An Interview with L.R. Currell

L.R. Currell is an Australian author who currently has around fifty works in progress. He resides in the surprisingly awesome city of Adelaide. His writing spreads over a variety of genres including but not limited to crime fiction, historical fiction, dystopia, horror, paranormal, action, post apocalyptic, science fiction and fantasy.

Currell served in the Australian Army for five years deploying twice during that time. He served in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps.

He enjoys street art, classic rock, good food, reading, film, krav maga and of course his main passion, writing. He is an avid traveler having spent time in more than 60 countries. He lived in Canada for three years and his favorite destination (so far) is the Galapagos Islands.

It is L.R's dream to one day see at least one of his books on the screen.

He currently lives in a quiet suburb where he is working on releasing more books.

L.R. is good friends with fellow good reads author David Chattaway and the two are constantly bouncing ideas off each other.

L.R. and I have known each other about two months and I must say he is a very nice man. He is always in good spirits and makes me laugh. I am happy to call him a friend. I am finally glad I was able to finish his book (not because of the book but because of other commitments, the book I would have finished in a day if I could!). It is nice to know L.R. and know that, no matter how busy he is, that he will write back. Even though I have not met him in person, I can say he is a good, funny, smart, and nice man. It is a pleasure to know him. So (drum roll please) here is my interview with L.R. Currell.


1. Your bio states you have over 50 works in progress spanning genres from crime fiction to sci-fi to fantasy. Do you have a favorite genre you prefer to write in?

Traditionally, I would definitely say Science Fiction set in the future with a speculative twist. I would have to say though that lately, I enjoy working on anything that I can twist and turn so the reader is captivated.

(Mollydee) I just have to say that Curve day was full of unexpected twists and turns. You are definitely very good at that.

2. I know you served in the Australian Army. First let me say thank you for your service. All of our Servicemen deserve thanks. Were you already writing at the time and if so, how did your service affect your writing?

I was writing on and off. I wrote a couple of short stories with a lot of inside jokes for my mates when we were deployed and they seemed to enjoy it. I think that my military background helps when writing anything specific to weaponry, training, tactics etc. There is nothing worse for a serving or ex-military person to see something that isn't right or doesn't make sense. I guess that is why Hollywood for example hires consultants, we tend to pick holes in things that aren't right.

3. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

I've always wanted to be a writer, but I guess up until a few years ago I didn't realize how much I wanted it. I got into a university to study journalism, but joined the military instead and then after I traveled around... a lot. It's only really been in the last couple of years that I have made a real go of it.

4. Curve day is a novel which puts in place one day of the year where you can kill anyone and not get in any kind of trouble for it. It was instituted due to the Earth's population expanding too much, not enough food for everyone, not enough medicine, and other reasons. How did you come up with this idea? And was it just a glimmer or did it rush at you almost fully formed?

I was working security at a place which was really rowdy and my co-worker and I were dealing with an excruciatingly annoying group of people. After we sorted that out, my friend said, "wouldn't it be cool if just one day a year we could take out these oxygen thieves." Of course he was purely joking but it got me thinking. From there, I developed the idea of population control which I believe is a real world problem to justify how this scenario comes about in the future.

The other problems that you mentioned in your questions are side effects of this future scenario but the catalyst is the ever expanding population.

5. Please tell my readers the story you told me about how what happened as you were writing this book and you saw the movie The Purgecome out. For those of you who do not know, on the basest level, The Purge had a similar idea as Curve Day. One day a year where everyone can kill with no repercussion.

I started working on Curve Day years ago but had my laptop stolen. I had finished it when that occurred but was frustrated due to the fact I had written it several times. I decided finally to give it another go because I thought the idea was too good to let go. A good friend of mine once said, "Ideas float around, you might come up with it but until you put it down than you can't fully say that it is yours." I heard the movie was coming out around the same time and researched the film. While the fundamental idea is similar, there are a LOT of differences between my book and this film. My book is focused on population control, the crime is just a side effect of the chain reaction the event in my book causes. Whereas I believe, in the film, the focus is on being able to commit crime one day a year. In my book police will kill you on site on Curve Day if you commit any crime that is graded a felony. In the film, they don't intervene. My book also contains several different characters from vastly different backgrounds, multiple story lines and has a bigger picture focus. The film concentrates on a single family in their house, a stranger and the villains that subsequently show up when they shelter the stranger.

