Kend din krimiforfatter: Paul Cleave

1. Where were you born and raised?
Christchurch – New Zealand. But not on a farm.

2. May we see a picture of you as a child (or young? – if yes, attach a picture with your answers)
Umm… no. And the reason I say that is because I looked even weirder back then than I do now.

3. How was your family relations (Parents – what does/did they work with, older younger siblings – how many?
Dad worked in a carpet factory, making carpets. Mum was a stay at home mum, to me and my one older brother. We also had a cat… but, sadly, the cat died 25 years ago.

4. Where did you go to school?
Here in Christchurch. I went to Redwood Primary until I was ten, where I met two friends I still have now. Then intermediate for two years, then high school for four years or so until I dropped out a month into my final year. I dropped out because there were too many assholes in my class.

5. What was your favorite subject?
Hmm… I’m not sure. I used to like English, where I’d get to write short stories – I remember one year writing one where Santa had a heroin addiction. I also remember my school report at the end of one of my high school years saying ‘there is a time and a place for Paul’s kind of writing, and it’s not high school’. I guess she was right.

6. What was your worst subject?
Everything. I have to stop counting when I run out of fingers, I can’t spell, the only history I ever learned is that dinosaurs were hunted to extension by man because they tasted great barbecued, and I was no good at gym class on account of me being so tiny.

7. If your friends from back then were to describe you, what would they say?
They would say ‘He is such a cool guy, everybody should give him money’.

8. How was your youth? If you could give your 18 year old self a good advice – what would it be?
Well, I’d give him my plot ideas for the books, so he could write them younger. I’d also say your world views will change. That the man you will be at thirty is different from twenty, considerably so. Also – buy stocks in Apple and Google.

9. Are you in a relationship (fx. married and to whom) or single?
Well, I always have two or three cats living with me. Does that count?

10. Do you have children? (How many, how old, gender)
Again – do the cats count?

11. Do you prefer coffee, tea or something else?
I don’t drink either coffee or tea. I never really liked the taste. I do drink too much Coke, though. I’ve been trying to give it up… but I at least drink the sugar free stuff.

12. What is your favorite dish?
Chicken Pad Thai. Thai food is the best.

13. Which music is your favorite? (song, genre, group, soloist … whatever comes to mind) Do you use music in your books?
I have lots of favourites. Right now as I’m typing this I’m listening to a live Tom Petty concert. I love guys like Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, The Killers – that kind of thing. Live music is my favourite – so if I can find live concerts of those guys, I will buy them and listen to them endlessly. I always listen to music when I write – and it’s up loud too. And I sing along. I also have a stereo in the bathroom so I can sing in there too. A few weeks ago my neighbour next door told me they always hear me singing when I’m in the shower.

14. What are you passionate about other than being a crime fiction writer?
Travel. I love travelling, and meeting new people in new countries. It’s the best thing about being a writer.

15. What were you working with before becoming an author?
I used to renovate property. I would buy a house and do it up, then sell it.

16. What got you started on writing crime fiction?
I used to want to write horror – and when I was 19, that’s what I started trying to write. But I switched to crime fiction when I read those Mindhunter books (what the Netflix show is based on). It made me realise that real life crime is actually horror.

17. How did it make you feel when you published your first book? How did you celebrate?
Damn good. I took all my friends out for breakfast the morning the book came out.

18. Something that everyone seems to like, but not you (music, food, books … anything that comes to mind)
Dogs.

19. Something that everyone seems to hate, but not you?
Eating bread with nothing on it – no butter, no jam or anything. Just plain bread.

20. When has life hurt you the most?
It’s hurting now. But I guess the two worst days in my life are the day Christchurch has the huge earthquake, and the day Christchurch has the massacre. They are days I will always remember in detail.

21. When has life made you happy?
When I’m travelling. When people contact me to say they’ve enjoyed the books. Going to book festivals and catching up with friends. When the gin and tonics are free.

22. Do you read books yourself? If yes, what genre and do you have a favorite book and/or favorite author?
Crime and horror – that’s pretty much it. So many favourites – Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Sara Blaedel, Michael Robotham…

23. Is there anything in your authorship that you wish to try forces with, but not yet have done or had the nerve to?
A couple of things. I still would love to write a horror novel. And I’d love to be able to write a screenplay.

24. Do you have a bad habit?
Coke. I drink too much. I also nap too much during the day when I should be writing.

25. What do you think that you are crazy good at? (other than writing)
Crazy good? Nothing really. But I’m pretty good at playing pool. I used to be reasonably good at playing Halo on the Xbox. And I’m a good traveller – I have so much experience travelling that I know how to get things down.

26. What do you do when you have to relax and pamper yourself?
Usually I read, or watch stuff on Netflix. I don’t really pamper myself, I guess.

27. Which one of your books are you most happy about/proud off? Why?
All of them for various reasons. The book that’s the most personal one for me is Trust No One – as it’s about a crime writer.

28. What’s the best part about writing crime fiction and what’s important for you in your books?
I like to put people into the shoes of the main character, and have them think ‘I would do the same thing’ no matter how bad it gets. And, if I can make them laugh along the way, then that’s great too.

29. Name a fun fact or more about yourself.
I’m stronger than I look, I can solve a Rubik’s cube within a few minutes, and I know a handful of pretty cool card tricks.

30. How do you keep track of the ideas you get for your books, once you are not by your computer writing?
I have a few notebooks that I use.

31. If the people closest to you, were to describe you today, what would they say?
They would say ‘He is such a cool guy, everybody should give him money’.

32. What surprises people the most about you, once they get to know you better?
That I’m not a psychopath. People tend to think that after reading my books. In fact, when I first got signed up by Random House back in 2005, they sent somebody down to meet me to make sure I wasn’t insane. True story.

33. Where do you work the best and the most focused when you write?
I have an office upstairs in my house. I love it. It’s got north and west facing windows, so it gets sun almost all day long. I have cool posters on the wall, and my stereo, and a couch to nap on – it’s a great space.

34. May we see a picture of your desk/workspace? (if yes, please attach a picture with your answers)
Sure.

35. Is there a sport that you like and/or a team or more that you are chearing for?
I watch a lot of cricket.

36. What would you never write about in your books?
True crime. I never base things on real things that have happened, or use people from history who have been murdered to tell a story.

37. Where would you prefer to go on a vacation?
I was meant to go to Machu Picchu and then the Caribbean this year – that’s all been cancelled, but I’d love to go at some point.

38. If you could meet a character from your books, who would it be and what would you tell them?
Hopefully it wouldn’t be Joe, from The Cleaner. If it were, I would say ‘hey, Joe, put down the knife.’

39. What are you working on at the moment? Can you give us a bit of a teaser?
Two books, actually, that both have completed first drafts. It’s a little too soon to say too much… but one is about a sheriff looking for a missing boy, and the other one is about a husband and wife crime writing duo.

40. The last question is yours. Is there anything you would like to say or to tell us about yourself or anything else? Here you can write whatever comes to mind.
Just that I’m really bummed out I didn’t get to come to Denmark this year like I wanted – I was really looking forward to catching up with you guys…