One day, during an interview, an artist told me that the journalists were always asking the same questions again and again... and thus he had to give the same answers and interviews were getting boring. After a while, I thought it could be interesting to actually follow this idea to its \"extreme\" and ask the same questions to the artists I would meet. I had to find out basic and general questions that could give to them the chance to present themselves and the music they make. It became then more and more interesting for the readers of this website as they were able to analyse and compare the hundreds of answers artists gave to the same questions... Happy reading and regards from a French guy living in Finland !
Vincent Lefrançois
Do you remember when you first decided to become a writer?
Actually I dont remember it. When I started to work on my first book in the early 90’s, it was more or less an experiment. I wanted to see if I could write a book. At that time I worked as a reporter at Helsingin Sanomat. Nowadays I am working at MTV3 News. So I am not a fulltime writer,
Was it an easy choice to make?
The decision to try to write a book was definately easier than writing the book. Before that I had written radioplays so writing fiction was not something totally new. It also helped - and still helps - that in my journalistic work I follow crime and court stories.
What writers did have a major influence in your work / life?
I have always been more interested in crime stories. I like for example John Grisham’s books. The biggest influence anyway came from an another Helsingin Sanomat journalist Harri Nykänen. He has written very popular crime books in the Raid-series. He pushed me on and helped with my first
book.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a writer in Finland?
The largest problem is that there are so few Finns. The market is not very large if You compare it to english or french books which can be read allover the world. Only a few writers can actually do well financially on book sales. On the other hand Finnish language is very rich.
What are the themes that you like to explore in your books?
I have written four novels and one collection of short stories. They all have in common that they are about crime. The three latest ones Kosketuslaukaus (published in 2001 and in English it could be called “Close Shot to the Head”, Tappokäsky (2002, “Order to Kill”) and Karu Keikka (2003, “Tough Job”) I have same main characters. They are situated in Violent crime unit of Helsinki Police. These books describe the underworld and police work.
How could you define your style?
My style is to be as realistic as possible. These policemen and -women are not very happy and neither are the criminals. My books describes the world of these people as dark and cold - like it really is.
Have you ever considered the possibilty to totally change your style?
No.
How do you write? Do you try to follow some strict rules or do you only write “when it comes”?
Because of my work at the tv-news I have to work at nights and at weekends. I always line out the story pretty well before starting to write. Sometimes it changes a bit, but I try to stick to my outline. Now I am working on my next book and to make this outline seem to take almost as long as to write the actual book. But it is easier to solve problems before starting to write.
When you’re working on a book, what is the stage / moment that you prefer?
I don’t completely understand this question, but if it means that what stage in writing I enjoy the most, here is the answer: the best moment is when you write the last world of the last sentence and realise that the book is finished.
What books or authors have you read recently?
I usually have a couple books that I am reading at the same time. Now I am working on Michael Moore’s Stupid White Men and some historical II world war short stories. When I am writing my own books, I try not to read other peoples fiction novels and try to stick to “true” books.
If there is one…what is your favorite book? For what reasons?
It would be impossible to name one favorite.
How do you consider Internet as an author?
I find Internet very useful in research. It is quite easy to check facts via Internet.
Do you think that Internet could somehow change the traditional publication process?
Not really. In the long run it could have effects on newspapers, but it is quite hard to see that even handheld minicomputers could take the place of traditional books. It is so much easier to read text on paper than on a computer screen. Of course if somebody creates a paperlike screen where it is possible to download books, this could be diffent. Then again this kind of paper would be quite expensive…
What are your actual and future projects?
Right now I am working on my next book which is due to be published next fall. I am also writing a tv-series. In the future it would be interesting to have my books translated in French and/or English and see if these kind of Nordic crime stories could create any interest in Europe.
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