Title: Killing Juri Kasagan
Author: William Scoales
Publisher: Xlibris US
ISBN: 978-1499074109
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 332
Interviewed by: Ella Vincent

Author Interview with William Scoales

HBR: Today we are with William Scoales, author of Killing Juri Kasagan published by Xlibris. Thank you, Mr. Scoales for taking your time.
WS: It’s my pleasure.

HBR: In your book you have much international intrigue and very interesting characters. Can you tell us how Juri Kasagan came to being?
WS: It still seems to me as mysterious a birth as the real thing, beginning with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990-1991. The shock of it managed to connect up a lot of unrelated, unresolved issues and interests wandering aimlessly in my head and then, behold, what came crawling out of the USSR and onto my morning paper read like a story already told and just needing covers; panicked KGB killers and thieves, religious relics, bribes and sex, sex as bribes, fathers and daughters trying to save each other, sons and fathers trying to avenge a wrong, gypsies with a six hundred year old chip on their shoulders. I finally got out of the way an let the story tell itself and dutifully wrote it down, and called it what it seemed to be about, “Killing Juri Kasagan.”

HBR: Was Anna created by your memories of someone you know?
WS: Yes, but in the plural. Anna Kasagan is a composite of the women I’ve known whose guiding star is “Necessity” due to the situation they’ve found themselves in and are determined to get out of. Right and wrong, truth or lies, come second, if at all. They are strong, smart and determined. And like Anna, very practical and realistic. You’d never catch her fighting a duel, just betting on who might win. I don’t want to give her away so I’ll let her tell you the rest.

HBR: Your book has many locations around the globe. Have you personally been to all of the places?
WS: No, I haven’t been to all of the book’s locations, just most. A relative lives in Mystic, Conn. I lived in Paris for a year, also Milan, Amsterdam, England were week-end trips. I made it to St. Petersburg, but not Moscow. Made it to Cadiz after I wrote about it and was pleased to find it much as I’d described. Especially where the sloop Misty Star is sailing Anna across a hopelessly romantic orange colored sea. When I crossed the same waters, the scene reproduced itself. It felt like a gift – the sloop, sea and harbor information came to a large degree from the actual log notes of the Misty Star. The 3a.m. sequence in the Flamenco club still resonates since I was there and I still have part of the hangover.

HBR: You book is quite an ambitious project. How long has it taken you to write it?
WS: All told, about two years. The first draft came in a few months, but with re-writes, about two years – that includes a lot of research.

HBR: What were some of your most difficult challenges in writing this book?
WS: Because Russian history is so well documented it was finding the time to delve into all that was difficult. Getting gypsies right was difficult at first, and then pain became pleasure because their codes ad philosophies are antithetical to most civilized systems. They live at the periphery of civilized life and exist like birds and squirrels, by choice, in exchange for what they treasure most, freedom. They see the rest of us in lockdown, held prisoner by our materialism. I find them fascinating.

HBR: Can you please tell us what other authors’ work you most enjoy reading?
WS: I re-read W. Somerset Maugham and John le Carré a lot. Also Michael Connelly and Robert H. Parker, Les Child. Their words rumble over their ideas and it keeps you reading so you’ll be around for the explosion.

HBR: What are your plans to further promote Killing Juri Kasagan?
WS: I think it worthwhile to bring the story to the attention of filmmakers. They might be excited by the chaos and Anna’s erotic potential. The story is full of great character parts. I’m also considering book fairs, the opportunities to talk about the bizarre unfurling of events.

HBR: This is all very interesting and we wish you the best of success. Thank you for spending this time with us.
WS: Thank you. I’ve enjoyed re-visiting may of the moments in the story that have stayed with me. Any questions, I’m reachable at “williamscoales@gmail.com.”