Michael Ridpath

Michael Ridpath agreed to be interviewed via e-mail by Nicola Warwick.

NW: How did you start writing? What first inspired you to write?

MR: I started writing as a hobby. I was working as a bond trader in the City, talking on the phone all day, and I thought I needed to do something a bit more creative with part of my life. I had recently bought a computer (this was 1990) and thought I could write a book on it.

NW: What motivates you to write? What do you enjoy about writing?

MR: I love it. As soon as I started writing fiction, I was hooked. I don't much like writing non-fiction, and I'm a hopeless letter-writer, but there is something about pushing myself into my own imaginary world that fascinates me. It is mostly to do with a vicarious pleasure, or thrill from the emotions my characters are going through. But I also like putting down on paper things that I know, or believe or see, that I haven't seen written elsewhere. These can be very mundane--like how bars in the City vary from pubs in Hampstead, or quite fundamental about the ethics of people in the City today.

NW: Did you have a dream to give up the day job?

MR: No. I liked my job. It was just when I realised I could get paid for doing my hobby during the day, it seemed silly to refuse.

NW: At what point did you give up work?

MR: When my first book, Free To Trade, was accepted for publication, I decided to work 3 days in the City and write for the other 2. I gave this up after 6 months or so. It didn't work. The writing had become too important.

NW: Do you ever hanker to work in the City again?

MR: Yes. I miss the thrill of managing a portfolio of bonds whose price changes every day.

NW: Apart from Dick Francis what writers do you particularly admire? What writers have influenced your work?

MR: I admire William Boyd. He is a good writer who takes risks in writing a different kind of book every time. He is a literary writer who can still write good stories. I try to read widely, and to learn from other thriller writers. It is difficult to pick out just one or two who have influenced me. Michael Lewis's Liar's Poker was an exceptionally good book, and probably inspired me to write a fictional book about the City.

NW: Have you ever read a book that has left a lasting impression on you?

MR: Yes. Lots of them. Too many to discuss.

NW: Do you read a lot? Do you have a favourite bookshop? If so, what do you especially like about it? Do you buy books online?

MR: I read a book every couple of weeks. I have several favourite bookshops for different moods, and different books. I like my local bookshop, Joseph's in Temple Fortune, because it's small, the staff are helpful, and I can pick up whatever I want the next day. I would rather use them to order a book, than buy one on-line. I suppose I still like Waterstone's because of the enormous benefits they brought to buying books in the 1980s.

I frequently used to browse in a Waterstone's between meetings when I was travelling on business around the UK.

NW: What sort of writing schedule did you have when you were working on Free to Trade? What sort of hours did you work away from the day job?

MR: I would write at weekends, in the evening, or very early in the morning. It wasn't a schedule. It was when I was feeling enthusiastic, the domestic situation was under control, and I had a spare hour.

NW: What kept you going over the four years it took to write Free to Trade?

MR: I enjoyed it. When I got bored, I stopped, and then after a few weeks I'd miss it. There was also the challenge of having set myself the target of writing a book. I was determined to finish it.

NW: Do you use a PC? Do you need a special place in which to write? How do you organise your writing day? Typically how much do you write in a day?

MR: I use a PC. At the moment I write from a study at home. I try to write from 8 till 6 every day, but of course I don't. I break the day up with walks (good for ideas), lunch, admin, shopping, picking children up from school. I write a minimum of 1,000 words a day. My average is about 2,000.

NW: How much do you rewrite?

MR: I usually write 3 or 4 drafts. About 50% of the final draft will have been in the first draft.

NW: After Free to Trade how much rewriting was involved in subsequent novels?

MR: About the same amount i.e. 3-4 drafts.

NW: A lot of writers who are starting out and are trying to get published write several novels before writing "the one." You did it differently--reworking a novel until it was right. Why did you decide to do it that way?

MR: I liked Free To Trade, but I realised that it wasn't a publishable book. It seemed worth working on. I also enjoy the process of rewriting. To take something that's OK and turn it into something that's really quite good, is a pleasure.

NW: What advice would you give about finding a publisher/agent?

MR: Polish your manuscript as carefully as possible. Make a professional submission in exactly the way the publisher/agent wants it. Be patient. Buy lots of stamps.

NW: How autobiographical are your books?

MR: They are partially autobiographical. The heroes are part me, part how I'd like to be, part friends, and part imaginary. Many of the situations are derived from real events.

NW: Why did you decide to write in the first person?

MR: There are advantages and disadvantages to writing in the first person. The advantage is that it makes the reader sympathise with the main character. The disadvantage is that it makes plotting difficult-- in particular you can't see the bad guys circling round an unwitting hero. I think getting the reader to sympathise with the hero and want him to succeed through the book is my number one priority, so first person it is.

NW: What is your plan for the future in terms of your writing? What are your aspirations, your wildest dreams?

MR: I would like to become a very good thriller writer, writing intelligent, absorbing books that millions of people buy.

NW: Which of your novels would be your favourite to be made into a film and do you have any actors in mind?

MR: I think Trading Reality would make a good film, and Ralph Fiennes would make an excellent Mark Fairfax. Danny DeVito would be very good as Cash Callaghan in Free To Trade. I would need to be closely involved in the selection process for the leading female roles.

NW: What's biotech?

MR: Manipulating genes to create treatments for diseases. In my fourth book, there is a big bad biotech company that is supposed to have done this to find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease.

NW: Do you plot out an idea first or does it grow as you go along?

MR: Yes. I write an outline of 100-150 different scenes. This changes many times.

NW: At what point do you consider a novel is finished?

MR: I don't know. The Marketmaker has been in and out of the bestseller lists in the UK, but yesterday I was rereading it yet again for the US publication. One of my great frustrations with writing is that you can't just type THE END and go out and get drunk.

NW: How do you decide on a title for a book?

MR: I try and find something that sounds right, has some financial resonance, and in some way reflects the theme of the book. After several months of this, I give up and write down the best idea I've got so far.

NW: What are you working on at the moment?

MR: A book about an English venture capitalist set in Boston. He is accused of the murder of his American wife's father, and has to prove he didn't do it.

About the Author:

• Author's Web Site
• E-mail

Order books by Michael Ridpath from Amazon.com:

• Free to Trade (paperback)
• Trading Reality (hardcover)
• Trading Reality (paperback)
• Trading Reality (audiocasette)

Or purchase The Marketmaker and other titles online from any of the bookstores listed on the author's Web site.

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