Getting To Know John Connolly
John Connolly was our featured author in the Case Notes section of Black Static #17, with an overview of the Charlie Parker series, plus close-up reviews of The Lovers, The Whisperers and The Gates, a bibliography, sidebar factoids and an interview. There was even a competition to win some of the books.
For the online side of the whole Case Notes experience, I like to take a somewhat light hearted approach, and so here is John Connolly answering the kind of questions that you won't find being asked in The Independent or any other of those po-faced broadsheets, but which are probably a bit upmarket for the tabloids.
Q: Whisky or brandy?
A: Um, neither really. Not much of a liquor drinker, but if a gun is to my head I'll opt for a Midleton Rare
Q: Memento or The Usual Suspects?
A: The Usual Suspects, perhaps because I saw it as the Surprise Film at the Dublin Film Festival and, knowing nothing about it, had that wonderful, rare shock of the new.
Q: Picasso or Dali?
A: Picasso. Poor old Dali rather oversold himself.
Q: Cat or dog?
A: Dog. You can trust a dog.
Q: 'Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad!' or 'Casting the Runes'?
A: 'Casting the Runes', perhaps because I doffed my cap to it (i.e. imitated it shamelessly) in 'The Shifting of the Sands'.
Q: London or New York?
A: New York. Worked in London once, and lived in Tooting. Hated it.
Q: Continental breakfast or fry up?
A: Fry up, but I always hate myself later.
Q: The James Whale Frankenstein or Tod Browning Dracula?
A: Frankenstein, but only as a prelude to Bride of Frankenstein
Q: For a portrait - prefer painting or photograph?
A: Photograph, but only as long as I never have to look at it.
Q: Twitter or Facebook?
A: Facebook. We'll look back on Twitter and think it was madness.
Q: Short stories by Roald Dahl or Saki?
A: Saki. There's nastiness in Dahl.
Q: For an evening out - live music or live theatre?
A: Live music. Theatre is a bit of a blind spot for me.
Q: Cuisine - Chinese or Indian?
A: Rather depends upon what kind of Chinese. Hunan or Szechuan is fine, as I love spicy food. In the end, though, probably Indian.
Q: The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise or the Indiana Jones franchise
A: Indiana Jones. Come on, be serious.
Q: Tchaikovsky or Beethoven?
A: Beethoven, but I'd prefer Mozart.
Q: To play - Monopoly or Cluedo?
A: Monopoly, but I rarely play board games as I'm a terrible loser.
Q: Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler?
A: Neither. Ross Macdonald.
Q: For a holiday - city or countryside?
A: City. To relax, I need things to do.
Q: Your steak - rare, medium or well done?
A: Medium-well. If I want something to bleed on my plate, I'll kill the waiter.
Q: The work of Francis Ford Coppola or Martin Scorsese?
A: Scorsese, but excluding Casino, which is a repellent film. Oh, and Shutter Island, which is just terrible.
Q: Rolling news on TV or a daily paper?
A: Daily paper. I come from a newspaper background, so I love the physical object of a newspaper.
Q: Favourite flower - rose or orchid?
A: We have orchids on the windowsill. They thrive on gentle neglect.
Q: The Shining - prefer the book or film?
A: Hmmm. I rather like the film, and Salem's Lot is still my favourite King book.
Q: Soccer or American football?
A: Football. It's not soccer: it's football.
Q: Sweet or savoury?
A: I guess savoury. Kind of depends on the food, though.
Q: Who, in their prime, would have made the best Philip Marlow - Al Pacino or Robert De Niro?
A: Pacino, I think. He was more rumpled.
Q: Rock music or punk?
A: Rock. It's a big wider in scope.
Q: Like the least - DIY or gardening?
A: Hopeless at both, but at least gardening gets you out of the house.
Q: Margaret Atwood or Toni Morrison?
A: Blimey. Neither. Atwood with a gun at my head.
Q: The CSI franchise or Law & Order?
A: Happy to say that I've never watched either.
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