Rebecca's Interview with Guy Holmes

Author of P.E.A.C.E.

Rebecca :
One dawn, when I was last in London, my friend & I were so busy catching up in the cocoon of her car that we didn't notice we'd run a red light. When she exclaimed at the bright flash of a light I asked her what it was & she muttered about those dam' cameras sprouting up at every intersection. What gave you the idea for a state of surveillance?

Guy :
The idea concerning state sponsored surveillance and alternate suspect apprehension devices came to me when the Rodney King video tape was first broadcast. Probably no one would have known about that incident if not for a bystander with a video camera - I became interested in surveillance and it became obvious to me that the increasingly sophisticated technology and tremendous spread of video cameras would have a massive impact. It also occurred to me that handguns and nightsticks will inevitably be replaced to some degree. They often (sometimes tragically) inject an unnecessary level of violence into law enforcement situations that require a more measured response.

Rebecca :
The idea of a gun that merely tranquilizes a person in the act of a crime sounds a humane way of restoring peace, after all we've been doing that with wild animals for decades. What gave you the idea of the dangers of such a seemingly harmless & useful tool in the hands of our police force?

Guy :
Actually, I think some form of tranq-gun carried by police would be a good thing. The way it is used in the plot of P.E.A.C.E. is more representative of the general inherent dangers of a widely embraced technology that is not fully tested. Cell phones are probably a good example.

Rebecca :
P.E.A.C.E. is a gripper! I too couldn't put it down! You wrote it entirely in the present tense - what gave you the idea to do so? How many times did you re-write it?

Guy :
Present tense has always appealed to me because it is so immediate. I rewrote many, many times.

Rebecca :
Do you really think there are conspiracies tainting our scientific research & political systems similar to the ones you describe in P.E.A.C.E?

Guy :
I think the world is far stranger than most people think.

Rebecca :
Are you a computer writer? Do you belong to a writing group?

Guy :
I write on a laptop listening to music. No.

Rebecca :
When you've developed characters, made them fully dimensional & people we'd be likely to meet, how hard is it to kill them off?

Guy :
Not too hard. In some sense they are still alive to me.

Rebecca :
What were your favorite & least favorite subjects in college?

Guy :
My favorite course in college was a writing Independent Study where I apprenticed with Mona Simpson.

Rebecca :
Who are your favorite authors & why?

Guy :
Hemingway for The Old Man And The Sea and for his stories J.D. Salinger for most of what he has published. Virginia Woolf for The Waves. These are my favorites because their writing is so beautiful. For thrillers my favorite writers are Frederick Forsythe and John LeCarré.

Rebecca :
Are you working on another book? What is it about?

Guy :
I have a few different thrillers and a love story in mind. I'm trying to decide which to do.

Rebecca :
I hope you think of me when your next book is ready! Well done!

Do check out my review of P.E.A.C.E. I think you'll like it!

(Published February 4, 2001)