(Mollydee) Thank you for sharing that and explaining what happened. I did not see the movie, but, going on the commercial, I can see where you expanded the story a lot more. I am just glad you were able to get the story complete. Thank goodness for your supportive friend and your own will to complete this book.

6. I love the eight major players from Mary to Mike Tasco. Each are so unique. Did you want to add more people's stories, include more characters, or was this your original vision?

I was mindful of making it too complex and perhaps some would argue that maybe I did. For me personally, I think there are the right balance of characters. I don't think I would have been able to put too many more in without some readers getting lost. Writing it, I had to be very careful about not getting lost myself which is why I tried to limit it even though it ended up being quite extensive. I made the main characters have their own supporting cast so to speak as I believed it made it easier for people to reconnect with that individual after not reading about him/her for a few pages. As you can see from reading the books, most of the characters are interconnected in some way and I wanted that to be an integral part of the book.

(Mollydee) You did a superb job with that.

7. Mr. Wilkinson was my favorite. Can you tell me how you came up with him? Was he one of your first characters?

Mr. Wilkinson is a blend of several people I have met in real life. He is a bit of an enigma as he has had such a varied existence throughout his pathway of years.

I also wanted to show certain cracks in his facade, he is a homeless person but he really does not need to be homeless. He is a nice man but he hides a dark secret. He has certain mental health issues I guess you could say which, while they are not characterized, you can certainly pick up on. I like the fact that he is highly intelligent, adaptable and exposes himself to be a lot weaker than he is so people underestimate him. Out of all the characters in the book, I think Mister Wilkinson is the best fly by the seat of his pants survivor type. He was probably the third or fourth character I came up with so he was one of the earliest developed.

8. Are there any characters based on anyone you know in real life?

I would have to say several, Liz is probably the one that is based most on someone I know. I took elements of a friend of mine's character and exaggerated them to come up with her. Bruno is loosely based on someone that I know who is... you guessed it, French. A lot of the characters have elements of a few people I know that I have combined to try to create a unique individual

9. One of my other favorite characters was Decimator 360. Without giving too much away, can you tell me how that character and Thrills an Kills came about as the ultimate entertainment for Curve Day?

Decimator 360 is someone that evolved while I wrote about the character. To be honest with you, I didn't think the character would be the way it was written until after I had put the words down. I am very happy with this character because I think Decimator is the most shocking for a variety of reasons. I also think that someone existing like this is entirely possible especially in the future because of the way our society is going. People are more inclined to use social media now days then meet up for a coffee or go for a walk in the park with an acquaintance. Decimator 360 clearly lives in a bubble and has created this illusion that their behavior is acceptable to justify their actions. Thrill kills came from the fact that someone will always look to make money from any type of situation including situations we consider to be unfortunate. I especially like the character of Leonard who seems to change throughout the book and Clive, his faithful bodyguard who also tries to act as a kind of moral adviser.

(Mollydee) I loved the dynamic between Leonard and Clive.

10. Is this your favorite book you have written so far or is there one we can expect that is one you like even better than Curve Day?

I think Luminous, a book I am working on now, will blow this one out of the reeds. I also have another book, Two Tickets to Paradise that will interest people who liked Curve Day. Both of these are science fiction books that are packed full of intriguing twists. I am also working on a book called The Man from Office 22 which is a conspiracy thriller starring a woman detective who I hope to use as a recurring character.

11. What do you do to unwind. I know you are very busy most of the time.

I play computer games, work out and watch TV.

12. Your biography says you have 50 projects you are working on right now. Any close to being finished? What can your fans expect?

I am working on a zombie novella series at the moment called, Tasty Trio. The first two novellas are out and the third will be out by end of Jan 2014 at the latest. I am actually trying to get it out by the end of the year but that could prove to be a challenge. Once I get that out, I will work on some stand alone books and try to get them out before releasing books 4 and 5 of the Tasty Trio series.

I am 25000 words through The Man from Office 22 so I think that will hopefully be out in the early half of next year.

(Mollydee) Wow! Your fans certainly have a lot to look forward to. I know I am really excited!

13. Anything else you would like to add?

Thanks for interviewing me and reading my books, I really appreciate it!

(Mollydee) Anytime. It was my pleasure.

Please visit L.R. Currell's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/LRCurrell

And his goodreads site here: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7106966.L_R_Currell

And get your copy of Curve Day at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Curve-Day-L-R-Currell-ebook/dp/B00D0HWKQM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385911223&sr=8-1&keywords=Curve+day