CL: Do you think it's part of your role as a writer to bring awareness to issues that are important to you?
WD: Yes, but not to hammer people over the heads with my views. My first goal is to entertain, and if readers appreciate some of my underlying messages, all the better.
CL: What is your favourite part of this book?
WD: The ending, I suppose. It's always such a joy and relief to get there. But while I also enjoy the whodunit guessing game with readers, I often laugh out loud as I'm working with some of my picaresque island characters -- who are (by the way) all coming back in my next novel, Kill All the Judges, to further harass Arthur Beauchamp.
CL: If you were organizing a book club meeting about your book, what are some things you would ask readers to discuss?
WD: a. The interweaving of plot lines (the murder case against Nick Faloon, the battle to save Gwendolyn Valley). How do you think that works?
b. The story is told in the present tense and from alternating points of view: Beauchamp and Faloon -- does that structure succeed?
c. Arthur Beauchamp as an enduring character -- do you want to see more of him; if so, why?
d. Do I raise issues (political, environmental, legal) that interest you? If so, why?
e. Who would you see starring in a film version of the book?
f. U.S. publishers often complain I am "too Canadian" for their readers. What comment would you make about that?
CL: What books and authors are you inspired by?
WD: Usually someone I'm currently reading. (Right now, John Lanchester, before that my friend Michael Dibdin. Next up Kazuo Ishiguro's latest.)
CL: Are we going to hear more of the adventures of Arthur Beauchamp?
WD: You bet. He has a lot of miles to go before he FINALLY retires. Hopefully, if things work out, you'll see him on the screen as well.
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