Ayo: For those that do not know much about you would you like to give
us some background information?
Zoë: Well, I spent most of my childhood living aboard a catamaran on the
northwest coast of England. I opted out of mainstream education at the age
of twelve and went through a variety of jobs in my teenage years before becoming
a freelance photojournalist in the motoring industry in 1988. I’ve been making
a living writing about - and photographing - all manner of weird and wonderful
vehicles ever since. I wrote my first crime novel after being on the receiving
end of death-threat letters in the course of my work. The result was Killer
Instinct which introduced my ex-army heroine, Charlie Fox. It was published
by Piatkus Books in 2001. The latest in the series, Road Kill, came
out in October 2005. I’m married and live in the English Lake District, with
my husband, Andy, a non-fiction writer, where we’ve just about finished building
our own house.
Ayo: How were you introduced to the genre of crime fiction?
Zoë When I was still a child, my grandmother gave me a 1930s edition of
The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal by Leslie Charteris - one of The Saint
series. It was the first crime book I ever read and I loved it! I still have
it today. I don’t think my grandmother quite realised what she was starting
. .
Ayo: Let us start with your individual characters. Could you give us a
brief description of them and their habits?
Zoë: Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fox has been described as ‘flawed but appealing’.
She is a motorbike riding ex Special Forces trainee who was thrown out of
the army in disgrace and, before training to be a bodyguard in book three,
‘Hard Knocks’ was teaching self-defence and working doors in a nightclub.
Charlie rides a motorbike, is highly skilled at unarmed combat, and was a
first-class shot in the army. She’s been likened to a female version of Lee
Child’s Jack Reacher (but a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter . .
. ) It’s a very flattering comparison, as far as I’m concerned. Charlie does
have that matter-of-fact familiarity with violence about her. She may not
like what she’s capable of, but put her in danger and she’ll react almost
automatically. Tough, but not too hard-faced, I hope. Sean Meyer was a sergeant
in the army, one of Charlie’s instructors on the Special Forces training course.
They had an ill-advised affair and for a long time after her disgrace, they
both believed the other had betrayed them. It’s only after they get together
again that they discover the truth about what happened and can start to build
any kind of a future. Of course, Sean is not your standard hero. He has a
killer instinct even more developed than Charlie’s, and she has her concerns
about getting caught up with him again. Sean now runs a close protection agency
and, after Charlie agrees to go undercover into a bodyguard school in Germany
for him, she ends up working for him as a bodyguard herself. Charlie discovers
very early on in the series that she has the ability and the instinct to kill,
and this makes her a fascinating character to keep going back to. Her parents
- a successful orthopaedic surgeon and a Magistrate - are horrified by her
choice of career and the conflict between them and Charlie is an ongoing theme.
Charlie’s evolved as she’s gone on, starting out teaching self-defence to
women, and working her way through a variety of jobs before eventually finding
her niche as a bodyguard. She has a continuing struggle against her own capacity
for violence, which is an aspect of her character that I find intriguing.
Ayo: Where did the character Charlie Fox come from?
Zoë: I’ve had the idea for Charlie kicking around for a long time. It
all originated from the early crime books I read, where the female characters
tended to scream a lot and fall over and sprain their ankles and wait to be
rescued by the men. I wanted to read about self- sufficient women who could
take care of themselves and Charlie grew out of that. Purely selfish reasons!
Ayo: It appears that Charlie has picked up some of your hobbies. Was this
intentional or was this just a ruse so that you could spend some time on your
favourite hobbies in the guise of research?
Zoë: Erm, I think I’ve picked up some of Charlie’s hobbies rather than
the other way around . . . Actually, the research is great fun, and something
I really enjoy doing. The trick is knowing how much of it to leave out.
Ayo: When one initially thinks of Charlie, they do not actually expect
her to carry such violent tools on her. They are the type of things that would
normally be found on a man. While I believe that women can be just as violent
as men when they turn their minds to it. Do you think that they have the same
killer instinct?
