John Connolly

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John Connolly

John Connolly was born in Dublin in 1968 and has, at various points in his life, worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a dogsbody at Harrods department store in London. He studied English in Trinity College, Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University, subsequently spending five years working as a freelance journalist for the Irish Times newspaper.

His first novel, Every Dead Thing, was published in 1999, and introduced the character of Charlie Parker, a former policeman hunting the killer of his wife and daughter. He is also author of the Samuel Johnson YA series, and co-edited Books to Die For, a non-fiction anthology, with Declan Burke

John lives in Dublin with his family and travels regularly – to the US where he researches the thrillers, to South Africa to see family and check in with his publishers, to South America, France, Italy and other parts of Europe and is improving his French and Spanish language skills as a result! He loves 1980s music and hosts an Irish radio show. John also shares his home with three rescue dogs and has an ancient Mustang car, which is sometimes roadworthy.

Interviewed 14 April 2018

Ten words to sum up your working life to date ...

Contentment, despite the lingering fear of finally being found out.

Nine things you can see from where you're sitting ...

Dog.
Another dog.
A third dog.
Dog treats.
A Paddington Bear (much desired by Dog A).
A drawing by Augustus John.
Some oranges.
A lot of 1980s music.
An Edward Gorey bat puppet.

Eight minutes to prepare a meal. What's it going to be ?

Dry toast. I love dry toast, as long as it’s nicely charred.

Seven people you'd like to go for a drink with ...

My two sons; their girlfriends; Jennifer, my better half; my oldest American friend, Joe Long; John le Carré. (Random, but that’s my current mood.)

Six things you can't live without ...

Dogs.
Wine.
Books.
Music.
Family.
Toast.

Five favourite words ...

Axolotl.
The other four are unprintable.

Four places you'd run away to ...

Maine, Kerry, Barcelona, Prague

Three books you've bought recently ...

Wounds by Fergal Keane
Some Fantastic Place by Chris Difford
Munich by Robert Harris

Two things that make you rant ...

People who talk loudly on cellphones in coffee shops
People who watch videos on their phones without using headphones.

One thing you'd tell your teenage self ...

You can’t actually die of embarrassment.