Interview with the author Jared Cade

1.Please introduce yourself and tell us something about your books.

I’ve been reading Agatha Christie’s books since I was twelve years old. What appeals to me about them is the underlying morality. There are no murky psychological shades of grey between good and evil in Agatha’s books. She definitely knew the line between good and evil and never crossed it. Her stories are ingeniously plotted and addictively readable. Her mysteries appeal to the reader’s logic and treat it with respect.

2.How did you come to write your first book and how long ago was it?

Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days was first published in 1998. The revised and expanded edition, comprising an additional thirty thousand words, was published in 2011. I wrote my biography because I wasn’t satisfied with the other books being published about Agatha Christie because they provided so little in the way of new information about her.

3. How did you decide to write a book about the disappearance of Agatha Christie? What was the element that intrigued you to write this book?

I began by thinking it would be nice to edit a biography about Agatha Christie since I was tired of reading books about her with basic mistakes in them. But it dawned on me after a time that no one was going to ask me to edit a book for them so I decided to write my own. So little had been written about her disappearance and yet it’s the most intriguing episode of her life. Initially, her unexplained disappearance appeared to be the only time in her otherwise idyllic life when she faced adversity. We learn more about ourselves through adversity than we do through our successes, and I wondered what lessons she had learned. She was a much sadder person than many of her fans realize and the repercussions of the disappearance haunted her for the rest of her life.

4. How long did you research for this book? Was it hard to find friends and family of Christie’s and make them confide in you?

I’ve been reading Agatha’s books all my life and I consider my six year period of research as an extension of that. Researching and writing my biography was a labour of love, and I did not want to rush it because it was important to me to make it as good as possible by way of honouring her memory. If you have a genuine interest in a subject as I do Agatha Christie it makes your task of research one hundred times easier. The great thing about research is that you never know where it will lead you. I contacted the Surrey Police who put me in touch with the retired policemens’ association and that is how I traced the two probationary constables  who searched for her while she was missing and interviewed them for my book. During lunch with Agatha Christie’s butler George Gowler, he mentioned he knew a civilian Eric Boxall who lives near Guildford who also joined the search for Agatha. George gave me his address and I went to interview him. In order to trace Agatha’s relatives Judith and Graham Gardner who have officially endorsed my book, I wrote to Dame Felicity Peake who kindly supplied their address.

5. Your book was filmed into a documentary. Do you think about making it into a film as well?

In 2001, my biography was made into a television documentary featuring the relatives of Agatha Christie. It’s currently optioned as a film by two Hollywood film companies working together, and the producer has written to say that they have finished another project and are looking forward to working on my project in earnest now. So, all going well, I expect the film to be released in 18 months to two years’ time.

6. Do you plan to write other books about Christie? A biography maybe?

I’ve already written a play about Agatha Christie which I have shown to the film producers in order to help them get a better grasp of the subject matter and also to help them adapt my book into a film.

7. Do you work on anything new right now? What is it about?

I never discuss work in progress as I do not wish to become the victim of plagiarism. I’m what I call a quiet achiever – someone who likes to do something first and talk about it afterwards. 

8. Have you ever written a novel?

I’m all in favour of writing a novel. It’s all about finding the time and inspiration. The purpose of fiction is to appeal to the readers’ emotion and to remind people of man’s humanity and inhumanity to man.

9. Are you a self-published author?

I am a commercially published author and my biography Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days: The Revised and Expanded 2011 Edition is available from amazon. It’s a great idea for an author like you to publish her own work. It’s more power to the author since there are a lot of fools in commercial publishing who don’t know what they’re talking about. I know one American author who was published commercially, but has since decided to self-publish instead. More power to her.

10. Which is the hardest part about being an author – the writing, the editing or the marketing?

The hardest part of being a writer is finding the time to research a book and then sit down and write it. The demands of my life sometimes get in the way, so I had to be determined and disciplined in order to get my book written.

11. What do you do when you are not writing or reading?

Go for long walks, swim a lot, watch junk television. I like to holiday where there is sunshine.

12. I guess, like most authors, you are an avid reader – who are your favourite authors?  Do you read many books by indie authors?

I don’t have as much time to read as I would like to. My favourite writer is Agatha Christie, and I also think Sidney Sheldon is first rate. I’m also partial to the short stories of Edward D. Hoch.

13. What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?

An attractive cover and a great blurb that arouses my curiosity. I wear three different sets of glasses – one for everyday going about, another for computer work and another for reading newspapers and books. If a book’s print is too small I will not buy it – I’ll try to find an edition with bigger print or give it a mess altogether.

14. Do you have your own website?

Readers wishing to know more about me and Agatha Christie may visit my website at www.jaredcade.co.uk and use the email link to contact me.