Craftwork S1E6: False Epiphanies, Productivity, & Existential Dread w/ Niall Howell

Listen to Craftwork Episode 6: False Epiphanies, Productivity, & Existential Dread w/ Niall Howell.

In this interview, Niall Howell talks about crime fiction, creative spontaneity, the magic of public swimming pools (soggy donuts!), and so much more.

Niall Howell lives in Calgary, Alberta with his wife, sons, and pets. His debut noir novel Only Pretty Damned was shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Literary Fiction. His follow-up novel, There Are Wolves Here Too, was shortlisted by the Book Publisher’s Association of Alberta for Mystery and Thriller book of the year. Niall’s short fiction has been featured in The Feathertale Review and FreeFall. He is currently working on his third novel.

Books mentioned in this episode:

  • City of Margins; Shoot the Moonlight Out – William Boyle 
  • Save the Cat! Writes a Novel – Jessica Brody 
  • Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler – Raymond Chandler; edited by Frank MacShane 
  • The Guest – Emma Cline 
  • Perfidia; This Storm; Widespread Panic – James Ellroy 
  • Our Share of Night – Mariana Enriquez 
  • The Wars – Timothy Findley 
  • The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald 
  • A Rage in Harlem – Chester Himes 
  • It; Night Shift; Salem’s Lot – Stephen King 
  • Burnt Offerings – Robert Marasco 
  • Moby Dick – Herman Melville 
  • Peyton Place – Grace Metalious 
  • Devil in a Blue Dress – Walter Mosley 
  • Toby Tyler; or, Ten Weeks with a Circus – James Otis 
  • “The Black Cat” – Edgar Allan Poe 
  • The House Next Door –  Anne Rivers Siddons
  • The Secret History – Donna Tartt

Farah Rose Smith Interviews Mike Thorn on The Eldritch Index

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Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to be a writer?

I can’t remember a time before I started writing. For better or worse, it has been a lifelong impulse. I was always drawn to reading, which is probably where my interest in writing originated. As a kid, I was excited by fantasy and horror (J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis and R. L. Stine when I was quite young, and then Stephen King when I got a little older).”

Read the full interview here.

Mike Thorn Interviews Niall Howell, Author of Only Pretty Damned

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Niall and I first met as undergrads at Mount Royal University. From what I remember, we first connected through our mutual love of film, either through a course or a club of some kind. It wasn’t long before I learned that Niall was also a fiction writer, and we started exchanging excerpts from our works-in-progress. Niall’s rare, formidable talent was immediately evident to me—I saw in all his work a unique sense of humour and a mastery of pacing, plot and voice. After reading his phenomenal debut novel Only Pretty Damned (available now through NeWest Press), I reached out asking if he’d like to do a Q&A. He kindly agreed, and the dialogue below is the result of our email exchanges.

Read the full interview on Kendall Reviews.

 

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