I am not the biggest fan of Bradley Cooper — there I said it. Don’t hate me! But I couldn’t resist clicking into an article about a book he’d optioned when I saw the words New Zealand author in the blurb. So who brought Bradley Cooper to New Zealand fiction?
Ben Sanders, that’s who. Ben’s been writing bestselling books while at university, and their success led to American Blood.
What is American Blood about? An ex-cop, Marshall Grade is in witness protection trying to keep a low profile. He’s wracked with guilt for what he did while undercover, and is compelled to investigate the disappearance of a local woman. Being a good guy sucks for Marshall because that investigation brings everything and everyone he’s been hiding from right to him.
Good yeah? I reached out to Ben Sanders never ever expecting he’d have the time to do an interview, but he did! Read on to find out more about Ben, his favourite New Zealand authors and American Blood.
What comes first – the plot or the title of your books?
I don’t even start with a whole plot. I tend to begin with character ideas – their personal background and setting, and most importantly, who they’re in conflict with. Initially I only have enough story ideas to get me through three or four chapters, and trust that I’ll get more ideas as I progress. The overall arc of the book is dictated by the characters’ motives, and it normally takes me 15- or 20-thousand words before I can see where everyone is heading. Ultimately I never plot an entire book, and I try to let the story evolve naturally, chapter by chapter. The title tends to come last, and I normally use a phrase that’s jumped out at me during editing.
You wrote your first novels while at university: can you describe that time in your life? I’m trying to imagine how you balance studying and writing!
Oddly enough, it didn’t feel like hard work. Because writing was a hobby, it was always something I looked forward to, and never felt like a chore that had to be scheduled around university. I studied civil engineering, so working on a book in the evenings was a nice palate cleanser after a day of maths and physics.
What was it about that time that made you decide you had to bring Sean Devereaux to life?
I’d read a lot of crime novels as a teenager, so the idea had been brewing for a while that I could write my own Auckland-set story. Being at university meant I was in Auckland City most days, so my imagination had plenty of material to exploit. It wasn’t long before I had the beginnings of a novel, so I think I began work on my first book in about March or April of my first university year.
How would you introduce Sean to a reader new to your New Zealand books?
Chain smoker, music lover, and a damn good detective. Also very upbeat, for a man with only one friend.
Who are the NZ authors that influenced you?
Paul Cleave was a great influence. He’s a terrific crime writer, and he’s shown that it’s possible for New Zealand crime authors to succeed internationally. I saw him as living proof that writing didn’t have to be a pipe dream.
Congratulations on the publication of American Blood, not to mention it being 
optioned for a movie! What did you think though when you were asked to write a novel set in America?
Thank you! I thought it would be an exciting challenge. My first three novels are set in Auckland, so it was a fairly drastic change to write a story set in the desert in New Mexico. It was a lot of fun though, and I enjoyed traveling to the States for research. As much as I enjoyed writing about home, I knew that an American novel could potentially bring me a much larger audience than I’ve had previously.
What were the unexpected difficulties, or perhaps similarities to your NZ series, you experienced when you were writing American Blood?
American Blood is my fourth novel, so having had some practice, there were no major difficulties, fortunately. The biggest challenge was trying to eradicate Kiwi-isms from the manuscript. I have great editors, so hopefully nothing has managed to slip through the net.
Now that American Blood is on its way to publication, what do you appreciate more about Sean Devereaux?
It was a lot of fun doing a US-set novel and I’m hoping to write more, but I also really enjoy writing about New Zealand. So I suppose the thing I appreciate or miss about Sean is that he’s a local.
Is there anything you wish you’d known before you ventured into the world of publishing?
Not everyone gets rich.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on the sequel to American Blood, and hopefully that will be published around November next year.
… dear Bradley Cooper, do this right!
Have you read American Blood or any of his Devereaux and Hale novels? Which New Zealand authors do you enjoy reading?
