Since the explosive popularity of The Guards Ken Bruen has quickly become one of the foremost crime fiction writers. His bold style is immediately recognizable but not easily imitated and is wholly unique.
He went to college at St. Joseph’s College and went on to earn a Ph.D. in metaphysics. After school he was briefly a security guard at the World Trade Center and an actor in some of Roger Corman’s movies. He then embarked on the career that would last 25 years, as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, South East Asia, Kuwait and Brazil.
He has been nominated for every award under the sun and has won the Shamus and Macavity.
He is currently writing two series The Jack Taylor Series and The Brant series.
His latest book is American Skin and 2007 looks to be a busy year for him as well.
Bibliography:
Her Last Call to Louis Macneice – 1997
The Hackman Blues – 1997
Rilke on Black – 1997
London Boulevard – 2001
The Guards – 2003
The McDead – 2003
Taming the Alien – 2003
A White Arrest – 2003
The Killing of the Tinkers – 2004
Blitz – 2004
Dispatching Baudelaire – 2004
Vixen – 2005
Magdalen Martyrs – 2005
The Dramatist – 2006
Calibre – 2006
American Skin – 2006
A Fifth of Bruen (an omnibus of early works) – 2006
Bust – co-authored withJason Starr – 2006
Priest – 2007
Slide – co-authored with Jason Starr – 2007
Cross – 2007
Ammunition – 2007
Brian Lindenmuth: Thank you for taking the time. I’ve got a few batches of questions that I’ll send over a few at a time so as to not overwhelm you.
Ken Bruen: PERFECT HOW ARE YOU?
Brian Lindenmuth: Your very kind to ask, I’m doing OK. I have two wonderful children ages 5 and 4. So any of life’s difficulties that may arise disappear when they give me a great and huge hug. Recently my daughter looked at me and asked “Daddy, do you know yourself” I couldn’t tell if it was a slip of the tongue or a Zen riddle, it certainly made me think though.
Ken Bruen: LOVE THAT, MY DAUGHTER WAS BEING TOLD BY HER TEACHER ABOUT PESSIMISTS AND ASKED GRACE IF SHE UNDERSTODD, SHE SAID “MY DAD”.
Brian Lindenmuth: How are you doing? I know you are always busy but I hope you, Grace and your family are well.
Ken Bruen: THEY’RE DOING WELL, THANK YOU, I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING THE WELCOME GUEST AT LOVE IS MURDER IN CHICAGO.
Brian Lindenmuth: Good luck at Love is Murder. I’ll have to scour YouTube for some footage. Since I don’t get to travel as much as I used to I can’t wait for B-Con to be Baltimore in 2008.
Ken Bruen: SOME OF MY FAV PEOPLE FROM BALTIMORE, LAURA LIPPMAN, ROBERT WARD.
Brian Lindenmuth: The ending of your latest book American Skin is open for Stephen Blake. With your other two series wrapping up in the near future will there be other books with him. Is this the start of another series or are you just keeping the possibility open.
Ken Bruen: JUST KEEPING THE POSSIBILITY OPEN.
Brian Lindenmuth: Is Jack Taylor’s usage of the phrase “Down Syndrome Baby” instead of “a baby with Down Syndrome” indicative of his character or just his ignorance.
Ken Bruen: PURE PIG IGNORANCE.
Brian Lindenmuth: You’ve stated in the past that the Jack Taylor series will be finished after 6 books. Does that number still stand. If so then that means that Cross will be the last book for Taylor. What can we expect? I find myself constantly wondering how it will end, more specifically will he ever find redemption or even a small measure of respite.
Ken Bruen: I’VE STARTED NO 7, BENEDICTION AS JACK WOULDN’T GO AWAY TILL I TOLD THIS EPISODE.
Brian Lindenmuth: This isn’t really a question but more of an observation. I am becoming increasingly convinced that some of your more tragic characters, Jack Taylor and Stephen Blake for example, are really dead and their stories are being told to us from the grave even though we have yet to witness either of their deaths.
