Author Interview: Dave Warner

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Dave Warner is the author of When it Rains, an upcoming B&L book club read. Before our members review the book we wanted to get to know the author.

You can find out more about Dave Warner in the following interview.

Tell us about your book

‘When It Rains’ is the fourth in my Dan Clement series which centres around the small team who must police the massive area of the Kimberley region in WA.

After a dry patch where Clement is becoming bored there is a downpour of crime in Broome. It looks like there may be two perpetrators on a crime spree and Clement finds himself in Kununurra. He’s chasing after the suspects when a new, horrendous crime comes to light.

Somebody has been tied to a post in a crocodile infested riverbed, their feet weighed down by diving boots, and they have become a victim of a crocodile.

It seems this may be related to the crime spree, however, many twists and turns in the case see Clement looking at a previous case in the region many years before where a Danish tourist was taken by a crocodile.

How do you celebrate when you finish your book?

By the time the book comes out I’m usually onto the next or even the one after that, so it can become a bit confusing. And until the point the book actually comes out, it seems there is always something to do – editing, proofing, gaining clearance. I think the answer is — I don’t celebrate!

What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused? OR What are three things that we would always find on your desk?

I pretty much just need a computer but in the early stages of converting an idea into a basic plot, I often use pen and paper. Apart from that, a teacup. I’m not a coffee drinker.

How much time do you spend researching for your books, and what sort of things do you need to research?

Research varies greatly from book to book. In my last book ‘Summer of Blood’ set in San Francisco in 1967 I wanted to capture the era as close as possible to real events and so I checked out musical events in California in the period of the book and set many scenes in shows/concerts that actually happened. 

Even the weather in the book is historically accurate. In `When I Rains’ which is a contemporary police drama, I was fortunate to have on board an ex-policeman with vast knowledge of policing in WA. I’m not one to research for minuscule detail normally – my aim is to have the reader absorbed. So, if it has a general sense of veracity and can be entertaining, I feel my job is done. 

Are you a plotter or a pantser, and has that changed over the course of your writing career?

My very first novel `City of Light’ definitely developed organically over a long period but these days I like to have a strong skeleton with which to start. 

I’m very much one who loves plot complexity so the skeleton will be filled in and shifted and re-shaped several times before the end of the first draft. 

When you aren’t researching or writing, what sort of books do you like to read?  Do you have any favourite authors?

I have finally managed to read and work at the same time! Largely I still read crime books. Despite having read all of Agatha Christie’s books I regularly re-read her for her plot invention.

Elmore Leonard, Henning Mankell and Jo Nesbo are favourites, and Richard Osman is delightful. FX Holden for action thrillers and Perth’s David Whish-Wilson for local crime.

What are you currently reading?

Three books on the go at the moment – a biography of musician Ian Hunter, a Jeffrey Deaver thriller and `A Shadow At The Door’ by Jo Dixon.

What’s next for you?

In October `When It Rains’ will be published and then next year my Agatha Christie style whodunnit `Of Sound Mind And Dead Body’ set in 1929 and featuring a new sleuth will get its turn. The book is based on a murder weekend play I wrote back in 1994. 

Meantime I am writing and recording an album of country rock tunes and working on a stage musical with a cricket theme. I’m also working on a YA whodunnit using my characters Charlotte and Leila the talking horse, who first appeared in a children’s book series I did 20 years ago. So, plenty to get through.

Where can our readers follow you?

I’d love people to go to my website and sign up for my mailing list. You won’t be bombarded, just four newsletters per year and the occasional special offer.

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