Zoë: I think anyone, under the right circumstances, with the right provocation,
can discover a killer instinct. It took Charlie a while to discover hers but,
once she did, she realised she’d let loose something that she might not be
able to contain. Her ability to kill frightens her, at times, and is a cause
of constant concern to her parents. They don’t like her continuing involvement
with Sean Meyer, either, feeling that he brings out the worst in their daughter.
It’s a theme I revisit during the series and in Road Kill Charlie comes
to terms with this - and with Sean - a little more. I think she starts to
accept who and what she is. As for the tools she uses - she trained as a soldier
and she was a first class shot. If you’ve used guns in the military, you accept
them and think of them in a different way to a civilian. Charlie’s very matter-of-fact
about guns.
Ayo: Are you an adrenaline junkie or is this all done via Charlie?
Zoë: A bit of both, I think! My day job often involves hanging out of
moving vehicles to get some of the action shots, dragging my elbows on the
road surface. Nevertheless, Charlie’s much braver than I am!
Ayo: How would you describe your books to someone who is just about to
read them?
Zoë: Tricky one! How about: easy to get into and harder to put down?
Ayo: You have recently been published in the US; however, they started
with First Drop. Why did they not start with the first book in the series
and will they publish the earlier books?
Zoë: Yes, St Martin’s Minotaur brought out First Drop in September
2005 and they have already asked for another two books in the series, the
first of which is being written at the moment. My US publisher was particularly
keen to see Charlie working more in the States, so the next book, Second
Shot is set partly in Boston and partly in the White Mountains of New
Hampshire. As for the earlier books, I’m not sure. It would be great if they
decided to go back and start from the beginning of the series, but I have
tried to write them almost as standalones, so you can read them out of sequence
without missing anything vital. Moreover, at the same time I’ve tried not
to give away anything of the earlier plots. Now, with the US books getting
out of step with the UK ones, it’s going to be interesting, as a writer, to
keep everything flowing in a logical way.
Ayo: You were on tour earlier this year in the United States, how did it go? Zoë: Oh, that was terrific. Exhausting, but terrific! After Bouchercon in Chicago, we did a mad mini-tour of Arizona, Texas, California, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. There were lots of places we didn’t manage to get to, but we simply couldn’t fit it all in. I couldn’t believe the enthusiastic reception I had from the booksellers and from the people I met who already knew about Charlie. It helped that Deadly Pleasures had nominated First Drop for the Barry award for Best British Crime Novel, and people like Lee Child, Meg Chittenden, SJ Rozan, and Julia Spencer-Fleming gave me such great blurbs. I still can’t believe how friendly and helpful the mystery community is in the States. They were just wonderful.
Ayo: Your latest book is called Road Kill, what sparked the idea
for this story?
Zoë: I remember reading a snippet in one of my local newspapers about
the number of fatal motorcycle accidents on a particular road that led from
the motorway junction to a place called Devil’s Bridge, which is the local
bikers’ weekend hangout. The impression given was that no other vehicles were
involved and, therefore, the bikers must have been at fault for riding too
fast. I wanted to do something based on an accident that wasn’t an accident.
I was also getting a little tired of the myth that all bikers are Hell’s Angels,
so I wanted to show what happens when you get a group of twenty-something
lads, all on modern sports bikes that will run rings round a Ferrari, who
go looking for danger - and find it. In addition, I really wanted to set a
book partly in Northern Ireland, where I’ve spent a lot of time working and
love the place. You get a very distorted view of it from the news. And finally,
this book marks a turning point in Charlie’s life - both her professional
life and her personal one. Her relationship with her boss, Sean Meyer, becomes
more complicated. And simpler, both at the same time.
Ayo: How do your stories normally come about? Do you already have an outline
or do you just have an idea at the back of your mind and see where it takes
you?
