Murder and Machinery: An Interview with Duncan Richardson

Duncan Richardson's "The Secret Zeppelin" is just one of the mad mechanical tales featured in Murder and Machinery. Out April the 3rd. Kindle pre-orders available now.

Tell us three interesting facts about yourself. 

*While walking on a bush track beside the Zambesi, I realised the warning signs about crocodiles weren’t just for decoration but wondered why there wasn’t one at the start of the track. 

*COVID has shown how most disaster/war stories get the dialogue wrong, which is something I suspected. 

*I also suspect that all these points are of no interest to anyone else, but who can predict what will interest strangers? (Editor's note: Our readers are a discerning bunch, Duncan. I wager they're interested!) 

  

What drew you to this particular theme?   

I’d just read a book about the German airship bombing campaign against Britain during World War I. In the paranoia about how the enemy pilots were able to find their targets, some people were claiming that the Germans or their collaborators had secret Zeppelin bases inside hills in the British countryside and the airships were launched from there. So I recruited a retired detective to investigate. 

 

What’s the most frightening machine for you personally? 

Either a crusher in a wrecker’s yard or a mobile phone, it’s hard to say. 

 

Which short story authors or authors in the horror genre inspire you?  

Roald Dahl, Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce, because their stories are usually based on character rather than just plot. (Editor's note: 100% agree. Roald Dahl really knew how to weave humour and suspense.)

 

Do you have a favourite story about machines, other than The Pit and the Pendulum? 

There’s a Dahl story I think, about a machine that has kept a man alive but only his head so he’s powerless to act. (Editor's note: Yes, "William and Mary - HIGHLY recommended!) And Hal, in 2001 – A Space Odyssey. 

 

What does your editing process look like?  

A draft with lots of bits missing, like a line drawing, and sometimes things are in the wrong place. Then they get filled in and re-arranged, sometimes with the help of my writers’ group. 

 

Do you write everything and then edit or do you meticulously plan before you write?  

Never meticulous planning but sometimes a broad outline, usually missing an end, then in the writing, I work out the details but only after several drafts. 

 

What are you working on now? 

A children’s time travel story, set partly in the ear of Australian megafauna. 

Thanks, Duncan!

An Interview with Duncan Richardson

In the lead-up to the launch of The Black Beacon Book of Mystery in June, we’ve asked our contributors to answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Let’s unravel the mystery behind the stories together.

First question, inevitable perhaps considering the
pandemic...how are you coping?

One of the few benefits of the pandemic is the way it reveals how people really respond to big events like this, and it’s not the way most TV shows, films, or some books depict it; ie. we don’t walk/sit around making set piece speeches like, “Do you think there will be a war / bushfire / drought / pandemic?” It’s much more diffuse most of the time, with patches of frenzy. So I’m coping by trying to find some hidden benefits.

Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery?

The story behind my story is a big old house in South Wales where I lived for about 6 months as a child. It had long corridors, a wide curving stairway and a glass case in the hallway which contained a carving of an emaciated body. The carving freaked my mother out as it reminded her of the Nazi concentration camps. She wouldn’t rest until it was gone. Recalling that, it seemed that it could be part of a campaign to scare someone.

What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story? 

A flawed main character, a believable setting in time and place, and a villain who has good reasons for their actions so you feel some sympathy for them too.

Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?

Robert Gott’s thespian sleuth, Will Power, because he’s hopeless and arrogant with a stunning knack of offending people. Also Poirot as depicted by John Malkovich.

Tell us about a real mystery you have solved or would like to?

A real mystery that would be great to solve is death of Alexander the Great. Was it disease, or was he poisoned? The princes in the Tower would be a good one too.

What are you writing now?

I’m now writing about a mystery man who turned up in a Queensland regional town around 1900 and attracted the attention of the police, which resulted in him being taken into custody and admitted to a mental hospital because in the words of the official report, “He couldn’t give a good account of himself.”

Where can we follow or contact you online?

www.facebook.com/duncrich.au
http://duncrich.wixsite.com/duncanrichardson