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If you love to be thrilled, make sure you don’t skip over Ben Sanders. Ben is the author of\u00a0American Blood<\/em><\/a> and\u00a0Marshall’s Law<\/em><\/a>, as well as three New Zealand Fiction Bestsellers:\u00a0The Fallen<\/a>, By Any Means<\/a>,<\/em> and\u00a0Only the Dead<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>The Stakes<\/em><\/a> is his latest work, described as ‘unputdownable’ by Weekend Australian.<\/p>\n Ben now answers the Booktopia Guru’s Ten Terrifying Questions!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and I was born and raised here, too. I had a great childhood, blessedly devoid of crime, which people sometimes find surprising, given the nature of my novels.<\/span><\/p>\n 2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n When I was twelve, I wanted to fly Hercules freighter planes for the air force. It looked pretty exciting. Unfortunately, being a myopic type 1 diabetic renders me unsuitable for military operations, so I have to write books instead. I\u2019ve wanted to be a writer since I was fourteen. I\u2019m twenty-eight now, still love reading and writing, and I imagine my feelings will be the same when I\u2019m thirty.<\/span><\/p>\n 3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n None spring to mind. I think I was too distracted by the adolescent pressure of the day-to-day. I\u2019ve gained many strong beliefs, but I can\u2019t recall changing my mind on anything that mattered deeply to me, and I can\u2019t remember being strident about something and then losing interest.<\/span><\/p>\n Lost Light<\/em><\/a> by Michael Connelly was the book that made me want to write something of my own. James Ellroy has had a big impact on my work: it wasn\u2019t until I read American Tabloid<\/em><\/a> that I appreciated the importance of style, and it drastically changed how I approached my own fiction. I love listening to music (Nick Cave, Ryan Adams and Lorde are my current favourites), and I\u2019ll always vividly remember being eighteen and discovering R.E.M. I loved their album Out of Time, and often had it playing while I wrote my first novel, The Fallen<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n 5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n I was passionate about stories and learning how to write, so it didn\u2019t occur to me to pursue another medium.<\/span><\/p>\n 6. Please tell us about your latest novel\u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n My latest is The Stakes<\/em>, about an NYPD robbery detective who has a mid-life crisis and decides to rip off rich criminals. Of course, this lands him in a tonne of trouble. There\u2019s a studio boss-turned-gangster, a failed actor-turned-hit man, and a brilliant and dangerous woman named Nina. Everyone collides in brutal fashion. I loved writing it, and I think it\u2019s my strongest novel so far.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m interested in language, so I aim to write well, and I want to give readers interesting people and places\u2014something a bit different within a very well-worked genre. But the whole point of publishing these stories is to entertain, so ultimately I want people to reach the end of the book and consider the reading time very well spent.<\/span><\/p>\n “I was passionate about stories and learning how to write, so it didn\u2019t occur to me to pursue another medium.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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4. What were three works of art \u2013 book or painting or piece of music, etc \u2013 you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n\n