Ken Bruen: JESUS, YOU ARE SMART, I ALWAYS SAW THEM AS TELLING THESE STORIES FROM BEYOND, NO ONE ELSE HAS PICKED UP ON THAT AND JUST AS TEASER, I’M ATTACHING PAGE ONE OF BENEDICTION.
Brian Lindenmuth: Thank you for the Benediction teaser, not only will I treasure it but now I’m dying to see the rest.
Ken Bruen: AS IT’S THE LAST, TIS GOING TO BE BRUTAL.
Brian Lindenmuth: The Guards and the police in general aren’t always presented in the best light in your books. What has their reaction been, if any at all?
Ken Bruen: I GOT A ZIPPO IN THE POST WITH THE GUARDS INSIGNIA AND THE WORDS, WE DONT ALWAYS APPROVE OF YOUR METHODS BUT KEEP UP THE INTERESTING WORK. MY DAUGHTER APPROACHED 2 AND ASKED IF THEY KNEW WHO SHE WAS, THEY SIGHED, SAID……….ALAS, BRUEN’S DAUGHTER, AND MY FAV PART, I INVENTED THE BAN GARDA, FEMALE GUARDS ALWAYS WEARING PEARL EARRINGS………AND NO KIDDIN, THEY’RE PART OF THE UNIFORM NOW.
Brian Lindenmuth: That’s tremendous about the earrings. The Jack Taylor books tweak the ever living shit out of the PI general as a whole. Jack barley does anything and still results are achieved. Was this subversion of the genre intentional.
Ken Bruen: ABSOLUTELY, I WANTED HIM TO BE THE ANTHESIS OF ALL THOSE SMOOTH GUYS WHO SPOT A CLUE AND SOLVE THE CASE, PLUS GET THE WOMAN, I HATE THAT SHITE.
Brian Lindenmuth: What is your favorite PI series. I find myself continuously being drawn to Dennis Lehane’s Kenzie/Gennaro series. He breaks my heart sometimes but damn are they good books.
Ken Bruen I AGREE BUT DREAD BEN AFFLECK PLAYING PATRICK……….I THINK THE PREY SERIES BY SANDFORD IS TERRIFIC, THEY TELL ME IT’S NOT COOL TO LIKE HIM, IT’S AKIN TO ADMITTING TO ABBA HAVING GOOD TUNES…………LAWRENCE BLOCK’S SCUDDER IS A REAL PERENNIAL AND JOHN STRALEY, SO SADLY UNDERATED HAS A GREAT CHARACTER…………JIM SALLIS ‘S LEW GRIFFIN IS STUNNING………….REED COLEMANS MOE PRAGER, ZOE SHARP’S CHARLIE FOX ……..JAMES LEE BURKE TOO BUT I WISH HE’D LIGHTEN UP A BIT.
Brian Lindenmuth: I love Lew Griffin but he doesn’t seem to get as much attention as he should. Plus I love the titles of those books they are very intriguing. I’ve been getting a bit tired of James Lee Burke for the last couple of years, he still is a great writer but my interest has been waning.
Ken Bruen: THE SERIES RAN TOO LONG.
Brian Lindenmuth: Your pop culture references and your epigraphs have long been one of your trademarks. What kind of reader are you? Do you have a photographic memory, do you take copious notes as you read or do you underline your books.
: I UNDERLINE LIKE A DEMENTED BANSHEE…………I READ A BOOK A DAY…………..EVERYTHING FROM PHILOSOPHY TO NATIONAL INQUIRER……
Brian Lindenmuth: Me personally I would consider it an honor, but have there been any references that you originally wanted to include but couldn’t due to legal issues.
Ken Bruen: TONS……….TIS SAD BUT TRUE, I HAVE BEEN PREVENTED FROM QUOTING LOTS OF WRITERS AS THE TAYLOR SERIES PROGRESSED, BREAKS ME HEART.
Brian Lindenmuth: Have you ever listened to Lucinda Williams or Paul Westerberg. If I may be so bold I think you might like them.
