David Hewson's name is synonymous with literate, international intrigue. He has written eight novels, seven starring his Roman detective, Nic Costa. His previous Costa novel, THE GARDEN OF EVIL, was chosen as the best mystery of 2008 by the American Library Association Reading List, which highlights the best in genre fiction. Hewson discussed his new novel, DANTE'S NUMBERS, and his writing.How did the character of Nic Costa originate?
I wanted someone original, the opposite of the usual thriller/crime protagonist. So Nic is young, a little naive, full of integrity - a good 'ordinary' man, not a middle-aged melancholic alcoholic who can't pass a bar or hold down a relationship. Heroism in ordinary people is much more interesting than heroism in heroes.
What sparked the idea for Dante's Numbers?
I'd been wanting to do something about Dante and the movie industry for a while. The original idea was for it to be set entirely in Rome. But then I got invited to Book Passage to teach at their mystery writers' conference in Marin County and spent a week in San Francisco afterwards finishing The Garden of Evil. It struck me that my team would find that place interesting, then I realized I was living on the set of Vertigo which meshed in beautifully with the theme of obsessive lost love that I was trying to extract from Dante. So the book now begins in Rome but shifts a third of the way through to San Francisco and stays there till the end.
What is a typical writing day like for you?
Get up around seven, walk dog, do email, edit, write, write, write, walk dog, take break, nap, write, write, write, edit, quick beer with normal human beings, eat, sleep.
THE GARDEN OF EVIL recently won an award. Could you talk about your reaction and your feelings for libraries?
I think libraries are incredibly important to authors and readers, and increasingly under-valued. I grew up in a poor family in an out-of-the-way part of northern England. It was the rich variation of books in my local library that made me want to be a writer in the first place. Bookstores are vital for us but libraries provide a sense of connection with the past that is essential for any writer. We're all the heirs of the authors who preceded us, and in turn pass on what we have to the generations that follow. Libraries keep that alive because only they can maintain the breadth of material we need to ensure we don't lose something precious. I always go out of my way to talk in libraries whenever I can and when the American Library Association tells you that you wrote the best mystery of 2008 it's quite something.
What can a reader expect in a David Hewson novel?
History, art, literature and, I hope, well defined characters that are memorably frail, flawed but recognizable and likable too. I write old-fashioned books in some ways in that I will mess with rhythm, point of view and occasionally time rather than go for something that is very simple and linear. My work appeals to people who like to become absorbed by a book and its world, and are willing to make the effort to get inside.
What's next?
The eighth Costa book The Blue Demon is finished. It's set entirely in Italy and, like every book in this series, is very different, in this case a political thriller set around a G8 summit in Rome beset by terrorism, but with a story that links back to Italy's intriguing
Etruscan past. It is out in the UK in October and in the US next spring. I'm now working on the next book which again is set in Rome, this time in August, and is very much a gentler mystery set around an unusual family and a real-life tragedy from the 16th century.
How has ITW changed your life and what has been the most rewarding part of being a member?
ITW has been an eye-opening experience for me. On a practical level it's helped me gain traction in the US in ways I could never have managed on my own, by introducing me to people who are incredibly generous with their time and advice. It would be iniquitous to mention names: you know who you are! On a personal level it's brought me friends whose opinions and company I value greatly. Most important of all it's taught me that a spirit of mutual generosity benefits everyone in an author community, that we're all in this together, part of the same team not a bunch of rivals saying, 'Don't buy his book, buy mine'. For a Brit, coming from a country where we simply don't have that kind of culture, that was a revelation, one I will never forget and hope to repay one day.
Contributing editor Jeff Ayers is the author of VOYAGES OF IMAGINATION: THE STAR TREK FICTION COMPANION Pocket
Books-November 2006. He frequently reviews thrillers for Library
Journal and regularly interviews authors for LJ, the Seattle
Post-Intellgencer, and Writer Magazine.
Get up around seven, walk dog, do email, edit, write, write, write, walk dog, take break, nap, write, write, write, edit, quick beer with normal human beings, eat, sleep.
THE GARDEN OF EVIL recently won an award. Could you talk about your reaction and your feelings for libraries?
I think libraries are incredibly important to authors and readers, and increasingly under-valued. I grew up in a poor family in an out-of-the-way part of northern England. It was the rich variation of books in my local library that made me want to be a writer in the first place. Bookstores are vital for us but libraries provide a sense of connection with the past that is essential for any writer. We're all the heirs of the authors who preceded us, and in turn pass on what we have to the generations that follow. Libraries keep that alive because only they can maintain the breadth of material we need to ensure we don't lose something precious. I always go out of my way to talk in libraries whenever I can and when the American Library Association tells you that you wrote the best mystery of 2008 it's quite something.What can a reader expect in a David Hewson novel?
History, art, literature and, I hope, well defined characters that are memorably frail, flawed but recognizable and likable too. I write old-fashioned books in some ways in that I will mess with rhythm, point of view and occasionally time rather than go for something that is very simple and linear. My work appeals to people who like to become absorbed by a book and its world, and are willing to make the effort to get inside.
What's next?
The eighth Costa book The Blue Demon is finished. It's set entirely in Italy and, like every book in this series, is very different, in this case a political thriller set around a G8 summit in Rome beset by terrorism, but with a story that links back to Italy's intriguing
Etruscan past. It is out in the UK in October and in the US next spring. I'm now working on the next book which again is set in Rome, this time in August, and is very much a gentler mystery set around an unusual family and a real-life tragedy from the 16th century.
How has ITW changed your life and what has been the most rewarding part of being a member?
ITW has been an eye-opening experience for me. On a practical level it's helped me gain traction in the US in ways I could never have managed on my own, by introducing me to people who are incredibly generous with their time and advice. It would be iniquitous to mention names: you know who you are! On a personal level it's brought me friends whose opinions and company I value greatly. Most important of all it's taught me that a spirit of mutual generosity benefits everyone in an author community, that we're all in this together, part of the same team not a bunch of rivals saying, 'Don't buy his book, buy mine'. For a Brit, coming from a country where we simply don't have that kind of culture, that was a revelation, one I will never forget and hope to repay one day.
Contributing editor Jeff Ayers is the author of VOYAGES OF IMAGINATION: THE STAR TREK FICTION COMPANION Pocket
Books-November 2006. He frequently reviews thrillers for Library
Journal and regularly interviews authors for LJ, the Seattle
Post-Intellgencer, and Writer Magazine. 
