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Alan Furst is widely recognized as the master of the historical spy novel. Now translated into seventeen languages, he is the bestselling author of Night Soldiers, Dark Star, The Polish Officer, The World at Night, Red Gold, Kingdom of Shadows, Blood of Victory, Dark Voyage, and The Foreign Correspondent. Born in New York, he now lives in Paris and on Long Island. You can visit his website at www.alanfurst.net.

Interview:

 Thanks for this interview, Alan. It’s an honor having you here on Book Talk Corner. Tell us, when did you decide you wanted to become an author?

I knew I wanted to be a writer by the time I was 11-years old when I began writing murder mysteries about New York cops.

Do you have another job besides writing?

No, I am lucky to be able to write full time.

Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?

I was a crazed reader as a kid, I couldn’t stop. I was, at about the age of 11, allowed to take books from the adult section in the local public library, by a great librarian. (This was in  Manhattan)

Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.

I usually write about the period 1934/1942 in Europe, and this time around, I wanted to write about a French aristocrat who is the military attaché in Warsaw.

How would you describe your creative process while writing this book? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline?  

I always try an outline first, but it never seems to last beyond the first 60 pages of manuscript.

Did your book require a lot of research?

Yes, my books always require a great deal of exploration.  The research for THE SPIES OF WARSAW took about 3 months.

Who is your target audience?

I would say that my target audience is an educated and somewhat sophisticated reader. I have found that the audience is about half ‘n  half women and men,. I have also noticed many more college age readers lately, which is great.

What type of writer are you—the one who experiences before writing, like Hemingway, or the one who mostly daydreams and fantasizes?  

I work from history and I’ve spent ten years living in Europe, so my writing is a combination of some experience and some research.

Agatha Christie got her best ideas while eating green apples in the bathtub. Steven Spielberg says he gets his best ideas while driving on the highway. When do you get your best ideas and why do you think this is?

I get them everywhere but at the typewriter, the subconscious works best when the surface mind is free to wander—driving, taking the dog to the beach, whatever.

Do you get along with your muse? What do you do to placate her when she refuses to inspire you?

My muse and I get along very well, I don’t placate her, she watches over my shoulder when I pay bills and she knows what that means—she’s a very smart muse.

From the moment you conceived the idea for the story, to the published book, how long did it take?

About fourteen months.

Describe your working environment.

I work in a studio behind my house in Sag Harbor. It is a very bare old building (1930s) – brick floor with only a radio, a lamp, a desk and my typewriter.

What type of scenes give you the most trouble to write?

Violence is hard but necessary in the type of novel that I write. I also find that erotic scenes have to be handled well…and carefully.

Do you write non-stop until you have a first draft, or do you edit as you move along?

I find that it works best for me to edit as I go, usually finishing pages after 3 days or so.

They say authors have immensely fragile egos… How would you handle negative criticism or a negative review?

I just shrug and go on; I’ve also been very fortunate with reviews.

When writing, what themes do you feel passionate about?

I’m essentially (given the period that I write about) an anti-fascist, very pro-human writer, all my characters are caught up in war or in the lead-up to it.

Are you a disciplined writer?

Extremely so. I find that you have to be disciplined to make it work. 

When it comes to writing, are you an early bird, or a night owl?

An early bird, I guess, starting around 7:30 or 8:00 AM.

Do you have an agent?  How was your experience in searching for one?

Yes, I have an agent. It was difficult to find an agent before I was published, but has gotten much easier now that I have been lucky enough to see some success.

What is your opinion about critique groups? What words of advice would you offer a novice writer who is joining one? Do you think the wrong critique group can ‘crush’ a fledgling writer?

I don’t believe a writer should ever have anyone, not a single soul, read and judge work before it’s submitted to an editor.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?

No. Better always to start a day with revision to get the creativity going.

Technically speaking, what do you have to struggle the most when writing? How do you tackle it?

I struggle with the late middle part of novels, say page 210/260 of a 320 page manuscript. It’s just difficult, structurally, very difficult.

How was your experience in looking for a publisher? What words of advice would you offer those novice authors who are in search of one?

Horrific. It took me 28 months to publish my first novel. My advice, if you know what you’re doing is good enough to publish, just don’t stop trying.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

TS Eliot, “Bad writing is loose language and imprecise thought.”

Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?

Yes, my website is alanfurst.net. Or just go to Alan Furst on Google.

As an author, what is your greatest reward?

When readers fall in love with your books they let you know, this is way beyond money, though money is nice too.