Author Interview: Lee Weeks by Liz Mistry

Interview with Lee Weeks

Lee Weeks and her book cover

  Lee Weeks is the creator of the Johnny Mann series of crime books which are set mainly in Hong Kong.  She has written the first in a new series of crime fiction set in Britain; Dead of Winter,  (check my review of this book).

Lee's Books first two books ; The Trophy Taker and The Trafficked are about human trafficking and Lee unflinchingly portrays the shocking atrocities of the trafficking trade in a realistic way.  I am honoured to be interviewing Lee who is herself a survivor of this reprehensible practice.

Liz:  Hi Lee, I've been so excited about meeting you.  Although I’m a very recent convert to your books - I've only so far managed to read Trafficked and Kiss and Die, both of which had my emotions soaring from anger to sadness to helplessness.
I now have you on my Priority Reading list  Trafficked was so intense, and heartbreaking and energetic and optimistic all at once that I went out and grabbed Kiss and Die straight after I’d finished trafficked.  I’m now going to go back and read all the Johnny Mann’s in order, as soon as I get the chance.  Although as standalone books both Trafficked and Kiss and Die worked well.My main hope during this interview is that I don’t embarrass myself by pronouncing (or worse still) spelling nun chuck wrongly.
Lee:  Hi Liz – nice to meet you too.

Liz:  Tell me three things everyone should know about Hong Kong?

Hong Kong
Lee: Most exciting place on Earth. Fascinating mix of Chinese and Western  culture. Best food in the world.

Liz: Sounds fantastic.  Now tell me three things you’d like us to know about you as a person and three things about you as a writer?

Lee:  About me: I paint. I love rugby and often attend matches. I have no joints in my right thumb and my big toes.  As a writer: I research obsessively. Research is an art in itself, knowing what to cherry pick from all the information you read. I am never complacent about my work. I don’t read other people’s book whilst I’m writing my own book.

Liz:  It's interesting that you don't read other peoples work when concentrating on your own.  Maybe I'll have to try that.
When I discovered you were female I was so chuffed.  I love it when women writers like you and Zoe sharp, take on a ‘traditionally male’ topic and smash it.  Was it your intention to use an androgynous name?

Lee: Cheeky! That’s my own name. I don’t even have a middle name to fall back on and Lee isn't short for anything. I wish I had used a pseudonym really because I have left my self vulnerable when I travel to countries I have portrayed in a less than favourable light!

Liz: Yes I'm sure The Trafficked and The Trophy Taker both gave you a reputation in certain countries I’ve just finished reading Kiss and Die and was really impressed by your knowledge of the Triads and how they operate.  How easy was it to research the Chinese Triads for your Johnny Mann books?

Lee: Loving research as I do I take on the challenge gladly. My dad was a policeman so I am able to use contacts and lucky enough to know the commissioner for Hong Kong police – KS Tang. He allows me access to the anti-triad bureau and they tell me what they’re working on, what’s happening in the underworld. You don’t have to go far in any Chinese society to find Triads. They will be wherever there is money to be made. Of course my knowledge of triads comes first hand when I was sold to them at the age of twenty-two when travelling and living in Hong Kong. I was kept on heroin in a remote fishing village in preparation for being trafficked to Taiwan. I was lucky enough to escape with my life but the problem of human trafficking and the misery it  entails is even more widespread today.

Liz: Yes it seems to be more and more in the news  doesn't it?
Do you get any feedback from Hong Kong about your books and their authenticity?

Lee: I’ve always had really positive feed back from Hong Kong Chinese living around the world. Many of my characters are based on real triads. I get the odd angry email from the men I portrayed in The Trafficked who frequent the sex clubs in the Philippines so I know they think it’s  a bit too authentic!

shuriken

Liz:  In terms of weapons, I find it a welcome change from guns and bullets to Oriental Martial Arts Weapons.  I particularly love Mann’s’ ‘Delilah’.  Which of the weapons you’ve researched are your favourites?

shuriken

Lee: I love the beauty of the weapons, especially the Shuriken, which are throwing blades shaped like stars and fashioned individually. Different sizes are uses for different purposes: to maim or to kill and several can be fired at once.

 Liz: What made you come up with the idea of a mixed race Hong Kong /English detective?

Lee: He was based on a detective I met there. I wanted to use the backdrop of Hong Kong because of my chequered history with it and because it’s such an exciting place.

 Liz: What are you working on at the moment?

Lee: My second book in this new series based around a London Murder squad.

Liz: I've just finished reading Dead Of Winter which is the first in the series.Again you've come up with some extremely complex characters- I can't wait for the next one.
Any tips for aspiring writers out there?

Lee: Find out what you're good at. Start by thinking which is your favourite book and movie and analyse why. 
Are you character or plot led? - The answer  may not be what you want it to be, but to write against the grain is just too hard.

 Liz:  Thanks for that welcome advice and thanks a lot for taking the time to share your thoughts with our readers.

Lee: You’re welcome x