Interview: Mark Timlin

INTERVIEW WITH MARK TIMLIN

As a new Sharman thriller Reap The Whirlwind is published, Daisy Gaunt grills its author Mark Timlin.

Did you enjoy returning to the world of your long-running detective Sharman? Can we expect any changes since the last novels?

I loved going back into Sharman’s world. It’s been a while, and I purposely set the stories in the nineties, as that was his time. Also, I ran the books in real time, so he’d be over seventy now, and too old to be running around getting into trouble. That being said, he seems to be kinder. But not when dealing with the ungodly.

You’ve had so many different jobs, from cab driver to running a music venue. Why is writing something you have always returned to?

I had a load of jobs, because, frankly, I hated to work. I did so only when I was broke. No work ethic, see. But there comes a time when the boyish charm rubs thin, so I decided to write a novel. Everyone laughed. But I did it, got it published, discovered my work ethic and wrote another thirty odd. Funny old world.

Have you taken any inspiration from your time as a roadie to the novels?

Yes. Music is a big part of my life, and I think it shows. Sharman, like me is a vinyl junkie.

Are there any secrets you can reveal from your time on tour with The Who?

Working on the road with bands of every stripe from no-hopers to big stars, was not all it’s cracked up to be. Glamour was rather thin on the ground, though it had its moments. Mostly, it was hours of boredom, drinking loads, taking drugs, being stupid. There’s a saying: ‘What happens on the road, stays on the road’ Enough said? Watch Spinal Tap and Nashville and imagine it ten times more ridiculous.

You’ve described your new book as a “long-lost novel from the nineties”, did you update it to suit modern day or leave it as a nostalgic ode to the past?

Whirlwind is a novella, plus a bunch of short stories. I had a drawer full of ideas, stories started and dumped so I cleared them out, went back to scratch, and here you have a finished book. Like I said, set back in the day.

Sharman is described as a “magnet for trouble” would you describe yourself in the same way?

Blimey. I certainly used to be. Mixing with bad company, always looking for a fight. Those folks wouldn’t recognise me now.

Do you have plans to continue writing crime novels or would you like to perhaps go in a different direction in the future?

As a matter of fact, I’m just completing another book. This time, two novellas, and two short stories, ready for next year. After that, it’s in the lap of the gods.

Your books were made into a television show in the 1990s – something you must be very proud of… Do you have any plans to revive it?

The TV series was a bit of a disaster, though I did get paid well. It was described by one newspaper as ‘a national disgrace’, and shunted from its 8.30 start to 9 o’clock, and the last half hour after News at Ten when people were going to bed. The ironic thing is, that first half hour was filled with repeats of Mr Bean. Can you imagine that twerp beating Sharman? Of course, I’m proud of getting on TV. Prouder still of the Cadillac I bought. And no. No TV on the horizon. But never say never.