Ken Bruen: EERIE YOU SHOULD ASK THAT………IN THE STANDALONE I’M NEARLY FINISHED, ONCE, WERE COPS…………..THE GUY IS LISTENING TO LUCINDA WITH DRUNKEN ANGEL………….PAUL WESTERBERG IS JUST A DAMN GENIUS.
Brian Lindenmuth: I have questions about some of your characters and scenes:
Ken Bruen: LET’S ROLL.
Brian Lindenmuth: Is Keegan (from The Magdalene Martyrs) a thinly veiled Brant? If the answer is yes then what was the reason for the name change?
Ken Bruen: YES, TIS BRANT, THE T.V COMPANY SUPPOSODLY DOING THE WHITE ARREST STOPPED ME USING BRANT SO THE GUY WHO STOPPED ME, HIS NAME WAS KEEGAN.
Brian Lindenmuth: Is Neville (from The Magdalene Martyrs) related to Dade (from American Skin). The fact that they both incessantly chew Juicy Fruit simply cannot be ignored.
Ken Bruen: YES, YOU’RE SO ASTUTE, THEY ARE RELATED BY DEMENTIA.
Brian Lindenmuth: Is the Siobhan that works in the bank and gives Jack Taylor a hard time the same character from American Skin.
Ken Bruen: YES, YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE, HONEST TO GOD WHO HAS JOINED ALL THE DOTS IN THE VARIOUS BOOKS.
Brian Lindenmuth: Is there a relationship between Bill Cassell and Bill Preston. They seem very similar like maybe they have been cut from the same cloth.
Ken Bruen: THEY’RE RELATED THROUGH BITTERNESS, RAGE AND VIOLENCE.
Brian Lindenmuth: I’m sure the scene where Brant threatens Bill’s daughter was an illustrative example of your vulnerabilities as a parent, was that scene hard to write?
Ken Bruen: VERY, WAIT TILL YOU SEE THE DRAMATIST, LOST FRIENDS OVER THAT, TRULY, PURELY AS I LAID OUT AS YOU SAY, A PARENTS DEEPEST FEAR.
Brian Lindenmuth: On a related note, how good did it feel to have Barney the Dinosaur plummet over the edge of the cliff.
Ken Bruen: THAT WAS WONDERFUL, AFTER YEARS OF LISTENING TO ……….I LOVE YOU, YOU LOVE ME AD NAUSEUM………..BOY, IT FELT GOOD AND IT WAS REAL PERSONAL.
Brian Lindenmuth: In many ways the Jack Taylor series and the Brant series are polar opposites. But I think that they act as running commentaries on series writing as a whole. Series writing can almost always be divided into two distinct types: The ongoing character study and the episodic. The character study series builds off of all the previous titles and it is imperative for a reader to have read those past titles to understand what happens to the character or character in the fullness of time, the books are not interchangeable. There are also story arcs and themes that cross multiple volumes. The more episodic series type has titles that are practically interchangeable, they can be read out of order and there is a fair amount of exposition to bring newer readers up to speed. Jack Taylor is clearly a lengthy character study and the Brant books are more episodic. Was this your intent, to create a viable series in both formats?
Ken Bruen: JACK TAYLOR WAS ALWAYS MEANT AS SOCIAL COMMENTARY ON THIS NEW RICH IRELAND AND TO PISS OFF THE TOURIST BOARD, AT LEAST I SUCCEDED IN THE LATTER, THE BRANT SERIES WAS PURELY AS GRAHAM GREENE SAID………..TO BE LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT.
Brian Lindenmuth: At last count you’ve published somewhere in the neighborhood of 278 novels in the last few years and from what I understand you write everyday. Has the process gotten any easier or does a blank page/screen still scare the piss out of you.
Ken Bruen: ARTHUR MILLER SAID WHEN HE WAS 72, AFTER ALL HIS AMAZING WORK, HE STILL SITS DOWN EVERY MORNING AND THE FEELING HE HAS , LOOKING AT THE BLANK PAGE IS………….TERROR…………….DITTO.
Brian Lindenmuth: Are you your own worst critic.