Zoë: I usually plan carefully before I start - and then completely ignore
it! No, I do try and follow a plan of sorts, although by the time the book’s
done it doesn’t always follow my original idea. I love it when someone I’d
earmarked as being a fairly minor character rewrites their part when I’m not
looking and grows into something much larger, and more rounded. Friday, the
Rhodesian Ridgeback dog in my second book, Riot Act did that. He was
supposed to be a very minor player but he grew into an integral character.
And the FBI agent, Andrew Till, in First Drop. Andrew Till is actually a librarian
in real life, who became a character by special request. I thought he’d have
a walk-on role but he expanded it as I wrote and now may even reappear in
a later book.
Ayo: What is the most important element for you when you are writing? Zoë: To care what happens to the characters, and to be absolutely desperate to know what happens next! If you, the writer, are interested enough to find this out, hopefully your readers will be, too! My husband, Andy, reads everything I write as I go along and, if he’s gripped by it right away, I know I’m heading in the right direction.
Ayo: What do you enjoy the most when you are writing?
Zoë: Making progress. And I love it when something unexpected just arrives,
out of nowhere. The best ideas are the ones that pounce on you when you’re
in the midst of writing. Sometimes they turn out to be cul de sacs, but sometimes
they really give the story a fresh burst.
Ayo: What is your biggest distraction when you are writing?
Zoë: The day job, probably, although I discovered when I was pushing the
deadline on Road Kill that I can work quite well with my laptop on
my knee in the car on the way to photo- shoots - er, that’s when I’m the passenger,
obviously! Building the house has also been a major project that’s sopped
up a lot of mental energy as well as time over the past couple of years. But,
by the time, you read this we should be all finished - fingers crossed - so
I can really get my nose back to the grindstone as far as the writing’s concerned.
Ayo: What made you decide to write a series and not a standalone novel?
Would you write a standalone novel?
Zoë: I don’t recall making a conscious decision to write a series. When
I wrote Killer Instinct, I knew I was just beginning Charlie’s story,
and she’s continued to develop. If I thought she’d stagnated, I’d stop writing
about her, but she continues to interest me, and there are still a lot of
places I can take her - or she can take me. Sometimes I’m not entirely sure
which way around it goes. But, yes, I’d like to do a standalone or two.
Ayo: Part of being a crime writer is the camaraderie that goes along with
it. Do you enjoy attending conferences and book signings?
Zoë: Most of the conferences I’ve attended have been in the US and everyone’s
very friendly over there, so I’ve always really enjoyed them. I’m always amazed
by how very generous some of the biggest names in the crime field are. I find
book signings a little more nerve- wracking, just in case nobody turns up!
I’ve done events in big stores where there was just me and the tumbleweed,
and others in little local libraries where more than sixty people turned up,
so you can never tell how it’s going to go.
Ayo: Are you a crime/mystery reader yourself? If so, do you still find
time to read and what type of book do you prefer?
Zoë: I’m a voracious reader of crime and thrillers. I always have a book
on the go. Lee Child and Robert B Parker are still my favourites, but I’d
read Ken Bruen’s shopping list and I thought Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River
was just superb. I still enjoy Dick Francis and Clive Cussler. I think Lesley
Horton’s Inspector John Handford series is growing in stature with every book,
and I’ve just finished Priscilla Masters’ intriguing latest Inspector Joanna
Piercy, Wings over The Watcher. Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Rev Claire
Fergusson series isn’t published over here yet, but really ought to be, Carla
Banks’ The Forest of Souls has been described as her break-out book,
and I recently reread Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal and
was just as enthralled by it now as I remember being when I read it years
ago. There are just so many wonderful writers out there - Meg Chittenden,
James O. Born, Barry Eisler, Michael Connelly, John Harvey, Terry Pratchett.
Where do I stop?
Ayo: I understand that you like shooting. Which kind do you prefer and
why? When was the last time you had the opportunity to do some?
