Bestselling author William Kent Krueger's novels have won the Minnesota Book Award, Friends of America Writers Prize, Barry Award, Dilys Award and back-to-back Anthony Awards for best novel, among other honors. Although known primarily for his novels featuring part-Ojibwe, part-Irish Cork O'Connor, a former Chicago cop turned private investigator living in the backwoods of Minnesota, Krueger's latest novel, Ordinary Grace, is a departure for him.
Krueger notes it's a different story from any in the Cork O'Connor series, focused on creating a particular time (the summer of 1961) and a particular small town deep in the heart of the Minnesota River valley that allowed him to examine memories, emotions and themes arising from his own adolescence.
Ordinary Grace has its official release today, and in honor of the book launch, Krueger stopped by In Reference to Murder for some Q&A:
IRTM: You've described Ordinary Grace as really the
story of what tragedy does to a man's faith, his family and ultimately, the
whole fabric of the small town in which he lives. You also noted it was
inspired in part by memories and emotions arising from your own adolescence and
uses themes important to you through the years. How much of this book is
fiction and how much is a window into your own soul?
WKK: “A window into my own soul” may be a bit strong, but it’s
certainly a story for which I mined a good deal of memories, emotions, and
experiences from my own adolescence. One
of the initial seeds for Ordinary Grace was
the desire to recreate a time and place that I knew well. I spent a lot of my formative years living
either on farms or in small towns, and I wanted to capture—for myself and, I’m
hoping, for readers—the essence of those years.
For a boy, thirteen is an important age.
It’s a threshold. You stand with
one foot in childhood and the other poised to step into manhood, and because of
the confusion, the constant assessing of who you are and wonderment about who
you are becoming, what happens in that time stays with you in a dramatic way. That’s what I wanted at the heart of the
story.
IRTM:You've said the story for Ordinary Grace haunted you for a few years,
and it was the most amazing period of writing you've ever experienced. What was your favorite part of the book to write?
WKK: There are so many scenes I love in this book. But maybe my absolute favorite is the
post-funeral scene in which the title—Ordinary
Grace—takes on a very specific and special meaning in the story. Another favorite is the scene at the quarry
in which Frank, the story’s thirteen-year-old narrator, gets into it with an
older, bigger, meaner kid named Morris Engdahl.
It’s a scene full of conflict and comedy and, because of the presence of
a stunning young woman in a revealing bathing suit, rife with sexual tension as
well. I love the fact that Frank acts
from his gut, without particular regard for the consequences, and I love the
result. Overall, perhaps, what I liked
best was creating the tight relationship between Frank and his younger brother
Jake. A lot of love is exchanged there.
IRTM: Marilyn Stasio, writing for the New York Times, said that
"For someone who writes such muscular prose, Krueger has a light touch
that humanizes his characters." Muscular prose is a phrase often
associated with Hemingway, who happens to be one of your writing influences. Do
you feel that some of Hemingway's literary genes have become part of your writing
DNA?
WKK: In my early years, I used to try to write like Papa
Hemingway. Eventually I realized how
pointless that was, turned away from struggling to write the great American
novel, and embraced the mystery genre. I
hoped I might finally write something that a publisher would buy and readers
would enjoy. Best decision ever. But I didn’t abandon Hemingway
completely. Trying to write like a
master taught me the power of language, and always, when I write, it’s with an
understanding that words, rhythm, cadence matter in a good piece of
writing. Honestly, I’ve never been
certain what was meant by “muscular prose.”
IRTM: In researching your other books, you've studied the Ojibwe and Arapaho,
you've traveled to remote locations, interviewed various primary sources such
as people in involved with the Secret Service, hospitals, the military,
psychology, weapons technology. Was there anything new or unusual you had to
research for the writing of Ordinary Grace?
WKK: In my very early thinking, I considered having Frank’s
father, Nathan Drum, be a high school English teacher in a small town, because
that was my father. But because I also wanted to deal with the
larger question of the spiritual journey, a minister seemed a better
choice. Growing up, I knew a number of
PKs (preacher’s kids), but what it means to be a minister in a small community
was completely outside my own experience.
I’m fortunate to know a couple of retired Methodist ministers, so I
spent a good long time talking to both of them about their own time as
ministers in rural Minnesota.
Fascinating material, and I’m sure their insights helped breathe life
into Nathan Drum.
