KT: Steve, first off thanks for talking with us at Hardluck.

Hamilton: My pleasure.

Everyone’s got their own definition of noir. I got to ask for yours.

To me, noir is a certain unmistakable feeling, whether it’s in a book or in a movie, of psychic desolation. Not just loneliness but whatever’s beyond loneliness. And for me personally, I’ve always associated that sense with bitter cold weather, which is why I’ve set all six McKnight books in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

What do you think of the current noir marketplace?

I know that “hardboiled” may be a bit more general than noir as a way of describing a category in the marketplace, but I know that hardboiled is doing as well or better than anything else in mystery fiction. And mystery fiction itself is still pretty healthy, relatively speaking. 2003 was apparently a really tough year all throughout publishing, but I’m hearing it’s a lot better this year. (All this is a fancy way of saying, “Beats me.” I still love reading it, and the books themselves are as strong as ever. That’s all I know…)

Can you tell us your favorite noir books and authors? Favorite noir movie?

Besides some of the obvious names like Lehane, Pelecanos, Connelly, Crumley… I absolutely loved Garnethill by Denise Mina, as relentlessly dark a book as I have ever read, but also quite funny in its own very Scottish way. Favorite noir movie? “Mulholland Drive.”

Ice Run is your sixth book featuring your signature character Alex McKnight. Where did you get the idea for this novel?

At the end of BLOOD IS THE SKY, Alex reaches out to this Ontario Provincial Police Officer, Natalie Reynaud, because he’s one of the few people in the world who can understand what she’s going through (having lost her partner). For the next book, it just seemed like a natural thing to pick up where that left off. He was once the loneliest man in the world, and now he’s trying to begin a relationship. But of course she’ll end up having her own problems, and her own secrets. That’s really all I had in my mind when I started ICE RUN.

Early on, Simon Grant, leaves a hat full on snow with his strange message outside the door of their room. Was this based on a real life incident?

You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve stayed at a hotel and found a hatfull of snow outside my door. It’s uncanny. (The last time was in Phoenix, even though it was 107 degrees outside!)

Your characters are incredibly real and at the same time, with each book, the reader finds out a little more about each one. How do you pull that off?

I’m honestly finding out more about the characters myself as I go along. NORTH OF NOWHERE was sort of the Jackie book – I had to ask myself what was really going on with this guy. BLOOD IS THE SKY was more about Vinnie, Alex’s Ojibwa friend. It’s amazing to me how these characters take on a life of their own. I used to think that was something writers said to impress people and make the whole process sounds more magical, but now I’m starting to think it’s really true.

In reading the book, I got the sense that Natalie was a female version of McKnight and was just as troubled as he is/was. Would you agree or is this a misinterpretation of the situation?

A female version of McKnight, I don’t know, but she’s definitely one of the few people in the world who can relate to him on so many levels. Lonely childhood, success in sports (Natalie led her women’s hockey team in penalty minutes – how perfect is that?), and then both had tough breaks as police officers. So they’ve sort of had parallel lives, at least.

Both seemed to be loner type individuals. Doesn’t that automatically mean the romantic relationship will ultimately fail?

I can honestly say right now that I have no idea. Obviously, though, it’ll be an uphill struggle if they’re going to stay together.

Guilt seems to be a powerful force in your books. It also seems to drive McKnight into always helping others, often at great peril to himself. If he were able to forgive himself, would he be so driven?

There’s a scene in THE HUNTING WIND where this crazy pitcher from Alex’s minor league days comes back all these years later and wants Alex to help him find a woman he hasn’t seen in just as long. When Alex and Jackie are alone for a moment, Alex asks Jackie if he thinks he should help him with this seemingly insane quest. And Jackie says, “Why are you asking me? You know you’re going with him. If a bunch of aliens landed their space ship in the parking lot and asked you to come help them fight off some other aliens back on their home planet, you’d go in a minute. And probably get your ass kicked again. You can’t help yourself. That’s just the way you are.” So yeah, Alex is a sucker for a friend in need. Or pretty much ANYBODY in need. Is it because of guilt? I suppose that’s a big part of it. He’ll never be able to really forgive himself for his partner’s death, so I don’t think that’s going to change.

If you don’t mind, I would like to discuss your writing process a little bit. After you have the idea, how do you go about writing your novel?

When I have an interesting situation that would make a good beginning, I just go. I don’t have a map. I don’t have any research. (I might do some of that after the fact). I’ve got nothing but that beginning and maybe just a vague feeling of how it MIGHT turn out – and I’m usually wrong about that.

How long does it take you to write a novel from start to finish?

Most of a year.

I’ve read that in the past you stated that you did not outline the book in advance. Has that changed?

I still don’t have an outline, no. Some days I wish I did. But this is the way it works for me.

After six books, is the writing process any easier?

You’d think it would get easier, wouldn’t you? But it hasn’t. I think maybe (okay, I’ll flatter myself here) because I’m so conscious of not LETTING it get easy, you know? I understand the temptation to just mail a book in, but I hope I can always resist that.

Do you still have to stay up till 2 am to find the time to write?

Pretty much, yes. The kids are in bed by 9:00 on a good night, so that’s when I can write.

As a married parent myself, how do you juggle the demands of family and your writing career?

Well, as a parent, you know that your family comes first, second, and third. Beyond that, I’ve been fortunate that the people I work with at IBM have been so great about everything, so at the end of the day I guess I have just enough time and energy left over to write.

Do you have any plans to quit your day job and focus solely on writing?

That’s a goal, and frankly I’d probably be there already if the people at IBM hadn’t been so accommodating. I haven’t had to make that hard choice yet. When I do, I know it’ll be scary, because suddenly the writing thing will be IT. Like suddenly I’ll be on the tightrope without a net.

