Today I'm delighted to welcome
BEVAN FRANK
to share his BEST OF CRIME ...
... AUTHORS
There are several authors competing for my top spot but I would say it has to go to Dan Brown, who was catapulted to fame with The Da Vinci Code. All of his books are gripping and draw the reader inward. Brown’s ability to create suspense and cleverly merge the boundaries between fiction and reality is inspirational.
... FILMS/MOVIES
Martin Scorsese’s The Departed – I am drawn to it and find myself watching it again and again. It has an excellent script and a great cast.
... TV DRAMAS
If I look back on my early (earlier) years, Magnum P.I. with Tom Selleck was brilliant. Even today I still enjoy watching episodes again of Magnum and his friends solving crimes, so much so that I’ve always wanted to name my house ‘Robin’s Nest’ after the Hawaiian estate where Magnum lived, but my wife won’t hear of it. (As she constantly points out, my name is not Robin!)
If I am to consider ‘modern times’, then the best crime drama is a tie between The Sopranos and Money Heist (narrowly edging out Better Call Saul). They are all nothing short of brilliant, with characters and plots that linger long after I’ve switched off the remote control.
... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Keyser Söze from Christopher McQuarrie’s The Usual Suspects. It’s a well-crafted story and I love the fact that the killer could be just another regular guy in the room with us. Someone you least suspect but someone who is calling the shots, someone with a brilliant mind able to hide himself from scrutiny while terrorising all who cross his path. Keyser Sözeis the perfect villain.
... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
While not a formal detective, Robert Langdon from Dan Brown’s books is a super-sleuth of note, trying to make sense of whatever is thrown his way as he gets to the bottom of deciphering clues, solving problems and saving the day.
... MURDER WEAPONS
What still stands out for me is Michael Crichton’s Prey, where the villain creates nanobots (made of nanoparticles) which evolve into clouds of autonomous intelligent swarms and become a lethal killing machine.
... DEATH SCENES
Without wanting to give anything away, a major death scene in Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo springs to mind. Here the person is fleeing in a car and crashes into a fuel tanker. After being stuck underneath it, the tanker then explodes. It took me by surprise!
... BLOGS/WEBSITES
I don’t have a specific website for writing or research. I do, however, recommend the book Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver. It gives great tips on setting scenes, creating memorable characters and writing books generally. It also gives ways to overcome writer’s block (or ‘writer’s stuckness’ as I was once told to rather call it!) The book was an invaluable resource which helped me get to the finish line when writing my thriller.
... WRITING TIPS
Write for 10 minutes every day, even if you’re just writing rubbish! The premise is that this eventually becomes an ingrained habit. Everyone has 10 minutes in their day to follow their dreams. I used the ‘10 minutes a day’ concept to write The Mind of God. Some days if I was in the flow the 10 minutes became 20 minutes or 30 minutes etc. After one year I had a substantial nucleus on which to build. You’ll be surprised at how much you can do in these little gaps.
... WRITING SNACKS
Before my stroke, tea. Since my stroke, coffee. And always salted caramel ice-cream and lots of chocolate. And a bottle of whiskey on stand-by!
About BEVAN FRANK
Bevan Frank has a BA degree in English and Political Studies as well as a postgraduate LLB law degree, both from the University of Cape Town.
After qualifying as an attorney Bevan decided to follow his passion and opted down the path of writing and editing. He has worked as a business magazine editor, journalist, writer, plain language practitioner and communications consultant. His articles have been published in numerous publications locally and globally.
Bevan lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and children. The Mind of God is his award-winning debut novel. He is currently recovering from a stroke and hopes to get going with his second thriller once he emerges from the haze.
Find Bevan Frank on his website and on Twitter - @justcallmebevan
About THE MIND OF GOD
Publisher's description
A black box. A race against time. No turning back. When Liz Greene discovers that her father is missing, she is unwittingly drawn into a plot that could change the world forever. Before he went missing, Professor Harry Greene had been working on the black box global consciousness project. Now, Liz needs to find both her father, and his groundbreaking research before it's too late. On the same day, President of the United States Daniel Rafferty is in Cape Town to give an address at the Convention Centre. Is it a coincidence that the black box was stolen while Rafferty is in the same city, or is there an even more sinister terrorist plot at play? Follow Liz, as she and her friend, Tim Fletcher, decode one clue after another in a deadly hunt around Cape Town, all the while being pursued by an assassin and a CIA agent.
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