Unorganised Crime follows two down-on-their-luck publicans who make a deal with a loan shark to collect a man from the airport, but they run into trouble when he later goes missing, and they get the blame. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Guy Ritchie’s early films were an enormous influence on me, especially Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. I loved those hyperkinetic crime capers where small-time crooks blunder into big-time trouble, and everything spirals from one bad decision into the next until it all clicks into place at the end.

That style really shaped the setup of Unorganised Crime. On paper, it’s simple. Two debt-ridden publicans agree to pick up a Korean man from the airport for a local loan shark, in exchange for some debt relief. The fun is watching it unravel, because once your “everyman” characters are in over their heads, the chaos becomes the engine of the story.

Magdalena Black is unforgettable. Where did she come from, and how did you approach writing a character who’s both terrifying and darkly funny?

Thank you. Magdalena was one of my favourite characters to write. She took on a life of her own and became this intelligent, wolf-like apex predator who looms over the story like a dark, Armani-wearing cloud.

Truth be told, she started life as Leon Black, a sleazy, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing buffoon. But in a very male-centric cast, Leon never quite landed, and I realised I needed a bigger presence for the story’s main villain. It clicked after I saw Australian comedian Morgana Robinson on Taskmaster. Morgana has this perfect mix of beauty, elegance, intelligence, and, most of all, Aussie spunk that suited a character like Magdalena Black. I rewrote the character from scratch, gave her a posh voice and privileged upbringing, and Magdalena was born. The humour comes from how calm and practical she is. She treats intimidation like admin, which makes her both terrifying and darkly funny.

The book balances genuine danger with laugh-out-loud moments. How do you walk that line without undercutting the stakes?

Plotting and editing are my best tools for keeping that balance. With so many intersecting storylines, Unorganised Crime has to be tightly structured, otherwise the tension falls apart. The comedy works best when the stakes are real, and the humour comes from character, not from undercutting the danger.

A lot of it comes down to pacing. Sometimes it’s as simple as swapping the order of scenes, easing off the pressure with a lighter moment before ratcheting things up again. Editing is where I find the line. I have cut plenty of jokes that dragged or slowed the story down. Less is more, and if I can get a genuine laugh every few pages without losing momentum, I know I’m close.

Do you see more stories for Jack and Hung—or others in this world?

Absolutely, assuming my brand of quirky, darkly comedic crime capers finds its audience. I would love to keep exploring this world, and I’m especially drawn to an anthology approach, a bit like the Fargo television series. Different cities, different time periods, different crews of misfits making terrible decisions, with Easter eggs and recurring characters connecting it all together.

I would also love to revisit Jack and Hung down the track, a decade or two after the events of Unorganised Crime, and tie up a few loose ends.

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