with Christopher Irvin
We are delighted to welcome novelist Christopher Irvin to Omnimystery News today.
Chris's debut crime novella is Federales (One Eye Press; March 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats) and we recently had a chance to catch up with him to talk about his work.
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Omnimystery News: When you started writing Federales, did you consider making it the first in a series?
Photo provided courtesy of
Christopher Irvin
Christopher Irvin: I consider Federales to be in the noir genre (or sub-genre of crime) and as such I find it difficult to write or plan for major recurring characters without falling outside of the genre. You can only take a character so low before you lose a sense of realism. I think that's why hard-boiled detective series work so well — the hero, though not unscathed, comes through in the end to fight another day. Not so much with noir. I think it would be fun to create a universe with recurring minor characters. I have two "spiritual" sequels planned for Federales and it would be interesting to try and work that in.
OMN: You mentioned that you consider Federales to be noir. Is this typical of your work to date?
CI: Much of my work is dark but for longer works I've stuck with noir. I'm not sure if there is an advantage to the genre … certainly a disadvantage of the reader knowing that the book will not end well, with the characters dead or worse. This forces me to focus on how I reach the end. How can I twist the reader's expectations if they know where I am going? It's a challenge but one that I think has improved my writing as a whole.
OMN: Summarize Federales for us in a tweet.
CI: An ex-Mexican federal agent devotes himself to an outspoken former politician and her cause in the face of ever-darkening circumstances.
OMN: Tell us more about your writing process.
CI: I usually start out by writing a scene or two by hand. Writing by hand helps me to get a feel for a new story and the characters, especially dialogue. But after a few pages I need to create an outline and plot out the rest of the story. I'm not opposed to letting the plot change and develop as I write, but I need at least a loose outline to provide direction.
OMN: Are your stories set in real places? And how important is setting to your stories?
CI: I try and stay true to a real place, but only so much as to get the correct feel. I have a bit of a minimalist style and so I generally avoid going into great detail. I think a few small details can go a long way to creating a strong setting. Readers are smart and pick up on them.
OMN: If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, to research a setting for a book, where would it be?
CI: Brazil. I'd love to attend the World Cup or Summer Olympics. I find the country to be a fascinating place with conflict ripe for crime/noir. The comic I'm working on, Expatriate, is set there so it would be great to get some first-hand experience in country.
OMN: What are some of your outside interests? And have any of these made it into your stories?
CI: Writing and reading is pretty much what I have time for outside of family and the day job these days. I love to travel and ideas I pick up along the way (setting, characters, etc.) definitely make it into my writing.
OMN: What is the best advice you've received as an author?
CI: To write short stories and practice, practice, practice. Every published author harps on the need to write every day, or almost every day — but it's true. Turn off social media and get your butt in the chair. It's the only way to improve.
OMN: What kinds of feedback have you received from readers?
CI: I find it really interesting when a reader picks up something in a book or short story of mine that I didn't see while writing the piece. I'll be vague to avoid spoilers but some of the comments readers have made about the end of Federales and the strength of the political themes surprised me. It's been great to receive that kind of feedback and to know a book is sticking with people.
OMN: Suppose Federales were to be adapted for television or film. Who do you see playing the key roles?
CI: I usually like readers to come up with their own images of the characters … but I'll bite on Marcos, one of the two main characters in Federales. I think Demián Bichir would be a perfect fit.
OMN: What kinds of books do you read today for pleasure?
CI: Mostly crime, though I'm planning a science fiction binge in the near future. I'm currently reading Megan Abbott's The Fever and Johnny Shaw's Plaster City.
OMN: What's next for you?
CI: I'm working toward completing a novel (very different from Federales) and I've outlined the follow-up to Federales. I'm also working on Expatriate, a comic series with artist Ricardo Lopez Ortiz (should have more to share on that soon, here.)
As for stuff on the horizon, I have a short story in the Spring 2014 issue of Needle: A Magazine of Noir, and a short story in Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen, edited by Joe Clifford.
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Christopher Irvin has traded all hope of a good night's rest for the chance to spend his mornings writing dark and noir fiction. His short stories have appeared in several publications. Federales is his debut novella. He lives with his wife and son in Boston, Massachusetts.
For more information about the author, please visit his website at ChristopherIrvin.net or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Federales
Christopher Irvin
A Crime Novella
Mexican Federal Agent Marcos Camarena dedicated his life to the job. But in a country where white knights die meaningless deaths, martyred in a hole with fifty other headless bodies in the desert, corruption is not an attribute but a scale; no longer a stigma but the status quo.
When Marcos's life is threatened, he leaves law enforcement and his life in Mexico City behind for a coastal resort town — until an old friend asks him to look after an outspoken politician, a woman who knows cartel violence all too well. Despite his best efforts, Marcos can't find it in his heart to refuse, and soon finds himself isolated on the political front lines of the war on drugs.
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