Q & A with Alex Dook – author of Gunpowder Creek and Nothing Personal
Queensland Reviewers Collective:
Nothing Personal is your second novel now. Writers and musicians sometimes say that their second book [or album] was more of a challenge than their first. Did you find that to be the case when writing Nothing Personal?
Alex Dook:
Yes and no. Unlike my first novel, Nothing Personal had a deadline. That was a challenge. But the process of writing Gunpowder Creek taught me exactly how to write an “Alex Dook” novel. I had a sense of the ingredients it needed (switching points of view, sense of dark humour balanced with some genuine sentimentality at times, at least one instance of explosive violence), so that provided some really useful guidance.
QRC:
For me, one common factor across your books is the relationships between adult children and their parents. In your first novel, Zach’s relationship with his mother is somewhat fractured; and in Nothing Personal, Lola has a tense relationship with her father. And then there are the family dynamics within Parker family. Is this something that emerges from your storylines or is it a deliberate inclusion on your part?
AD:
I think it emerges from the storylines and specifically their scope, which is deliberately kept small. For sure, characters are put into perilous situations, and there is absolutely a heightened quality to the stories, but nobody has to save the universe or avert a nuclear disaster. The story plays out on a smaller scale. That smaller scale naturally leads to exploring conflicts and tension within familial relationships. Of course what’s interesting about stories at this scale is they can still feel high stakes. There can be more drama in a story about a parent reuniting with a child than a story about a superhero saving the world.
QRC:
I enjoyed the rather dark humour in Nothing Personal especially in the interchanges between Johnny and Bradley. It was a momentary relief after the mayhem – were the interchanges as enjoyable to write as they were to read?
AD:
Totally. I think it’s always worthwhile to lean into humour where it is found organically in a story. Crime stories in general are filled with desperate people who often don’t make very good decisions. That can be very funny. Humour and seriousness also just complement each other very well. For whatever reason, a story having a sense of humour seems to make the serious or dramatic bits more impactful.
QRC:
Australia has produced a number of excellent crime writers and now you are one of them. Is there something about Australia which contributes to this, and, if so, what do you think it might be?
AD:
I think you find great crime writers everywhere, but I also think the fundamentals of the genre are very transportable between countries and cultures. Crime is intimately tied to the social fabric of a setting. That works well for a novel because you can write very specifically about a place, but it also feels somewhat universal. Australian crime is just another example of that.
QRC:
What is now on your Books to Read list? Are there particular authors whose books you search out and enjoy reading?
AD:
A whole range of things. A few Elmore Leonards, both crime and western; Phillip Pullman’s new Book of Dust, which is a fantasy; a non-fiction book about the Cuban Missile Crisis; Colson Whitehead’s new crime novel Cool Machine; a couple horror novels; and also a non-fiction book about the Salem Witch Trials, which I’ve wanted to read about forever.
QRC:
Can we expect a third book from you; and if we can, can you give us any clues as to what it may be about?
AD:
Maybe! I don’t have one contracted at the moment, but I’m kicking around some ideas. It’ll probably end up being about another normal person who gets in way over their head. Or maybe I should do something unexpected? Rural romance perhaps? (Probably not).
Thank you to Alex for answering these questions.
To read QRC’s reviews of Gunpowder Creek and Nothing Personal click on the title.
Author photograph from Nothing Personal by Alex Dook — Echo Publishing