Writing is my life, has been as long as I can remember.

Interview with Blake Crouch 

by Agnes A. Rose

Blake Crouch was born in 1978 near the piedmont town of Statesville (North California). He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 2000 with degrees in English and Creative Writing. In 2004 and 2005 he published his first two novels, such as “Desert Places” and “Locked Doors”. Beginning in late 2005, and inspired by his relocation to Durango (Colorado), he researched and wrote a book set in the past and present in remote mining town high in the San Juan Mountains. The novel – “Abandon” – was published in 2009. His next novel – “Snowbound” – was released in June in 2010. Blake Crouch lives in southwest Colorado, where he works on his books.

Agnes A. Rose: Thank you so much for accepting my invitation to this interview. First of all I would like to ask you about your Wayward Pines series. I know that it has headed for TV this year. Could you tell us something more about it? How it happened?

Blake Crouch: A writer named Chad Hodge wrote a pilot script of Wayward Pines on spec, and based on that script, we were able to bring M. Night Shyamalan on board and sell this project to FOX. The TV show will be out worldwide in 2015. I’ve seen all 10 episodes and they’re fantastic.

Agnes A. Rose: When you create a cast of characters do you simple imagine them or do you base them off of people you have known and real life incidents?

Blake Crouch: I try never to base characters off people I’ve met in real life. It’s just too risky, and besides the fun of writing for me is inventing characters out of thin air. Real life incidents do occasionally inspire books and stories however. For instance, my many visits to the town of Ouray, Colorado inspired the Wayward Pines series.

Agnes A. Rose: I am very interested in “Desert Places”. This novel made me very positive impression. Could you tell us how you prepared for writing it and what inspired you to create this kind of story?

Blake Crouch: Thank you! Desert Places was my first novel. I started writing it in 1999 following a backpacking trip in Wyoming that took me through the high desert there. A single image – a dirt road running off endlessly into the horizon – which I saw and photographed on that trip, formed the basis for Desert Places, because I started wondering what could be at the end of that road. It was Orson’s cabin as it turns out!

Agnes A. Rose: Your novels are published also as ebooks. Some people see ebooks threatening traditional publishing. What do you think about it? Is it true?

Blake Crouch: I do not believe that ebooks threaten traditional publishing. I think customers want ebooks as an option (I certainly do), and you cannot base an industry on not giving customers something they inherently want. 

Agnes A. Rose: How your writing influence on your private life?

Blake Crouch: It’s honestly hard to separate the two. Writing is my life, has been as long as I can remember. I wouldn’t be me without it.

Agnes A. Rose: Thank you very much for this short conversation. Is there anything you would like to tell your Polish readers?

Blake Crouch: Thanks for having me, Agnes, and I hope your readers enjoy my books! There’s much more to come!

If you want to read this interview in Polish, please click here