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Interview: Geoffrey Knight, author of The Riddle of the Sands
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Gay erotic writer Geoffrey Knight, author of The Riddle of the Sands, is coming to San Francisco for a series of appearances. I was lucky enough to snatch an interview with Geoffrey before his hectic schedule began, which you can read below.
You can catch him in person at:
10/12/2009 Books Inc: 2275 Market St, San Francisco 19:30:00
10/15/2009 SupperClub: 657 Harrison St. @ 3rd, SF 17:30:00
10/16/2009 A Different Light: 489 Castro St, San Francisco 19:30:00
10/17/2009 Book Zoo: (6395 Telegraph Ave, North Oakland 7PM
Q: When did you start writing and how many stories have you published?
A: To be honest, I don’t think I can ever remember not writing. Coming up with stories is one of those things that just came naturally to me as a kid. I wrote my first novel at 21, which was ridiculously long at 700 pages but was shortlisted for a first-time writer’s prize judged by Thomas Keneally, the authour of Schindler’s List, so that gave me hope that I could write right off the bat. After that I dabbled in screenplays for a while, then made a return to novels in the last ten years (I’ve got lots of rejection letters to show for my efforts). I didn’t get published until I started the Fathom’s Five series. It was a case of following my heart and writing the kind of book that I wanted to read. The Riddle of the Sands is my second novel to be published, and the second in the Fathom’s Five series.
Q: Was there someone in your family, a teacher, or perhaps a favorite book, that inspired you to begin writing?
A: My grandmother did a little writing and that was always inspiring to me. She taught me that writing wasn’t just something you had to learn at school—it could be fun. I also moved around a lot as a child and I was always the new kid at school, so I tended to make friends with my teachers instead of the other kids (I know, what a nerd!) I was good at art and creative writing and I was always really lucky to have teachers who nurtured that.
Q: What was the first story you ever wrote about?
A: God, I was very, very young! It was a Sherlock Holmes mystery but all the characters were ants. They had to solve a mystery about footprints. It was very cute. I guess that’s where my love of mysteries began.
Q: Do most of your stories have gay or lesbian main characters. If so, why do you write about GLBT characters, considering that it limits your audience.
A: My current work does, yes, and it’s wonderful. I’ve found a place in my community as a gay writer, my work has been embraced by my gay family and I love that. I’ll write novels for the GLBT community for as long as the community wants to read them!
Q: Who are the authors who most influence you?
A: In terms of gay authors I just can’t go past James Lear. He writes so deftly—how does someone create something so funny and sexy and with such brevity? In terms of straight influences, I’m definitely a fan of page-turning airplane novels by authors like Clive Cussler and Dan Brown. But the one man I’ve been reading all my life is Stephen King. He is such a master of great characters and creating a world so convincingly you have no choice but to believe every terrifying, unreal thing that happens.
Q: Do you need to be in a specific place or atmosphere before the words flow?
A: Yes, absolutely, which is unfortunate. I’d love to be able to write any place, any time, but the reality is I need to go into a bit of a zone. No emails, no phones, no internet to distract me. To finish The Riddle of the Sands I went to a cabin in the bush for a week that was completely solar powered and uncontactable. There wasn’t enough juice to keep my computer going for more than two hours a day so the last third of the novel was written completely by hand! I made friends with some nice kangaroos though.
Q: Your latest novel, The Riddle of the Sands has garnered several excellent reviews. Can you tell us a little about the story?
A: The Riddle of the Sands is all muscles and maps and temples and traps, with far-flung locations from Siberia to Paris to the Amazon to the deserts of Egypt. It’s about Professor Fathom’s team of five hunky gay adventure-seekers and treasure-hunters: New York tough guy Jake Stone, Brazilian biologist Dr Eden Santiago, Texas cowboy Shane Houston, Italian model and art expert Luca da Roma, and college quarterback Will Hunter, who must go in search of a legendary lost pyramid in order to save one of their own from a deadly poison. The clock is ticking, the race is on, and hopefully those pages will be turning faster than my heroes can drop their pants!
Q: I understand you have also done work in the cinema. Do you write screenplays, and if so, what recent movies have you worked on?
