Linwood Barclay: ‘My father’s wallet inspired a plot point’

What was the spark for your latest thriller, The Lie Maker, and how did it evolve?

I was looking for a new angle on a witness protection story, a narrow focus, and settled on the idea of an unsuccessful novelist hired to write fictional backstories for relocated witnesses. And my father’s wallet, which has been in my desk drawer since he died at age 59, also inspired a plot point.

Did your father’s passing affect you as a storyteller?

Indirectly, I suppose. When he died, I essentially took over running the family business, a cottage resort and caravan park. That exposed me to a rich cast of characters, which has undoubtedly paid off over the years.

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If you had to go into a witness protection programme, where would you choose to live and what identity would you take on?

I live in Canada, so I might opt for someplace with a shorter winter. I’ll take a job cutting lawns. I spent hundreds of hours in my teens on a lawn tractor. That was when I’d come up with ideas for stories.

You were born in the US but have lived in Canada since you were four. Do you have a hybrid identity?

I’m a dual citizen and have two passports, but think of myself as about 80 per cent Canadian since I have almost no memory of living in the US. But having been born there may account for my interest in its politics. (Although, these days, who wouldn’t be?)

You wrote a satirical column for several years. Is a comic element an important part of the mix for you as a writer? Is it risky?

My first four novels were comic thrillers, and while all the books since are more serious, there are still elements of humour. It’s okay to be funny. It can break the tension. The trick is not to be too funny and lose the tension.

How did your two literary mentors, Margaret Laurence and Kenneth Millar aka Ross Macdonald, influence you?

I was lucky, in my teens and early 20s, to know and befriend two accomplished writers. While I didn’t have literary success then, the fact these authors took the time to read my work and encourage me made me think I had some kind of potential. But the books were still a long way off.

“Why not write about something extraordinary happening to someone ordinary?” Is this the essence of your approach to thriller writing?

I’m an ordinary guy who hangs out with regular folks. Teachers, car salespeople, artists. If we ran up against dangerous, evil people, we wouldn’t, unlike a James Bond or Jack Reacher, have a clue what to do. Readers will identify with ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. How will they get out of this mess?

What projects are you working on?

Next year’s novel may need a few tweaks but is more or less done. Soon I have to start thinking about what the book that will come out in 2025 is going to be.

Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage?

I once sat in the chair of Canada’s most famous and beloved humorist, Stephen Leacock.

What is the best writing advice you have heard?

Not writing advice, exactly. When I was about 10 my father showed me how to type so I could write my stories more quickly. A two-minute lesson. “This finger sits here, hits these keys, and so on and so on.” The rest, as they say, is history.

Who do you admire the most?

My wife, Neetha.

What current book, film and podcast would you recommend?

I’m not a podcast person. Hijack, on Apple, is the best thriller series ever made for TV. Best books I’ve read this year are All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay, Holly by Stephen King, Dennis Lehane’s Small Mercies, and Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.

Which public event affected you most?

The pandemic. It changed our social habits in ways from which we’ve not recovered. We got so used to not seeing people we’ve become more isolated, even though things are better now.

The most remarkable place you have visited?

The Fogo Island Inn, on Fogo Island, in Newfoundland and Labrador.

What is the most beautiful book you own?

A hardcover edition of Ross Macdonald’s 1973 novel Sleeping Beauty, signed by the author. In it, he wrote: “For Linwood, who will, I hope, someday outwrite me.”

Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party?

I’d love to catch up with the aforementioned Margaret Laurence and Ross Macdonald, neither of whom are still with us. And Stephen King, who I’m sure would have no problem hanging out with a couple of dead people.

What is your favourite quotation?

From my wife, when I order a dessert and she doesn’t, and she says: “I’ll just have a bite of what you’re having.”

Who is your favourite fictional character?

Batman. He has a cool car. Columbo is a close second. His car is cool, too, in its own way.

A book to make me laugh?

Not what you’d expect. Anything by Mary Roach, a science writer who finds the quirkiest subjects. She’s hilarious.

A book that might move me to tears?

Not many books really do that for me but I felt overwhelmed by the end of Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake. Thank God we don’t all have to be as good as her to get published.

The Lie Maker by Linwood Barclay is published by HQ