Jennospot 89 Blog Hop Interview
Peter
St John 'as gone an' done somefink daft; leastways, that's wot Oi reckon. 'Ee's accepted ter be interviewed
by author Joan Szechtman, wot 'as got a noice blog at http://rtoaaa.blogspot.fr/ . 'Ee's doin' a sorta
blog 'op idea called "The Next Big Thing". 'Ee's gotta answer ten questions
about 'is writin' an' then pass on the questions ter five ovver writers. Yeah,
well Oi s'pose that's all roight in its way, but the trouble is, 'ee wanted ter
use moi blog ter write it all out! Well, when Oi 'ad come down off'n the
ceilin', an' 'ad cooled off a bit, Oi said as 'ow 'ee c'd, seein' as 'ow Oi
know 'im an' all, (an' jus' between yew an' me 'ee's doin' me a favour wiv a
little book of moi own, so Oi owe 'im one) but Oi just 'ope 'ee ain't a-goin' ter make an 'abit of
it.
Any'ow,
'ere are the questions wot come from Joan Szechtman, tergevver wiv Peter St
John's answers. An' if yew fink I shouldn’t ‘ave gone flyin’ up ter the
ceilin', yew c'n tell me about it later:
1) What is the working
title of your next book, Peter St John?
Actually, my very next book, or
perhaps I should say "our" next book because it's all Jenno's words, with
my drawings, is called "Jenno's Face Book". But as it's no
more than a small collection of her web posts, to be published free on
Smashwords before Christmas, it hardly counts as a proper book. On the other
hand, I do have a new novel in mind, and the provisional title is "Gang
America".
2) Where did the idea
come from for the book?
This is to be the seventh novel in the
"Gang" series. The series tell of the difficulties faced by an young
lad bombed out from a London orphanage in 1940, in adapting to life
in the English village
of Widdlington Britain
3) What genre does
your book fall under?
This question always gives me much difficulty.
The novel will be fiction but, like the others in the series, it will be set in
the historical context of the Second World War. My intention is to reflect in
miniature, the issues and values at stake in this conflict. Although the
narrator in the series is a child, and the principal actors are children, I do
not write specifically for children. Even so, I believe children could follow
the narrative with pleasure. Let us say
then that the genre is historical fiction with a certain biographical element, and
that it is intended for readers from nine to ninety-nine.
4) What actors would
you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
I find myself incapable of answering
this question as I rarely go to the cinema, and seldom watch a film on
television. A number of my readers have suggested that the "Gang"
series would be well suited for the cinema, perhaps along the lines of the
hilarious "Our Gang" or "Hal Roach's Little Rascals", black
and white films. The novels lend themselves readily to this idea because the
story is told mainly through dialogue. Someone once said to me that they could
see Judi Dench playing the villainous part of "Aunt". Beyond that I
feel unable to go except to say that casting so many young characters (there
are about 25 of them, never mind the numerous adults) might pose some problems.
5) What is the one-sentence
synopsis of the new book you have in mind?
The consequences of the 1942 American
invasion of Britain
6) Will your book be
self-published or represented by an agency?
Self published, including many illustrations.
7) How long does it
take you to write the first draft of a manuscript?
It usually takes seven or eight weeks for
me to write a first draft. This does not include preparing the plot and chapter
outline, similar to a film story board, which might take a couple of weeks ahead
of the first word of the draft. As for editing, that takes far more time than preparing
and writing the text. In fact, as it is so easy to amend electronic books, editing
can become a never-ending activity.
8) To what other books would you
compare the stories within your genre?
I find any comparison with other books
embarrassingly difficult, and prefer not to make such comparisons myself.
However, in reply to your question, I can say that the "Gang" series
has been compared by others with Robert Westall's "The Machine Gunners"
and even Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mocking Bird".
9) Who or what
inspired you to write this book?
The
"Gang" series grew out of an intention to create an anthology of
short stories about life in an English village under the stress of World War
II, but the initial short story got longer and longer until it finally turned
into a full-length novel. The series was inspired, at least in part, by a wish
to "get even", as it were, with a strict, pious aunt who in the
finish became the principal "villain" of the series.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader's
interest?
It
was with some misgiving that I began to use dialect for the speech of some of
the characters in the "Gang" series. I tried out the idea by reading an
extract to the local writers' group. They loved it, and so it became a feature.
The principal dialect speaker is Jenno Bryce, who is becoming quite well known
on the web. None of her Facebook friends seem to have problems with her way of
speaking, or with the way she writes in her little publications. And with the mention of Jenno's booklets, I am brought back
full circle to the beginning of this blog.
Next Week's Tagged Authors
Now
I'd like to "tag" the authors who are to carry the torch of this blog hop into
next week. They are:
Kate O'Hearn, who writes enchanting
fantasy that I recommend most heartily. http://www.kateohearn.com/
Katherine Ashe, whose absorbing series
about Simon de Montfort have drawn me into a keen interest in the Middle Ages. http://katherineashe.blogspot.fr/
Maggie Secara, whose historical
novels I have not yet explored, but that pleasure will surely not be long
delayed. http://www.maggie-secara.com
Marcus Ferrar, who's absorbing
biographical novel "A Foot in Both camps", I have read recently with
huge interest and pleasure. http://www.marcusferrar.org/
It
only remains for me to say now: "Thank you, Jenno. I hope that, in the
event, you haven't found my ‘blog 'op idea’ as daft as all that."
S'orrite,
Peter St John. It's jus' that Oi c'd see yew go a-blatherin' on an' on about
nuffink in partic'lar, loike as 'ow yew do sometoimes. But Oi'm grateful, any'ow,
fer yer 'elp wiv "Jenno's Face Book" wot's goin' ter go up soon fer
free on Smashwords. Oi might even give yew a copy fer Christmas.
Any'ow,
if any of yew wot reads this would loike ter know more about Peter St John's
"Gang" books, yew c'd take a look at http://www.peterstjohn.net/. But only
if'n yew really want to, that is. There's even a couple o' pictures there o'
me, but yew gotta search fer 'em…
