The Flying Dead: Q&A
Editor’s Note:
Below are some Q&A regarding Richard’s new police procedural set in New Zealand.
The book is available here.
Q: Is this book a police procedural, a techno-thriller, or a horror story?
A: I hope it’s all of those things to some degree, with each element adding something to the story. While some readers might not care for the procedural aspects, others might not like the blood and guts. I just hope the combination works for most readers. While I enjoy reading procedurals, all my novels include a “techno-” subject matter to establish the setting and bring in the gritty details. For example, in The Bone Hunter series, the protagonist is a paleontologist. In my E&M Techno-thriller series, the lead character is an expert in all things nuclear. Here, in The Flying Dead, the focus is on behavioral psychology and behavioral biology, which is my background, having a Ph.D. in psychopharmacology.
Q: A police procedural is heavy on details and accuracy in policing. Did you have help from actual NZ police?
A: I’m not originally from New Zealand, though I’ve lived here for 20 years. So I definitely needed help. Detective work here is nothing like in the movies, or in the U.S., where the lone copper solves the case. The structure of policing is also very different. In The Bone Hunter series, much involves a sheriff’s department. As one of the characters points out: in Montana, if a crime is rural and not federal, it will be handled by a local sheriff’s department, no matter how serious the offense. That’s the opposite of New Zealand, where everything is centralized and national.
To understand how to balance the difference, I relied on a CIB detective and a few local police constables. For example, Sykes begins the story in Crime Squad but was able to continue investigating the case because she happens to be moving to the Criminal Investigation Branch. That suggestion came directly from a police detective, DF, and was invaluable. While some liberties taken in the book are intentional to suit the story, I’m sure there are others due to my own flubs.
Q: As an international crime novel, how do you deal with the differences between the New Zealand setting and non-New Zealand readers?
A: There is no perfect solution. There is a conflict because some police terminology, like CIB, isn’t familiar to outsiders. The same goes for New Zealand slang. The trick is to keep things accurate and realistic while slipping in subtle details to clarify the meaning. Sometimes, though, I use American terms like "John Doe” because they’re so widely recognized, even if they’re not used in New Zealand.
Q: The use of Māori language is tricky, isn’t it?
A: Te reo Māori is widely spoken in New Zealand, and it’s becoming more prevalent. It wouldn’t be authentic to exclude it, even if some international readers find it distracting. I tried to make the meaning clear and maybe a little interesting. Māori and Pasifika culture is huge in New Zealand, and while there are divisive issues, the “aboriginal” situation here is very different from the situation in Australia or the U.S.
Q: Is parasite host manipulation a real thing?
A: Absolutely, though its specific application in the novel is fictional. The biological mechanisms of host manipulation presented in the book are valid, but I don’t know of any real-world example causing ravenous hunger. If it did exist, it would be terrifying—an infected bird could spread the condition to wild mice, and you’d have a real Hitchcockian nightmare on your hands. Stay tuned…
Q: Why a female detective?
A: Being a male author doesn’t mean I identify best with a male detective. Of course, many male detectives are good characters, but if you want someone who faces challenges from all sides, a female detective is often more compelling. New Zealand also has a lot of female police officers, so it made sense for the context.
Q: Central to the story is the idea of preserving native species and the apparent contradiction of, as one of your characters puts it, “killing for life.” Is this an axe to grind?
A: New Zealand has a unique biodiversity that’s under threat, but sometimes the approach is so zealous that certain animals are demonized just for trying to survive in the environment in which they were born. The irony of the “colonial” Pākehā population wanting to eradicate all introduced species is not one you see pointed out. However, this isn’t a political agenda on my part—it’s simply a theme in the book. Kiwis aren’t extreme about much of anything, so this perspective creates an interesting contrast for non-NZ readers and adds conflict to the story.
Q: Finally, this is your fifth novel published in six months. How is that possible?
A: They were written over the past three years. By the time the first presentable novel went to my agent, I’d already started the next novel. I stayed sane by focusing on writing instead of waiting for my agent to sell one of them. When she ran out of options with the first two books, I realized it was time to go ahead and self publish. My nonfiction books were all traditionally published, so I knew the perils of that process anyway. Indie publishing doesn’t have the same prestige, but you keep control—for me, that’s vital. I’ve written extensively on that subject here.