A: Film-making is a strange craft. There are a lot of barriers that stand in your way as a writer, the biggest being considering a budget. Which is why I enjoy writing novels so much—if I want to blow up a ship, I can do it and it doesn’t cost a cent. The one thing that writing screenplays did teach me though was economy of words and cutting to the chase; being quick and clever with your use of descriptions. My style of writing is very visual, often people ask if my books will be turned into movies, and I think that’s the direct result of my screenplay-writing. I still write the occasional screenplay for a friend of mine who has his own production company, and sometimes I doctor the screenplays of other writers, just to tighten the screws a little. It’s a good collaborative process, but I prefer writing novels now. I can go at my own pace and make my own decisions on what to blow up without blowing the budget!
Q: So, if you don’t mind sharing, would you tell us about your latest work in progress?
A: I’d love to tell you about the next book. It’s the third in the Fathom’s Five series called The Curse of the Dragon, and takes the boys on a rollercoaster ride through China in pursuit of a stolen diamond with a mystical history of danger and death. China is such a fascinating place, it’s a massive canvas to work on, and I really wanted to portray an ancient, forbidden, mythical side of China boxed inside this contemporary image of a corporate, industrial giant. It was a lot of fun to write!
Q: Out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?
A: It would have to be The Riddle of the Sands but I think I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover (even my own!) That guy is the hottest guy I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s worth owning a copy of the book just to stare at the cover!
Q: Name a book or movie written by someone else that you wish you had written, and why that one?
A: Oh I love this question! The first movie that jumps to mind is Raiders of the Lost Ark. It had a huge impact on me as a child. It cemented my dream to become a storyteller. But if anyone’s looking for a more intelligent answer, my darker side would have loved to have been responsible for Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr Ripley or Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. Such intense, intricate character studies and dripping with tension!
Q: If you could offer one tidbit of advice for new writers, what would it be?
A: Listen to your senses. No matter what scene you’re writing—romance, action, dialogue, drama, murder—think about what your characters are seeing, what they’re touching, the smells they smell, the sounds they hear, the things they taste. Sometimes you can work it into the writing, sometimes you can’t, but if you know what they’re sensing, then you’re in the room or on the street or up on that mountaintop with them, and if you’re there, chances are your readers are there too.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
A: Nothing beats a pub lunch with friends! A burger, a glass of wine and good company. Even better if you’re outside on a warm summer’s day.
Q: Had you not become an accomplished writer, what other occupation would you have most liked to tackle?
A: Well I work as a creative director in advertising and marketing and I love it! It balances out my novel-writing really well, I still get to exercise the same kind of creative muscles but in a different way. If I had to choose something completely different though, I find forensics fascinating—although I’m probably just lured in by all those cool, sexy crime shows on TV! I love volcanoes, maybe I should have been a volcanologist. Gets a bit hot in that kitchen though.
Q: What was the craziest thing you’ve ever done in your life?
A: Walked into a dark alley by myself with four large Romanians wearing gold chains at Bucharest train station at 2am desperate for someone to exchange money. Crazy isn’t the word. More like stupid. Although they turned out to be absolutely lovely! They ended up buying me a first class train ticket to Hungary for only $8. Just goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover (except The Riddle of the Sands, of course!)
Q: What, more than anything else, fills you with rage?
A: Bullies. Whether they’re in the playground or in the workplace or in a position of political power, nobody has the right to push someone else around.
Q: Can you tell us something about the place you call home?
A: Home is Paddington, in inner-city Sydney. It’s a great place full of bars and art galleries and bookshops. I live in a house that’s 200 years old—it was one of the first pubs in Sydney. It’s nice to know people still get drunk within these walls. It’s my duty to keep up tradition! I’m Australian afterall.
Q: How can interested readers find you and your work on the net?
A: Well there’s my publisher www.cleispress.com as well as amazon and the usual online booksellers. If you want to say hi to me, visit me at www.facebook.com/geoffreyknight or www.geoffreyknight.blogspot.com The official Fathom’s Five website is on its way, but it’s not quite up and running yet.
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