Michael Connelly was born in Philadelphia in 1956. He is a best-selling author of detective fiction and an executive producer. He has written 41 novels and one work of non-fiction which have sold 89 million copies.
What’s your earliest memory?
Throwing a new invention, called a Frisbee, on the back porch of a house I lived in until I was four years old.
Who are your heroes?
My father was my hero then and now.
What was the last book that changed your thinking?
The book that changed my thinking would be the novel Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.
What political figure do you look up to?
The former US president, Barack Obama.
What would be your Mastermind special subject?
How to score a six on a three-over par in golf.
What time and place, other than your own, would you like to live in?
I think the Sixties would have been an interesting time to be in my twenties.
What TV show could you not live without?
I could not live without David Chase’s The Sopranos.
Who would paint your portrait?
My daughter would paint my portrait.
What is your theme tune?
“Jingo” by the American Latin rock band Santana is my walk-up song.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I’ve ever received was: “Make sure on every page every character wants something, even if it’s only a glass of water” by Kurt Vonnegut.
What’s currently bugging you?
Artificial intelligence.
What single thing would make your life better?
A regular heartbeat.
When were you happiest?
I am the happiest right now.
In another life, what job would you have?
In another life, I would have been an architect.
Are we all doomed?
It appears so.
Michael Connelly’s “Nightshade” is published by Orion.
[See also: Eugenia Cheng Q&A]
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