Bestselling Author M. W. Craven Hits the Road with Lloyd BMW

Bestselling author and Carlisle native M.W. Craven stopped by Lloyd Carlisle BMW last week before embarking on his latest book tour. To make sure he travellled in ultimate style and comfort, we handed over the keys to an incredible BMW X7. Mike has been a loyal customer here at Lloyd Carlisle for years - he's even named one of his characters after our very own sales executive Neil Munro, whom Mike referst to as his "BMW guru." We couldn't resist catching up with Mike to chat about his relationship with Neil, BMW and Lloyd Motor Group as a whole.

M.W. Craven, pictured here with his "BMW Guru" Sales Executive, Neil Munro.

Have you always been a BMW owner and how did your journey with us at Lloyd begin?

I have always been a BMW owner. I bought my first one in Paderborn, Germany in 1988 – a beautiful, red LHD 316. Before my Lloyd BMW journey began, I also owned a Z3, an incredible car that really turned heads. Looked like the Batmobile. I started with Lloyd in Cockermouth, as I was living there at the time, but quickly switched to the Carlisle showroom. I can’t remember how many BMWs I’ve now had, but it’s got to be close to ten.

What is it that appeals to you in the when looking for your next BMW? Is it the joy of the drive? The comfort & functionality? or a hearty mixture of them both?

Although I like the reliability of BMWs, it’s the pleasure of driving them that keeps me coming back. I’ve got to say that the Z3 wasn’t the comfiest ride, but it was the most fun. Although I wouldn’t buy a car purely on gadgets, I do like that every time I get a new one, the features have all been upgraded. Some I never use; some I use all the time.

You deal with Neil Munro – a bit of a legend in these parts – how has having that still point in an ever-changing industry helped you on your journey with Lloyd BMW?

I’ve known Neil for years now and I trust him completely. And because he’s known me for years, he knows what I like and don’t like. He tells me about new cars and features that have come in, and he also tells me about new cars that are yet to launch. He’s my BMW guru.

As an adopter of electric, how does this compare to the more traditional drive of a BMW?  Could you complete a book tour in a BEV BMW without any hassle?

I thought my Z3 had decent acceleration, but it pales compared to the i4 I have at the minute. I love not having the hassle of queuing for fuel and not being overly concerned about rising prices is nice too. We didn’t actually need to use a commercial EV charger for over 6 months but when we did, we found the process very easy. Whether we could do a tour quite as easily as we did with the X7, I’m not sure. It would certainly require a little bit more planning. Nothing extraordinary though.
 

For local readers, seeing familiar roads and towns in a series of bestselling thriller is a huge thrill. Does setting a scene on familiar ground make the writing come naturally, or does it add extra pressure to get home right?

It helps me, I think, as I don’t have to expend mental energy making places up. I know some authors do (Val McDermid, for example invented an entire city in Yorkshire to set her Hill and Jordan series in) but I think I would tie myself in knots trying to remember which road leads to where and which pub is on which made-up street. Far easier to look out of my window. I sometimes get into discussions with readers about whether you can fictionalise real places and my answer is always the same – it’s fiction, you can do whatever you want. If I wanted to put a theme park on the outskirts of Kendal I could. And while it might irk some of the purists, the reality is that most people won’t know it has been made up. We’re published in 31 languages now (33 if you include British English and US English) and the vast majority of foreign readers won’t have been to Cumbria. That said, if I can use real places and use them accurately, I will. Some of the businesses I’ve used no longer exist, but that’s the payoff with setting a book in a real place. The upside is that readers who know the area really enjoy the connection they can make. And for readers coming to Cumbria for the first time to do a Poe and Tilly-based holiday, there is a lot for them to see.

Which fictional literary figure would you least like to accompany you on a nationwide book tour?

Either General Woundwort from Watership Down or Jackson Lamb from Mick Herron’s Slow Horses.  General Woundwort because he’s an aggressive rabbit and very likely not car trained (he certainly wouldn’t be able to share the driving), and Jackson Lamb because he’s even more flatulent in the books than he is in the TV adaption. And also probably not car trained.

Could you ever see yourself channelling your way with the written word into some automotive flavoured work? (The Lloyd BMW website would always have a space for “Mike Craven’s Motor Musings”)

Neither Poe nor Fluke are very kind to their BMWs. Fluke drove his X1 at a contract killer and ended up ramming it into a stone gatepost and Poe drove his into the Irish Sea . . . To be fair, the safety features saved Fluke the 4WD on Poe’s BMW got him further across the sand than he had any right to get. Whether I can channel some slightly more positive BMW writing remains to be seen. And as I say with all these things, speak to my agent . . .

And finally, as an avid punk fan, which Album/Track did you try out first on that impeccable Bowers & Wilkins Sound System?

I always have a tour playlist when we head out to meet readers and this time was no different. The first track to blast through the speakers (after Neil had upped the bass for me) was ‘In a Rut’ by The Ruts. Pure punk class.

 

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