ME: What was the inspiration for Honour the Dead?
Although Honour the Dead is a mystery, when I decided to write it I also wanted to portray the utter devastation that the First World War brought to civilization. I wanted to show how the war impacted survivors for the remainder of their lives, muted, perhaps, as the years passed, but never absent. And I also wanted the contrast of setting an insane asylum against the backdrop of a beautiful location – Lake Como, Italy.
ME: Where any of the characters inspired by real people or events?
No, the characters and events in the book are all fictional. However, for those interested, a wonderful source for personal WWI and WWII stories and letters is the BBC website. I sometimes go there for ideas about people or places.
ME: This is you first murder mystery. Did you find it more or less challenging to write? Why?
I found the murder mystery much more challenging than my prior four books – all historical thrillers set during the Second World War. I researched Agatha Christie’s techniques while writing this to learn how to introduce real clues and red herrings in the different threads of the plots and subplots to keep the reader engaged. In the end, I actually ended up fooling myself, since a different killer was featured in earlier drafts of the book.
ME: Do you find you have developed writing quirks?
Yes, I have an unusual approach to writing. Some authors are very disciplined and create a detailed outline from which they never stray while the book is written and revised. I am very sloppy and haphazard. I write a first draft of 125 – 150 pages, that for me, is a race to capture the plot, leaving notes for myself like DESCRIBE or DIALOGUE. I then do many revisions after, continually improving the characters and settings, with the book totaling 350 – 400 pages when finished. Throughout the revisions, I capture thoughts or ideas for improvements on index cards, which are neatly stacked on my desk.
ME: What are the best resources for researching a historical setting?
I like to use non-fiction books written specifically for the time period. I find that most internet information is very surface level and doesn’t provide the detail that most readers demand.
ME: What is special to you about historical fiction setting?
I love to write historical fiction because it’s like bringing back to life an age that’s long been forgotten. I try to provide enough detail and description so my readers can imagine being in a given location and time along with the characters in the book.
ME: Do you find it hard to make yourself sit down to write every day/week?
No, I normally race to the computer and rarely miss a day. But I do have characters or scenes that I dislike and, when I get to a certain passage that I know I’ll struggle with, I tend to delay it. I read the news online or email friends, wander through Facebook or Twitter. But eventually I get back to work.
ME: Do you design your own book covers? How important do you feel a cover design is?
No, my publisher designs the covers. Sometimes they do more than one, and submit them for my approval, or sometimes they ask if I have anything specific in mind before they start. But all the cover designers I’ve worked with have been very talented people. I do think the cover is extremely important because, in book stores, it’s what first attracts a reader’s attention.
ME: How do you come up with the names for your characters?
When I’m doing the initial research for the book, and I’ve determined in what time period it’ll take place, I search on the internet for the most popular baby names in the country and year that the book takes place. For example, Honour the Dead has six main characters – all British – and it takes place in 1921. So I research the most popular male names, female names and surnames in the U.K at that time. I fill the left-hand side of a notebook with girls names I like, the center with boys names, the right with surnames. Then I match them up.
ME: Do you prefer audiobooks, physical books, or e-books? Why?
I prefer physical books – I just love the feel and smell of the book, the ability to easily leaf through it, the title on the header. I do have an e-reader, but not too much is on it, and I do have a few audio books, but they get far less attention.
John Anthony Miller was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a father of English ancestry and a second-generation Italian mother. Motivated by a life-long love of travel and history, his novels are normally set in exotic locations during eras of global conflict. Characters must cope and combat, overcoming their own weaknesses as well as the external influences spawned by tumultuous times. He’s the author of the historical thrillers, To Parts Unknown, In Satan’s Shadow, and When Darkness Comes. He lives in southern New Jersey with his family.
