Today I extend a warm welcome on Behind the Pen to UK crime author Owen Mullen. Thank you for joining us Owen!
What is your favourite character from one of your novels and why?
Pat Logue from the Charlie Cameron series… it’s impossible not to love Pat both as a reader and a writer there is just so much scope with him – he’s a salt of the earth ‘fly man’, an irrepressible lovable rogue. He makes me laugh out loud.
What is your favourite scene from one of your novels and why?
The scene at Crammond Shore in Games People Play when we discover what drives Charlie… I truly felt his deep emotion when I wrote this.
What inspired your most recent novel?
Times are changing and I believe we have reached a watershed moment in how women are portrayed in crime fiction… I wanted to write something that reflects this.
Do you read your book reviews? Do you appreciate reader feedback and take it on board even if it is negative? How do you deal with negative feedback after spending so much time writing your book?
I always read them, and I always appreciate feedback, bearing in mind that all of our opinions are subjective. If someone pointed out a flaw in the plot etc I would see that as very positive and helpful. If someone was being truly negative I would see that as an indication of who and where they are.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
My other loves are travel, food and music – far away places with strange sounding names have always called to me – Christine and I have had amazing experiences from the Amazon to India and many many stops in between. Whenever possible we combine our trips with fantastic world class restaurants and great music… that’s when I’m living the dream!
What authors and types of books do you love most?
Too many authors to name, and they change as I get older. But I’m always attracted to the writers who use language well. My favourite genre has remained firmly fixed in crime.
What is your favourite childhood book? Did reading as a child have any bearing on your decision to become an author?
The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer. Then as a pre-teen, I would lay on the floor reading Somerset Maugham and imagine myself writing a great novel on a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean. It had absolute bearing on my decision to become an author… I write all of my novels on a beautiful hillside in Crete overlooking the Mediterranean… I have that boy to thank for it.
Where do you draw your inspiration from? How do you fill up that creativity well?
Inspiration comes from all sorts of places. Games People Play came from the Joe South song of the same name. The plot was born while Christine and I were walking on the beach… Christine pointed to a family and said ‘what would happen if someone stole that child?’ Other ideas come from articles in newspapers, television etc.
If you could trade places with any person living or dead, real or fiction, who would it be and why?
That’s easy it’s got to be Somerset Maugham, he inspired me not only to write, but stirred my longing for travel… just to see what it was like being him – and probably if I’m honest to see how I’d shape up in that world as a writer!
And So It Began
PI Vincent Delaney thought he was done with the NOPD until a string of seemingly unrelated child murders brings an unexpected invitation from the FBI, and his old boss. A serial killer is roaming the South, preying on children appearing in pageants, and the police want him to go undercover using his own family. Accepting would mean lying to people he loves and maybe even putting them in harm’s way. In Baton Rouge, a violent criminal has escaped and is seeking revenge for the brother Delaney shot dead. But Delaney isn’t going anywhere. He has unfinished business. Meanwhile, north of the French Quarter, shopkeepers are being extorted and ask for Delaney’s help. Extortion is a matter for the police. But what do you do when those responsible are the police? Delaney has his work cut out and he’ll be lucky if he makes it out of this alive…
Theresa Smith Writes 
Reblogged this on nellpeters.
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