Ken Bruen: ABSOLUTELY, I STILL, LIKE ALL WRITERS REMEMBER EVERY SINGLE BAD REVIEW AND SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN FEROCIOUS, WRITERS WHO SAY, THEY DONT READ THE BAD REVIEWS, ………..HELLO, HOW DO YOU KNOW UNLESS YOU READ EM? I ACTUALLY STUDY THE BAD ONES, SEE IF MAYBE I CAN LEARN SOMETHING FROM THEM………
Brian Lindenmuth: As I understand it in a past life you were a security guard at the World Trade Center, when were you a guard there?
Ken Bruen: YES, ON THE FLOOR WHERE WINDOWS ON THE WORLD RESTAURANT WAS……I LOVED THE JOB, I COULD READ ALL THE TIME AND THEN LOOK OUT ON MANHATTAN.
Brian Lindenmuth: Despite your appearance in Brooklyn Noir you are not a New Yorker, did the falling of the towers have an extra resonance for you since you had worked there.
Ken Bruen: FIRST TIME I WENT TO GROUND ZERO, I DAMN NEAR PASSED OUT, IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE I WAS TOTALLY UNPREPARED FOR.
Brian Lindenmuth: All of the big moments in 20th Century American History have influenced great works of art. Novels, music, poetry, paintings. Will the tragedy of 9/11 give birth to its own works of art too or is it just too soon to expect such things.
Ken Bruen: I THINK ALL REAL PAIN, REAL TRAUMA, SUFFERING BRINGS TREMONDOUS ART AND THE FACT THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME AMERICA WAS WOUNDED ON ITS OWN SOIL WILL BRING AMAZING WORK.
Brian Lindenmuth: Or is it possible that the works of art won’t come because their power will be less then the original image. Will the video footage of that day be the strongest monument to that dark day?
Ken Bruen: THE VIDEO FOOTAGE OFCOURSE WILL ALWAYS BE A STARK IMAGE BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT WONDROUS MUSIC, WRITING, ETC WILL EMERGE AS A RESULT.
Brian Lindenmuth: There was once mention of a non fiction book entitled Closure of an Irish Kind that you wrote, Did it ever get published?
Ken Bruen: AS THEY WANTED TO FOCUS ON SOUTH AMERICA, I SAID NO………………BUT THE NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE………………….
Brian Lindenmuth: I sincerely hope that the kinks in the deal are ironed out. Ever since I heard of it I’ve wanted to read it. You have had some interesting experiences in your life and those stories deserve to be told as well.
Ken Bruen: THE KINKS IN THE DEAL ARE NEAR DONE, WE HOPE.
Brian Lindenmuth: It looks as if your 2007 will be very busy (please feel free to add, change or correct)
UK release of Cross
US TP release of Dramatist
US HB release of Priest
Slide (the sequel to Bust with Jason Starr
A graphic novel for Vertigo (again with Jason Starr).
Is there anything that you can tell us about these projects?
Ken Bruen: AND THE FINAL BRANT, AMMUNITION, WILL BE OUT FROM ST MARTINS IN JULY, PLUS, I HOPE, THE NEW STANDALONE………….SLIDE IS WAY WAY BETTER THAN BUST I THINK, WE HAD A BLAST AS USUAL DOING IT, JASON IS JUST SO DAMNED EASY TO WORK WITH, IT’S REALLY SOMETHING, THAT HEADING INTO OUR THIRD BOOK TOGETHER, WE NEVER HAD ONE DISAGREEMENT OVER THE BOOKS, IN NEW YORK, WE HANG OUT TOGETHER ALL THE TIME AND CONSTANTLY BOUNCING IDEAS OFF EACH OTHER, OTTO PENZLER CALLS US THE GLIMMER TWINS, THE GRAPHIC NOVEL IS WILD AND CRAZY, WE HAD THE PITCH FOR IT DONE IN ALMOST ONE DAY AND THE STORY IS TERRIFIC, USING IRISH MYTH, JASONS NEW YORK, AND ALL THE NEO NOIR WE BOTH WANT TO TRY.
