Interview with Kenneth B. Andersen, author of The Wrongful Death

What can you tell us about your new release, The Wrongful Death?

The Wrongful Death is the third installment in The Great Devil War-series, which – mostly – takes place in Hell. In vol. 1 – ”The Devil’s Apprentice” – the good and very polite boy Philip ends up in Hell, appointed to be the Devil’s Apprentice. But it turns out that Philip is the wrong boy. Now Lucifer only option is to teach the good boy how to be evil – which is easier said than done. It’s a story about seeing evil from a different perspective, just as vol. 2 “The Die of Death” is a story about seeing death from a different perspective. In vol. 3 Philip gets to go to Paradise (where the Almighty himself is waiting). It’s a story about fate and for a long time it was my personal favorite book in the series. It is for the most part a humorous story. But towards the end everything changes…

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I’ve always loved to read, but when I was introduced to Stephen King it blew my mind. I was 15 years old when my school teacher gave me a copy of ”The Shining” and I was hooked. King inspired me (as well as many others my age) to start writing. But I wasn’t very good at it and it took me seven years and fifteen turned-down manuscripts before I finally got my fist book published. But I was never close to giving up – on the contrary. It became an obsession for me to write something that was good enough to get published. Which finally happened in 2000. Since then I’ve published more than 35 books.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

Oh, this is always difficult because I always want to include more books. But here goes: 1) The Road by Cormac McCarthy 2) The Long Walk by Stephen King 3) The Never-ending Story by Michael Ende 4) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 5) Monster by Patrick Ness

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

Tough question. Well, since that’s never going to happen, I’ll come with an answer that also will never happen. Ray Bradbury. I would ask him about his view on the world today – ups and downs – and on the future.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

That I can decide everything for myself. No one interferes. Some of my books have been turned into movies and making a movie is a process that involves a lot of people and a lot of opinions. And it’s expensive. But when I write, I’m in charge. And there is no budget 😊

What is a typical day like for you?

When I’m working on something – which I usually am – I write four hours a day. I have an office in my basement and I write from 8 am – 10 am and then again from 1 pm – 3 pm. I don’t aim for a certain amount of words or pages. Sometimes I write half a page in two hours if things go slow, sometimes three pages. It depends.

What scene in The Wrongful Death was your favorite to write?

My favorite scene is when Philip – in the company of Lucifer – goes to Paradise to meet God. Lucifer and God are not the arch enemies they used to be. They aren’t exactly best buddies, but they… get along. And they get on each other’s nerves. That scene was a lot of fun to write.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

– I got a framed Stephen King-quote hanging above my desk, saying: “If you work out with weights, 15 minutes a day over a course of ten years, you’re gonna get muscles. If you write an hour and a half for ten years, you’re gonna turn into a good writer.” It’s all a matter of exercise and hard work. And then – at one point – things will start going your way.

Kenneth B. Andersen is the author of the new book The Wrongful Death.

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