1. Have you got any writing projects after this one?
There’s a novel set in upstate New York variously entitled The Fall or Alyssa’s Flyht which I would like to write. It was always supposed to be a sequel to Flyht, but I’m not sure anymore. It might be an equal or companion piece, or might just be something completely separate to itself. I would also like to do something with either of my television dramas dreamscholars or euroJournal, either as tv scripts or some point of multi-narrator novel. I have loads of ideas, and always get new one’s and I have to fight the temptation to leave off the current one and start something new. At the moment, nothing is succeeding to tempt me away from Blood & Fire…
2. How confident do you feel about getting published?
I feel sure that it will happen one day. I’m not sure when, or with what, although I’m getting good vibes from my current work at the moment. It seems to be going somewhere, and going somewhere interesting at that! I’ve had some interest from publishers regarding my past work (a bit of a dialogue with Sandra Hastie – the exec prod behind Press Gang, concerning dreamscholars, and my eventual rejection from David Fickling (publishers of the Philip Pullman books) was, despite being a no, useful, containing some interesting comments and advice which showed that they had actually read it and thought that it had something.
3. What is your happiest memory?
Ooh, tough question. I think I’ve had a happy life, so picking just one is hard… When I think of my Granpy, I think of him bursting into the lounge with his jacket on and the woolly bobble hat he pinched from my brother holding up in both hands about a dozen really big parsnips, saying, “Look at these!”. But there’s also that christmas when my present from Mum and Dad was brought into me after all the others, a shoe box with holes in, but still wrapped up, and contained my rabbit – Fluffy. Then there’s the summer of ’94, the five weeks in August after I finished uni, and my first holiday abroad without my folks, when I holidayed and studied French in La Rochelle, and met so many good people. And there are other happy memories, so to choose my happiest, I don’t know…
4. What would you like to be different about your life?
I have friends, and I have people who I can have a good time with, but I’m not sure if I have anyone who’s that kind of best friend who is unconditionally always there for you, or who I can call up at a moments notice and go down the pub with, or meet up in someone’s house for a chat. I’m better than I used to be, but I’m still not that good at socialness and starting interesting conversations that people want to be part of. So I guess I would like to be better at socialising and conversations and the like
5. What do you fear?
I don’t fear much to be honest. I’m naturally an optimistic kind of person and see the best in people and opportunities and new developments. I guess there is a fear lurking back there in my subconcious that (considering my difficulties at forming relationships of the girlfriend kind), will I end up an old batchelor forever alone? …but then my optimistic side kicks in and tells me that one day it will happen. So that’s what I believe. One day she will enter my life, and I won’t look back…
If you want to be interviewed, comment below, and I’ll ask you 5 questions, which you then post in your journal, whilst also asking people if they want to be interviewed. Do you see?
