Funeral Service Times August 2017 May 2019 | Page 22

22 PROFILE
see yourself going down?
Honestly, I’ve always wanted to try my
hand at writing a sitcom. I already have
a few ideas down on paper, but with a
couple of projects already lined up I have
to be realistic with my time, which means
for me at the moment a change in writing
style would be more in the distance than
the near future.
Now that we know what it is
you like to write about, what
is it Max Flood enjoys to read
when he’s not hard at work?
Right now I’m reading anything I can get my
hands on, surrounding the American West
in the mid to late 19th Century. I found
the Battle of the Little Bighorn fascinating
along with the life and career of George
Armstrong Custer.
If asked which character you
took the most pleasure in
creating, Michael or Rupert,
what would you say?
There’s no question about it, Michael
Lundgaard gave me the chance to inject
more pace and spontaneity to my writing
than a handful of other characters that
have found themselves locked between the
pages of a Max Flood novel. He’s definitely
the kind of guy you want around should
you find yourself in a tight spot, shoot
first ask questions later – that sort. A few
of my readers have described Michael
as a ‘modern day action hero’, suave but
without the cheese factor. Nevertheless,
it’s very much his adversary that kept me
awake way into the early hours of the
morning. Ruthlessly calculated and rotten
to the core, Rupert Mustoe is everything
and more that books and movies want
in a charismatic bad guy that will stop at
nothing. I knew from the moment I put pen
to paper that when it came to this guy you
were either on board… or you simply got
out of his way. For a character that doesn’t
have a great deal to do in the action scenes
of Lundgaard, Rupert certainly makes up
for it with his nerve shattering interrogation
skills and his ability to get inside people’s
heads and just ignite chaos. His creativity
and cool temperament was the reason that
made me like this character best.
Out of all the characters and
intricate personalities you’ve
created so far, who do you
MAY 2019
think your readers find the
scariest? So what should everyone here
at the Funeral Service Times
along with your readers expect
to see next, a sequel to Casey’s
Game, or something a little
more Lundgaard related?
Fear is of course open to interpretation,
but if I had to take a guess I think I would
have to say ‘Amanda’ from Casey’s Game.
As well as having absolutely no idea what
is deemed as acceptable behaviour in
modern society, she is a game player and
a manipulator, but most of all… she’s a
straight up fox with a vicious tongue. As
someone who has made it clear to my
readers that she has no limits, Amanda
Casey is definitely a fan favourite as well as
being the character I would fear the most. Wow, now you really have me on the spot.
As you can imagine I can’t say a great deal
about my forthcoming release just yet,
other than I’m hoping we’ll all see it by the
end of 2019. However, I can confirm that
for the first time my readers will not be
heading back to the streets of Harrington
for another bout of chaos and mayhem,
instead I’ve packed up a familiar face from
one of my published titles and we’re off to
the countryside. I’m pretty excited about
this one.
If you ever decide to take a
break from novel writing, what
other creative routes could you Both Casey’s Game and Lundgaard are now
available for purchase at Amazon.co.uk.
Paperback/Kindle.
BIO:
When I was 19 or 20, I struggle to remember which anymore, I found myself
working as an operative in my local funeral home. It might as well have been a
million miles away from any career path this Sunderland lad had ever wandered
down before, but what can I say - it shaped me into the person I was destined to
become. Anyway, it wasn't long before I had a huge decision to make, was I to pull
on the top hat and frock coat of a funeral director, or pull down the visor and pick
up the trocar of an embalmer? As someone who always likes to go the extra mile in
life the choice was an easy one, embalming it had to be. Having been schooled by
one of the very best I'm glad to say I became a fully qualified member of the British
Institute of Embalmers in 2014. It was an educational dream. So, with the skills and
desire to prepare, present and preserve people's loved ones in the best way possible,
I set off on a journey that dates back to ancient times. Unsurprisingly, however, it
was not long before another area of my life came calling and so in 2017 'Max Flood'
was born.
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