bladerunner, which was based on Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Without giving too much away, how did you come up with the idea for your story in A Hint of Hitchcock?
Years ago, I read a news story about a man who’d engaged in what he believed was a legally justified act, but the authorities contended he’d committed a crime. The years-long court battle that followed destroyed the man’s marriage and his psychological well-being, and the legal fees practically bankrupted him. So, Ioften wondered whether there might not have been a cleverer way for the man to have dealt with the situation that prompted the act that got him into trouble in the first place—in a wrong-action-for-the-right-reason kind of way. Also, I’m fascinated with the idea of a character being outfoxed by the web of circumstances he’s woven to outfox others, and how the slow, steady, suffocating squeeze of consequences can drive a person to take increasingly desperate measures. The open submission call for this anthology seemed like a perfect opportunity to learn how this set of ideas would work itself out on the page.
Time to get more personal. Tell us three interesting facts about yourself.
In late middle age, I studied medicine for three agonizing semesters, then promptly resumed my teaching career. I’ve been held at gunpoint, more than once. And, I’m a huge fan of old-time radio, especially the detective and adventure shows from the 40s and 50s.
What do you aim to give your readers?
An immersive experience from inside the head and heart of my main character.
What are you working on now?
I’m writing a stand-alone novel about a young man who disappears, utterly and forever, on his way home from college, as well as several short stories, some of which are crime fiction, some of which are science-fiction, and one of which is my first foray into writing fantasy.
Where can we find you online?
My website is: www.rogerjohnsbooks.com, and, along with several other crime fiction writers, I co-author the Murder Books blog at: www.murder-books.com.
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