I was one of the few people that managed to get an interview with Anthony Bryan when he was visiting Hong Kong recently. I have been fascinated by his work since I read his first book, Getting Out. That book was a very graphic description of Bryan’s early life in the British Secret Service and the torture that he suffered when he was captured in Saudi Arabia. Although I know that some of the things written in the book are fictional, I feel that I can tell the difference, having read both this book and South of the River. My first question referred to that.
Interviewer: Do you think that you write slightly differently about true events? Is that a conscious thing or is it instinctive?
Bryan: It must be instinctive, as I am not aware that I am doing that.
Interviewer: Do you still suffer as a result of the injuries you sustained when you were tortured?
Bryan: Yes.
Interviewer: You are a man of few words; people think of you as being reclusive, would that be a fair description?
Bryan: The job that I did and the job I do now are not ones that allow me to be in the spotlight. The books show things as they were, there is really not much more I can add to that.
Interviewer: But people are fascinated by you, they would like to know more about you, what you do, your family and interests.
Bryan: That will never be something I discuss. As I said before, I now run an International Detective Agency and need to operate covertly most of the time. As far as my books are concerned, I need people to know that with very little embellishment, the books really do tell it how it was, warts and all.
Interviewer: So one of the main characters in the books is based on your experience?
Bryan: Yes
Interviewer: Which one?
Bryan: I’ll let you guess.
Interviewer: Do you stay in touch with your former working partner?
Bryan: No
Interviewer: Do you have any more books planned?
Bryan: Yes I am about to publish my third book, The Kill. I think that if you enjoyed the previous books, you will really like this one.
Interviewer: Well I can’t wait to read it, when will it be available?
Bryan: It should be out in the autumn.
I can’t say that the interview that I did with Anthony Bryan was the easiest interview I ever did, but meeting him face to face I felt an energy from him that has made me even more fascinated with him and determined to read every word that he writes. I will be first in the queue this autumn.