Toby Ball

1 - What's your latest?

Toby Ball: My debut novel, THE VAULTS, is published by St. Martin’s Press.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Toby Ball: THE VAULTS has been described as dystopian noir. It has a unique atmosphere, a touch of the surreal, and an unlikely protagonist in Arthur Puskis, the Vaults' archivist.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Toby Ball: Arthur Puskis possesses that strange power that occasionally attaches itself to individuals who live outside society's norms. Police treat him with reverence though he has none of the characteristics that would normally earn him respect.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Toby Ball: I can't detail a number of my favorite scenes without giving away too much of the plot, so I'll pick one from fairly early in the book. Acting on a tip, Arthur Puskis leaves the City and drives to a rural town called Freeman's Gap to look for a missing person. Even more ill at ease than he is in the City, he navigates rutted roads through seas of wheat to find the shack where a surprise awaits him.

5 - What's next?

Toby Ball: My second novel, SCORCH CITY, will be published in summer or fall of 2011. It is a loose sequel, taking place about fifteen years after THE VAULTS.