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intervista a Glenn Cooper
dopo aver letto "il marchio del diavolo", di Glenn Cooper (quello che ha scritto anche "La biblioteca dei morti" e "Il libro delle anime), ho contattato Glenn per proporgli un'intervista.
Dieci domande secche ... alle quali, nel giro di sole 24 ore, ho avuto queste risposte (ecco
anche la traduzione)
1. how come you published your first book only two years ago, when you were over 55 years old? Sudden decision or final success after years of trials?
It's true that my first novel came out relatively late in life but I wrote screenplays for 25 years before that. I had some minor successes in the film world but mostly it was an unsatisfactory experience creatively and financially. LIBRARY OF THE DEAD began as a script but I abandoned the effort and decided to try it as a novel instead. It turned out to be a pretty good decision.
2. the end of the World (or just the end of the Church) seems your main "interest". Do you truly believe in prophecies?
I would characterize my interests somewhat more broadly. I'm attracted to religious and philosophical themes and I'm fascinated with the power of religious institutions and ideologies to shape human events. These, more than anything, are the unifying themes that run through my novels.
3. David Icke is writing that the power is in the hands of the "reptilian". Your last story teach about the "lemures" power. Is this just a way to show pessimism on the human family or there is other beyond?
IL MARCHIO DEL DIAVOLO is really a universal tale of good versus evil. I'm a little tired of the Catholic Church always being portrayed as an unhealthy, secretive and unsavory institution so in this book the Church and especially this one young nun, Elisabetta, are positioned as the forces of good in the world. The Lemures with their iconic anatomical abnormalities are cast as the forces of evil.
4. your last book (Devil will come) is leaving the reader with un-answered question. Is this meaning there will be a sequel?
I like to end my books with a twist, a nod to the reader that stories are never really over. A by-product of this practice is that a sequel is always possible. But I have to say I've never written a book with a sequel planned.
5. in case we should really know the future, would this be meaning the end of the free will? Never thought of how to change the future, when known?
Good questions. I wish I knew the answers.
6. I read you live in an old house (I’m writing full-time and love hanging out in front of the fireplace in my library in a house built in 1669, doing research, reading and working on new books.) Can we expect a book on ghosts ... in future?
I'm very interested in ideas about ghosts and the implications for an afterlife. In fact I've written a novel on the subject of the afterlife, NEAR DEATH, that hasn't been published yet. I've had a few ideas for a ghost story (after all, my house is haunted!) and one of them might turn into a novel in the future,
7. real life, dream life, after life ... what's your idea about the "connections" among the three of them?
Actually, I explore these ideas in NEAR DEATH. The common thread is the Jungian collective unconscious which, as a cross-cultural phenomenon that spans the centuries of recorded human thought, is impossible to ignore.
8. when you start writing a book, you already have the clear idea of how the story will be developed ... or the characters in the book get some power to get independence (and forcing you to follow them instead of "direct" them!) (this is a question I'm raising to many writers and most of the times the answer is astonishing!)
I doubt you'll find my answer too astonishing. Since my plots are complicated I need a careful roadmap before I start. Otherwise I'll get hopelessly lost and maybe even completely stuck in the mud. But I don't make my outlines too detailed. That way my characters can evolve as the story plays out and it gives them the chance to influence the events to a certain degree.
9. writing your books in an old library (as you stated) means you go on with pen and paper or you are, anyway, devoted to the computer?
Computer: Macbook Air.
10. shall we expects movies from your books in the future? (as you are a screen player, half of the jos is done, ins't it?)
I've optioned the film rights to LIBRARY OF THE DEAD, BOOK OF SOULS and the unpublished third book in the trilogy to a Hollywood producer who is looking at either a multi-season TV series or feature films. We shall see. But I don't think I'll be writing the scripts because I have too many novels I want to write instead!
Glenn, it was really great from you to be so kind
Thanks indeed
Paolo Federici
