Not famous yet

This week I was interviewed by Good Reading Magazine! The interview will be in the next edition, coming out at the end of the month or the beginning of March.

It was an interesting experience. Some of the questions they asked were straightforward and easy to answer, and others made me stop and think. 

I’ve realised that a lot of my writing is “instinctive”. When asked, “Why did you write that?” or “What were you thinking of when you chose that character?”,  a lot of the time I have no simple answer. And, funnily enough, people aren’t always satisfied to hear, “I don’t know”.

For example, I don’t know why I made the griven (alien cattle) severely depressed, other than that is how I heard them talking in my head. Well before I knew what they would say or do in the story, I could hear their voices clear as a bell. (Yes, I’m a little bit weird but that’s okay.)

Of course, I do a bit of planning. I always know how it will end, and I usually have a good idea of what should happen in the middle. However, once I get writing, and the characters take shape, the only thing that stays rock solid is the ending. Sometimes, I’m taken by surprise by the path the characters take to get to that end. It sort of evolves as we go along.

Anyway, it was a wonderful privilege to be interviewed by the magazine, which is dedicated to introducing readers to books, authors and illustrators. It’s a beautifully put together magazine and if you haven’t read it, do yourself a favour. You could start with the very next issue. 

Then, you can show all your friends and tell them you know me. Who knows? They might even want to buy a copy of Beast-speaker for themselves, or their children, or their grandchildren, or their local friendly movie producer…