Any comments at work? Are you besieged by coworkers asking to be somehow included in your novels?

My manager, Bob. He REALLY wants to be in one of the books. But he doesn’t want to be a bad guy, or just a dead body on the floor. So I’ve got to work on that one…

I have read many published authors state that aspiring novelists should hone their craft in the short story form with lots of publications before tackling a novel. While you had some success in the short story format, it seems like you almost went straight to novels.

I wrote some short stories in my day, but yeah, I think I did kinda skip over most of that step. Short stories are still a mystery to me, really. You have to put everything together so perfectly, it seems. It’s like a rock song – every bar has to burn from the beginning. In a novel, you can really spread things out a lot more. (Don’t even ask about poetry. To me, that’s like watching a magician at work…)

Are you still interested in writing short stores or are you doing novels exclusively?

I’m sure I’ll still do some short stories when I have the opportunity. As tough as they are, on the plus side you can try out different kinds of voices and points of view that you’d never want to attempt in a long work. Like really crazy stuff. And if it doesn’t work, you don’t have to go kill yourself.

For fans of the series, may we hope and expect that there will be more Alex McKnight novels?

The next book is a stand-alone -- for all the right reasons, I hope. Alex has been through a lot, and it’s almost as if he needs a break as much as I do. But I will definitely go back to him, because he’s got a lot more to do.

Who are you currently reading and why?

I got to know Ken Bruen at Bouchercon last year, and then saw him again at the Edgars. So I’m reading his stuff now (The Guards, The Killing of the Tinkers), and I’m totally hooked.

Do you think the book tour really helps or is it a necessary evil?

It definitely helps in the beginning, when nobody knows you. How often do you buy a hardcover mystery written by somebody you’ve never even heard of? You’re going to the stores to meet the owners, really, to help start building a little buzz. After a few books, you’re going out just as much to thank those great independents, which is still very much worth your time. Even though travel is so tough these days. I’m on the road right now as I write this, typing on my little laptop at 2:00 a.m. in Marquette, Michigan.

Speaking as a native Texan, we seem to have a lot of problems getting major authors to tour through here on a consistent basis. Any thoughts?

I was just down there! At Murder by the Book in Houston!

Do you have any thoughts or advice for aspiring writers?

Best advice I ever heard: Don’t put words in your characters’ mouths. Listen to what they say and then write it down.

Steve, this has been amazing. Thanks! And good luck with ICE RUN.

Kevin, it's been a blast.

Ice Run

By Steve Hamilton

www.authorstevehamilton.com

Thomas Dunne Books

www.minotaurbooks.com

2004

ISBN # 0-312-30121-9

Hardback

$21.95 US

$31.95 Canada

In this latest novel featuring series character Alex McKnight, it is late January in Paradise, Michigan. The winter has been unusually mild which has hurt business at the cabins McKnight owns. Snowmobiling is what keeps Paradise alive and they need it but for McKnight, the timing of the coming storm is critical.

McKnight is supposed to join Natalie Reynaud, the Canadian police officer who first appeared in the preceding novel “Blood Is The Sky” for a romantic rendezvous. Both are loner types by nature and they have an uneasy romantic relationship with unasked questions on both sides. McKnight is very uncomfortable with Natalie coming to his home and should the storm be as bad as predicted, he will be unable to make it to her home north of the border. As the snow worsens, they discuss the situation by phone and settle on a midpoint, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. A place that makes Natalie very uneasy for reasons she has yet to share with McKnight.

While Natalie safely makes it to the agreed upon hotel, the Ojibway, on time, it takes McKnight a couple of days thanks to the heavy snowfall on the shores of Lake Superior. Once there, even before he sees Natalie, he sees a distinctive elderly gentleman in the lobby of the old hotel.

“He was in one of the big chairs by the fireplace. He had a nice overcoat on, and it looked like he had a suit and tie on underneath that. He was wearing a hat, an old fedora. You don’t see men wearing hats anymore. That’s the first thing I thought. Then I noticed the boots he was wearing. They were like rubber fishing boots, going all the way up to his knees. They didn’t go with the rest of his outfit, but with all the snow, what the hell.” (Page 34—ARC)

The man makes a point of greeting McKnight and riding up with him to Natalie’s floor while asking him a couple of rather strange questions. The man appears again from time to time and then while Natalie and McKnight are at dinner; he leaves his fedora at the door of the room. Filled with snow, there is a piece of hotel stationary inside with the chilling words, “I know who you are.”

Natalie and McKnight have no idea who the man is or why he left such a strange message. After fruitlessly searching for him to return the hat, they find out that the man, Simon Grant, died in the bitter cold outside in a snow bank just down the street from the hotel. McKnight’s attempt to find out what the man meant quickly escalates into violence that ultimately reveals a nightmarish family secret that has crossed family lines and generations for decades. The truth is harsh, much like a Michigan winter, and quite possibly unsurvivable for Natalie and McKnight.

Once again, the author has painted a complex world where the simplest of actions can bring untold consequences. As we learn more about McKnight in this novel, we learn considerably more about Natalie. In so doing, she becomes a character study as facets of her personality and their relationship are examined piece by piece through Alex’s eyes.

This is a wonderfully complex book on so many levels. The typical noir themes of deceit, betrayal and greed are present and at the same time, thanks to the elements, the work also becomes on another level, a sheer survival story. While the McKnight/Reynaud relationship may be doomed to failure on one level, the reader is left to hope on another. There is a reason why this author has deservedly won the Edgar and the Anthony awards and this could be another one to add to the collection.