Three Shots with JORDAN HARPER
1.
What made you become a writer?
Before
I could read, I would dictate stories that my mother would write down for me,
so I guess I've always wanted to be a writer. I've been a lot of things in my
adult life - rock critic, movie critic, TV writer - but I've been lucky to
always have been writing in one way or another. My interest in crime writing
came early as well, as my grandfather, a prison guard and knifemaker, filled my
head with stories of the Old West and violence when I was young.
2.
How would you describe your stories to someone who has never read anything of
your work?
I
write crime stories.The phrase I use to describe my work is "beautiful
trash" - my writing contains all the thrills and violence of crime
fiction, but I try to imbue the genre with as much poetry and technique as I
can. I enjoy the little details of criminal culture - the techniques of drug
smuggling, the slang, the tattoos and their symbology. Because I am from the
Ozarks, which is full of poor white people, I often use skinhead gangs and
bikers as my villiains. And I try my best to depict the inner life of people
who are often drawn very simply.
3.
When did "She Rides Shotgun" ("Die Rache der Polly McClusky") started in your head?
The
story took years for me to develop. It is based on the mini-genre of
man-and-child-on-the-run, which began (in my mind) with the manga series "Lone
Wolf and Cub", and also includes the films "Paper Moon" and "Leon The Professional".
I wanted to take that archetype and place it in the world of Southern
California, my adopted home. It took me a long time to write the book. My first
draft was all written from the perspective of Nate, the father, but when I read
it I realized it was all wrong. I had to tell the story from Polly's point of
view. So I rewrote the entire book, which was a lengthy process. So I think
from idea to publication was five years.
Jordan Harper, geboren 1976 in Missouri, arbeitete als Musikjournalist, Filmkritiker und schrieb Drehbücher für Fernsehserien wie "The Mentalist" oder "Gotham". Sein letztes Projekt war die Fernsehserie zu "L.A. Confidential", an der er ebenfalls als Autor beteiligt war. Er lebt in Los Angeles. "Die Rache der Polly McClusky" ist sein erster Roman.
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