Zoë: I used to competition shoot with a 7.62mm SLR rifle, at a variety
of distances up to 300 metres, with open sights. I was a reasonable shot with
a rifle - better than I was with a pistol, although I’m not too bad. I usually
try and keep my hand in whenever we go to the States. When we were on the
First Drop tour we managed to sneak an hour or so at the Top Gun Training
Center Houston and I put in a bit of practice with a 9mm Sig Sauer P226 -
my handgun of choice. Coincidentally, it’s Charlie’s favourite weapon as well.
Ayo: What is your dream car and motorcycle?
Zoë: I would have said the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34, which is the car that
played a big part in the closing stages of my third Charlie Fox book, Hard
Knocks. Well, you can’t set a book in Germany and not include some high-speed
driving on the unlimited German autobahns, can you? Now though, Nissan have
just announced the new GT-R will be launched in 2007. If anybody offered me
one on long-term test, I wouldn’t turn it down! Either that or a CL55 AMG
Mercedes. As for bikes, it would have to be a Honda FireBlade, which is Charlie’s
bike in Road Kill. Either that or a Buell Firebolt XB12R.
Ayo: Are you easily amused and what was the last thing that amused you? Zoë: Oh yes - I’m not easily shocked but I am very easily amused. The last thing that amused me - I was watching part of the second series of Victoria Wood’s comedy series, Dinnerladies last night. Beautifully observed and laugh-out-loud funny. We also went to see Mark Thomas and Robert Newman doing live stand-up a few weeks ago. Very sly subversive stuff. Right up my street.
Ayo: Your day job is as a photojournalist, does this have any effect on
your writing and have you been on a shoot that has inspired an incident in
anyone of your books?
Zoë: Well, the death-threat letters were the starting point for my first
book. They said, ‘we know where you are’ but as they were being sent to the
magazine’s London address and not to my home, they clearly didn’t know where
I was, which was a comfort! But, it started me wondering what would happen
if they did know where I lived? So, that was the situation Charlie finds herself
in. There’s a guy out there who’s attacking local women, including Charlie’s
self-defence students, and then he comes after her. As for what effect the
day job has on my writing, I think the two complement each other. Getting
out and about stops me going cross-eyed sitting in front of the computer all
day.
Ayo: If you were on a desert island and could take three books and three,
items of food what would they be and why?
Zoë: Interesting question, Ayo! The books - just about any of the survival
guides written by Ray Mears would come in very handy, I think. And if you
could wait until next summer before you ship me off to this desert island,
I’d like the new Lee Child thriller to take with me. And finally, the most
comprehensive dictionary you can find. I love looking up the derivations of
words so that would keep my occupied for hours, as well as improving my vocabulary
no end. And could I also have a solar-powered laptop, or a large blank notebook
and an equally large supply of pencils? In between foraging for food and building
a shelter I could at least be getting on with the next book, couldn’t I? As
for the three items of food, these would have to be assorted Jelly Beans -
but not the cinnamon ones - an endless supply of South African redbush tea
(and milk) and a very, very large bar of Lindt cherry chocolate. I had to
give up eating chocolate a few years ago after I discovered that it makes
me very bad-tempered. But, if I’m going to be on a desert island with nobody
to shout at, I could eat as much of it as I wanted!
Ayo: Is there a book out there that you would like to have written?
Zoë: The Da Vinci Code? Any of the Harry Potter books? Only kidding!
I’m hoping that my best books are still ahead of me.
Ayo: What are you working on now?
Zoë: I’m currently writing Second Shot, which is book six in the
Charlie Fox series, and is due to come out as the follow-up to First Drop
in the States. Ayo: What are you plans for the future? Zoë: As soon as I’ve
finished Second Shot, I’ll be starting a completely different book, set in
the English Lake District, with a new set of characters. A police procedural
with a much darker edge to it. And after that will be another Charlie Fox
book. A new agent took me on at the beginning of 2005, the very highly regarded
Jane Gregory. She has encouraged me to try something different to stop me
getting stale and the more ideas I’m formulating for this new book, the more
excited I am by the prospect of getting stuck in.
Ayo: Thank you.
More information about Zoë Sharp and her books can be found
at http://www.zoesharp.com