Digital Journal: Why did you decide to write an action-thriller set in Mexico?
Konkel: Four years ago, I was approached by Ed Carson, then-president of publishing house Harper Collins Canada, to write another book. Together, we arrived at the idea to write about power struggles in Mexico.
The book is set in the vast deserts of Sonora, Mexico. There is drama in the rude vastness of a desert as grand as the Sonora… The exotic location becomes a character; it is a metaphor for the people we deal with.
The book’s main thrust is how political corruption shapes society. The power dynamics discussed in the book are critical to understanding the world as we know it. Those characters would be evil anywhere; evil has a global reach.
DJ: The question becomes, ‘How do we relate to evil?’ Do you view people as inherently good or evil?
Konkel: Humans have a core of goodness. Everyone likes to be good. People are set upon by evil circumstances.
DJ: In the first chapter of your book, the
mustang has a dominant role. What does
it represent?
Konkel: The mustang is like all vehicles Ñ a status symbol that states who we are. Vehicles have their own form of power. In the book, the
mustang gets the character through many things: away from, to, and out of situations and places in the desert. The desert itself is a vast metaphor for evil.
DJ: How do you view your role as a writer?
Konkel: Humans are social creatures who need to communicate. As a writer, my goal is to reach audiences by communicating to them that they are not alone in the dark with their fears and to discuss why the world is the way
it is. My role is to articulate the pain. People are inarticulate sometimes because they find themselves in difficult circumstances. Reading allows them to experience a healthy catharsis through expression.
However, expressing myself through writing is not enough; I need the audience to complete my work. Until an audience interprets it, my work is not finished.
DJ: How do your roles as writer and police
officer complement each other?
Konkel: My writing reflects the reality of police officers’ lives and analyzes the human condition. The nature of police work necessitates that investigators be reflective. As a profession, police need to find uncomplicated solutions that can be articulated to complex questions and issues. My job has taught me how to describe things very well. I must pay attention to details when gathering real evidence and when taking statements.
Writing is very natural to me. As a police officer, I have to understand the consequences of actions. For instance, arresting someone is a symbolic act that shows people that there are behaviors that cannot be tolerated in a civilized society.
DJ: What motivates you as police officer and as a writer?
Konkel: The respect of my peers and the love of my family and friends drive me in life. The difference between the two roles is that as a police officer, I don’t need the gratification of adulation, but as an author, I do need it in order to be recognized and to sell books.
DJ: Do your police superiors support you as a writer?
Konkel: They see me as articulating experiences in the way that they can’t. Occasionally, you get someone who’s petty or resentful, but there are more happy ducks in the world than sad ducks overall.
My colleagues know that I won’t write about them, so they don’t feel that I am watching them in order to gather ideas for stories. Besides, most of the things they do aren’t book-worthy anyway. Their everyday actions aren’t dramatic and books are 365 pages of larger-than-life drama. In my view, the human experience isn’t as profound as fiction.
As a writer, I am like a magnet: I bring together the profound and crystallize the parts of that experience to make it high drama. I’ve never written about a case I’ve had, or a victim I’ve known. I’ve never gone out of my way to harm people, which writers can do that if they choose to. Writers are powerful in
the sense that they can manipulate situations according to
how they choose to describe them.
DJ: With all of your responsibilities in the police force and at home, how did you find time to write?
Konkel: I choose to enjoy life, not by sitting in front of the television being passive. I am a participant in life in several ways:
as a police officer I have the ability to effect change in society.
I also have the ability to be a good parent, husband and
a reasonable writer.
DJ: The Internet has assisted with the surge of interest in
e-books. Do you see hard-copy books becoming extinct
anytime soon?
Konkel: Books are more alive than ever. There is exuberance in the printed page. People like the printed medium and prefer to print the hard copy version of electronic documents. People continue to read books because the act of reading is enjoyable, not because it is traditional.
I will publish my book online after I publish the hard copy.
DJ: How do you view the current state of illiteracy in Canada?
Konkel: People are quasi-illiterate due to circumstances, such as physical impairment, dyslexia or never having the luxury of an education. Some people haven’t learned the technology of reading. Illiteracy is one of our hidden failures and it is a quality-of-life issue.
EVIL NEVER SLEEPS
K.G.E. (Chuck) Konkel
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.
$33.00 Hardcover
