Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Joe Halliday
Book Title: What Money Can’t Buy
Released: 07/08/23
Genre: Adult Thriller
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “What Money Can’t Buy”?
Halliday: I've enjoyed thriller novels and films for many years, and had previously written short stories in the genre, so writing a full-length thriller novel felt like a natural progression. Regarding the subject matter specifically, I believe the extent of global people trafficking, and the (knowing or unknowing) complicity of large financial institutions are both underappreciated by the general public.
How did you come up with the names of your main characters?
Halliday: The British characters come from a relatively typical middle-class background, so I wanted their names to reflect this. Not to mention, I simply think that Harry Miller is a cool name for a main character. The names of Thai characters are taken from friends I made when teaching English out there a few years ago. The names of some of the other characters change within the novel, depending on the situation.
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?
Halliday: Only that I've really tried to do something different here. Of course if you're writing a thriller you must make it 'look' and 'sound' like a thriller for marketing purposes - that's rule number one in self-publishing. But I hope that What Money Can't Buy, and the Harry Miller Trilogy as a whole, tackle deeper themes, have better-rounded characters, ask more questions, and so on, than the vast majority of thriller novels.
If "What Money Can’t Buy" was adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
Halliday: Myself, of course. (In all seriousness, I hadn't considered this - it feels too much like counting my chickens).
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
Halliday: I have two main techniques which essentially stop it ever being a problem. Firstly, if I'm not sure what happens next, I'll simply step back and put a plan together, even if it's just for one scene, or a single conversation. I'll work out what I want to achieve in this next part. Then, when you know 'what' you're supposed to write next, the actual writing part becomes a whole lot easier.
Secondly, I'll quite simply make myself get one sentence down. It doesn't have to be anything long, complicated, or profound. It can be a short, unexceptional sentence - it doesn't really matter. The point is just to get your fingers moving, commit words to paper again. Then, force another sentence down. Do this a few times, and the writing will almost always begin to flow naturally.
Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?
Halliday: It doesn't sound very romantic, but there's no substitute for just sticking your backside in a chair and getting words down. You can't wait for inspiration, or to be magically 'discovered'. You have to keep writing (and reading), to keep getting better. It doesn't matter whether it's good or not, whether it's for publication or just for yourself. The most important thing you can do is just get in the habit of writing, preferably every single day.
What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?
Halliday: The book I've read the most is The Lord of the Rings. My favourite book that I've read in the past year or so was Stoner, by John Williams. A few of my favourite writers are Hemingway, Joyce, Proust, Dostoevsky, Tolkein... and many, many more of course. I enjoy reading genre fiction (especially fantasy and thrillers), non-fiction (mostly history), and am currently working my way through the main Ancient Greek literature.
What are you working on next?
Halliday: I'm around halfway through a fantasy novel, which I'm very excited about. After finishing that and sending it out to agents, I'm going to get going again with the first book in a new thriller series, which I'd previously written around a quarter of before shelving it for the fantasy book. I'll self-publish that, as with the Harry Miller trilogy, hopefully by the end of this year.
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