Brian Lindenmuth: It’s hard to imagine a final Brant book, I suspected that one could have gone on awhile.
Ken Bruen: ED MC BAIN AND I BECAME GREAT FRIENDS AND AS THE SERIES WAS A HOMAGE TO HIM, IT SEEMED APT.
Brian Lindenmuth: I find myself increasingly curious about the graphic novel. But since you and Jason aren’t tipping you’re hands yet please feel free to tell this whole section of questions to fuck off.
What genre will it be?
Ken Bruen: HORROR/SUPERNATURAL.MYSTERY.
Brian Lindenmuth: Who will the artist be?
Ken Bruen: WISH I COULD TELL YOU, HONEST.
Brian Lindenmuth: One shot deal or the hopeful start of a series?
Ken Bruen: WE’D LOVE TO DO SEVEN.
Brian Lindenmuth: Was writing for the comic medium harder, easier or just different.
Ken Bruen: JUST DIFFERENT AND FASCINATING.
Brian Lindenmuth: Do you read comic books?
Ken Bruen: I DO NOW.
Brian Lindenmuth: Why not keep it light in the final stretch.
Ken Bruen: OK…………..LIGHT WE’LL GO.
Brian Lindenmuth: End of the year question – What were the best books of 2006 and what are the ones that you’ve seen so far for 2007 that we should look out for.
Ken Bruen: LIGHTS OUT FROM HIMSELF, SHARP OBJECTS BY GILLIAN FLYNN, THE HARROWING BY ALEX SOKOLOFF, DOPE BY SARA GRAN, THE NIGHT GARDENER, MR CLARINET BY NICK STONE, THE CLEANUP BY SEAN DOOLITTLE ………….AND IN 2007……..WATCH FOR VICTOR GISHLERS NEW ONE, MEGAN RUTTAN, SANDRA RUTTAN, SEAN CHERCOVER, AND JASON’S THE FOLLOWER IS TRULY CREEPY, REAL DEPARTURE.
Brian Lindenmuth: I finished Concrete Maze by Steven Torres, which I know that you’ve read, and it broke my heart.
Ken Bruen: THE SADDNESS IS ALWAYS A SUCKER PUNCH.
Brian Lindenmuth: Naturally I’m going to be biased because I’m from Baltimore but The Wire is the best show ever, right. What is your favorite Wire moment?
Ken Bruen: THE VERY LAST TEN MINUTES OF THE FIRST SERIES.
Brian Lindenmuth: What is the saddest song ever? Right now for me its a toss up between Tom Waits “I hope That I Dont Fall In Love With You” and Bob Dylans’ Sara .
Ken Bruen: SAD EYED LADY OF THE LOWLANDS AND ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE,OH AND FAVOURITE BLUE RAINCOAT.
Brian Lindenmuth: One of my favorite movies is The Warriors. Assuming that you’ve seen it, If you could be a member of any gang from that movie which gang would you be in.
Ken Bruen: BRIAN, HATE TO NOT WANT TO JOIN YOUR GANG BUT MY GANG WOULD HAVE TO BE WITH THEM VAMP OUTLAWS IN CATHERINE BIGELOWS…..BEFORE DARK.
Brian Lindenmuth: Duane Swierczynski rightly said of you “He suffers fools gladly”.
Ken Bruen: GREAT LINE FROM DUANE BUT THEN, HE’S PRETTY ADEPT AT THOSE SOUND BITES………….THE OPENING OF THE BLOND IS STILL THE BEST OPENING CHAPTER OF THE YEAR.
Brian Lindenmuth: Thank you for you patience and time with this interview.
Ken Bruen: JEEZ, I’M SORRY TIS DONE, IT WAS REAL JOY AND YOU’RE ONE SMART HOMBRE………HUGS TO YOUR KIDS AND AS WE SAY HERE…………..DIA LEAT GO MOR.
Brian Lindenmuth: I wish for you the best of luck and continued success.
Ken Bruen: THANK YOU ABSOLUTELY AND KEEP UP THAT WONDERFUL SITE, WE’LL HAVE TO GET IT NOMINATED.
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