TORONTO – Evil Never Sleeps is the work of internationally respected police investigator K.G.E. (Chuck) Konkel published in August, 2000 by Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.
Konkel is best known for his first novel, The Glorious East Wind, which was a huge North American success and sold over 85,000 copies in mass market paperback. Dealing with the 1997 takeover of Hong Kong by China, the book capitalized on Konkels expertise in Asian crime. As a former inspector in the Royal Hong Kong Police, Konkel had the goods.
Born in Rotterdam, with a Master of Arts in International Relations, Konkel writes like Dennis Jones at his peak. He is currently a staff sergeant at Toronto Police Headquarters, and has led transnational investigations into credit card manufacturing syndicates in China and auto theft rings in Eastern Europe. He has lectured the FBI Academy at Quantico, and the National Police Academy in Poland and received numerous awards for police work, including the Award of Merit from the Senate of Canada. Chuck Konkel was the singular driving force behind the creation of Canadas hate crime law and is the only Canadian police officer ever to attempt to execute a search warrant in a KGB closed area.
KGE “Chuck” Konkel is recognized as an international expert in the fields of Asian and Eastern European Organized Crime. He led the first successful Canadian computer pornography investigation, several major Canadian counterfeit credit card investigations and the arrest of two Canadians involved in the smuggling of 300 stolen cars from North America to Eastern Europe.
His latest book The Evil Never Sleeps is a police thriller of masterful proportions. Political intrigue and mammoth oil deals, an assassination plot and a gorgeous woman on the run, and Fuentes, a police detective whose character leaps off the page.
An Interview with KGE “Chuck” Konkel
Digital Journal: 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.
Digital Journal: In the first chapter of your book, the mustang has a dominant role. What does it represent?
Konkel: The mustang is like all vehicles; it 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.
Digital Journal: 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.
Digital Journal: How do your roles as writer and police officer complement each other?
Konkel: My writing reflects the reality of police officers’ lives and analyses 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 because as a police officer, I have to understand the ramifications of actions. For instance, arresting someone is a symbolic act that shows people that there are behaviours that are not tolerable in a civilized society.
Digital Journal: 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 applause, but as an author, I do need it in order to be recognized and to sell books.
Digital Journal: 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 snarky, but there are more happy ducks in the world than sad ducks overall.
My colleagues know that I wont 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. 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 and 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.
Digital Journal: 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: I have the ability to affect change in society as a police officer. I have the ability to be a good parent, husband and reasonable writer.
Digital Journal: 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.
Digital Journal: 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 gone through 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.
Canada isn’t as literate as we would like to believe it is. Illiteracy signals that there is a group who is struggling to get by.
Digital Journal: What role do you see the Internet playing in decreasing illiteracy?
There is a wealth of potential in the Internet and people are attracted to the vast amount of information on-line.
The visuals on the Internet have been established and they help people navigate through the information.
Humans need to know about sports, entertainment and news and they are all right there on the Internet. Once they get more comfortable with the Internet, people will use it more and more which will assist in decreasing illiteracy.
Digital Journal: It was a pleasure to chat with you. We hope that your next book will be published on the world wide web.
An Interview By: Rosemarie Godina and Janusz J. UiberallComputer Graphics By: Alex Chumak
EVIL NEVER SLEEPS
K.G.E. (Chuck) Konkel
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.
Publication Date: August 23, 2000
$33.00 Hardcover
0-00-224366-0
