Ken Bruen
Ken Bruen
Ken Bruenis an Irish writer of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionWriter
CountryIreland
life whenever
Whenever dark things happen in my life, there is always some dark humour.
life twists
My own life has had so many twists that I keep thinking I'll have one blessing that is not in disguise.
based critics english novels
I had wanted to write English crime novels based on the American hard-boiled style, and for the first two novels about Brixton, the critics didn't actually know I was Irish.
cardinal committed problem regarded seriously silent sin time wrong
I committed a cardinal sin as a kid. I never spoke, and my mother thought there was something seriously wrong with me. A silent child is regarded as a problem in Ireland, and I just read all the time.
bad handed realised turned upside vulnerable ways
Because I've been so bad at looking after myself, how would I ever look after a kid? But the old cliche applied: they handed her to me, and my world turned upside down - and I realised I was now going to be vulnerable in more ways than I expected.
seem time
We haven't had crime writers, and for a long time in the Republic, we didn't seem to have a crime problem as such.
bounty
The tourist board have put a bounty on me head, but they like the biz from tourists.
help home needed
The only book in our home was the Bible. My parents forbade books. They thought I needed help because I wanted to be a writer!
jack seemed taylor
Jack Taylor was a private investigator in Galway, which seemed like madness. I used lots of Galway-isms, which seemed like madness, too.
failed travel
I was a failed actor, but for 25 years, I got to go on stage anyway, and I loved it. I've still got the day job, and the travel bug.
decided prove
I decided to write books, just to prove to myself that I was still alive, if nothing else.
becoming emigration noir notion
I always had this notion of a noir novel in Galway. The city is exploding, emigration has reversed, and we are fast becoming a cosmopolitan city.
Crime fiction is the new rock n' roll.
admitted awful chance cut failure five movies people
After five awful movies, I admitted failure and said I was not cut out to be an actor. But how many people get a chance to live their dream?