IRTM: What does your writing process look like? Do you aim for daily or weekly
word counts? And how are you and Cork and your other characters handling the
move from the St. Clair Broiler coffee shop? Any withdrawal symptoms?
WKK: Unless I have a deadline looming, I try to be relaxed in
what I expect from any writing session.
That said, I’m very disciplined in my approach. I write every day, twice. The first round begins in a local coffee shop
about 6:00 A.M. and lasts for a couple of hours. Then I return to the coffee shop in the
afternoon for another couple of hours.
This used to take place at the St. Clair Broiler, a Saint Paul landmark
café. I wrote there for a good twenty
years. For reasons I won’t go into, we
parted ways a while back, but it was an amicable separation. No withdrawal symptoms, but a lot of
wonderful memories of my time in booth #4.
IRTM: Have you written a book (or short story) you love that you haven't been able
to get published?
WKK: The manuscript that preceded Iron Lake (my first published novel and the first in the Cork
O’Connor series) was a horribly written piece of work. It was called The Demon Hunter and was about the ultimate battle between good and
evil fought, I kid you not, in the cornfields of Nebraska. I still like the story—go figure—and someday,
if I have the time, I might return to that piece to see if I can do it justice.
IRTM: Are there certain characters you'd like to revisit, or is there a new theme
or idea you'd love to work with?
WKK: I’m at work on a second novel set in southern Minnesota,
titled This Tender Land. Although still in its infancy, the story,
when fleshed out, should deal with how we shape the land in which we live and
how the land, in turn, shapes us. It’s
about those things we love enough to die for and love enough to kill for. I like the fact that it’s another novel set
in the agrarian southern part of our state, which has a beauty very different
but no less remarkable than the great north woods I write about in the Cork
O’Connor series.
IRTM: Every writer has to deal with rejection at some point.
What was the toughest criticism you've been given as an author, and
alternatively, what was the best compliment?
WKK: The toughest criticism early on was from an agent who’d
asked to read that first manuscript of mine, The Demon Hunter. She told me it was one of the worst
pieces of fiction she’d ever read.
Though she tried to be gentle, her reaction devastated me. Of course, she was right, and I learned a
great deal from the experience. As for
compliments, one of the best I ever got came from my son. He was pretty young when Iron Lake came out, and I wasn’t certain if he really understood
what all the hoopla was about. Then one
day, as I was chauffeuring him somewhere, from the backseat of our car he said
simply, “Dad, I’m really proud of you.”
Made me cry.
IRTM: Last year, you and three other authors (John Connolly, Liza Marklund, MJ
Rose) embarked on the Atria Great Mystery Bus Tour. What was the highlight and
"lowlight" of the tour and do you think you'd do it again?
WKK: Without a doubt, the highlight was the company on the
bus. John and Liza and MJ and all the
folks who accompanied us were great, entertaining companions. The low point was when the toilet on the bus
plugged up. Don’t get me started on that
one.
IRTM: Although Ordinary Grace is a standalone novel, Cork O'Connor
fans will be thrilled to know the thirteenth book in the series, Tamarack
County, is scheduled for release in August 2013.
Can you tell us about that and the further adventures of the O'Connor clan?
WKK: Tamarack County was
inspired by a true event. A couple of
years ago, I read a newspaper account of man who’d been convicted of murder and
sent to death row, where he spent nearly twenty years. Then a group who takes on the cases of these
kinds of individuals to be certain that justice has been done began looking
into his situation. In the course of
their investigation, they discovered that, at the time of this man’s trial, the
prosecution had in its possession information that basically proved his
innocence, but they never shared this information with the defense. On being released from prison, the man said
he wasn’t bitter about all those years he’d spent behind bars. His only wish was that those who’d put him
there knowing he was innocent would somehow have to pay for their trespass of
justice.
Which got me to thinking.
What if an Ojibwe in Tamarack County, Minnesota, was convicted of murder
and spent many years in jail. And what
if information eventually comes to light proving his innocence, information the
prosecution had at the time of trial but never shared. And what if, as soon as this situation
becomes public, the people responsible for the man’s unjust incarceration—the
judge, the prosecutor, the law enforcement officers—begin to be murdered. And what if it was Cork O’Connor who’d headed
up the investigation that put the man behind bars. So Cork is in the cross hairs.
IRTM: And finally: lutefisk or Minnesota hotdish?
WKK: Although I consider myself Minnesotan, I’ve never tasted
lutefisk. But top anything with tater tots and it becomes Minnesota hotdish, and what’s not
to love?
