Kat Falls
Kat Falls grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and now teaches at NU, where she is continually inspired by her students’ creativity. She started writing Dark Life as a writing exercise. Knowing that her 12-year-old son loved reading about the ocean, Wild West pioneers and, of course, the X-Men, she combined his interests and created the premise for a story that kept her up nights plotting and world-building. Kat lives in Evanston, Illinois with her husband, theatre director Robert Falls, their three lively children, two cats, two guinea pigs and a snake named Poncho.
We have to ask – are you a bookgeek?
Doesn’t every fiction writer begin as a bookgeek? I think you have to love stories, love thinking about them, dissecting them, wax poetic over a perfect word choice in order to be able to write one.
Do you have an audience in mind when writing?
Yes, I always do. It helps me focus a story. For Dark Life, the reader I aimed to please was my oldest son, Declan. I came up with the premise by combining three things that he loved to read about into one story – the ocean, Old West pioneers, and the X-men. But beyond subject matter, I knew that a book had to grab him by page 2 or he’d toss it aside. Also, if he was reading during his computer time and ignoring the Instant Message ping’s, that was high praise for the author. Now that he’s older, I know a book has hooked him if he ignores his cell phone when it vibrates, meaning a new text message has come in. So when I started writing Dark Life, I knew I wanted to spin a story so engaging that a tween would not be able to put the book down when his computer pinged or cell phone buzzed. That was where I set my bar.
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given (and do you follow it?)
I have an entire journal filled with writing advice. Whenever I read or hear something useful or inspiring I add it. But to choose one nugget… Okay, it comes from Heather Sellers’ book Page After Page, which I cannot recommend highly enough. It’s about how to cultivate a writing life. Here’s one quote:
Develop your subjects. You have to learn new stuff. Learn interesting things. Learn for the sake of learning – even if you don’t know when you’ll use it. It will sift into your work. The less intentional you are, the better. Read like a kid – for the pure pleasure of learning.
This quote lets me to forgive myself for spending way too much time reading interesting articles that have nothing to do with what I’m working on.
Now I have to share another favorite quote from her book:
Artists are vagabond outlaws – we lie, we hide out, we don’t cooperate. We must do this more.
She goes on to explain that when inspiration hits, you must run with it, even if it means backing out of plans or obligations. Because writing is not like other occupations. It doesn’t always fit neatly into schedules and you must honor that if you want to get at your best material.
Where do you write?
Usually at a desk in a spare bedroom that I’ve turned into a home office. Though lately I’ve been escaping to a friend’s house because with three kids and pets galore, my house gets really loud.
What are you working on at the moment?
A sequel to Dark Life.
Which authors do you find most inspiring as a writer?
So many. But to name a few… Ira Levin, Ray Bradbury, Nancy Farmer, Jack Finney, Suzanne Collins, and Kenneth Oppel.
Having Ty as a guide through this new world is fantastic fun for your readers. Did you have something (or someone) to draw from to create Ty’s voice?
Ty’s character was inspired by the protagonist in Old Yeller, a fifteen-year-old pioneer boy named Travis – a character I’ve always loved.
Did you do any research to create your setting?
So much so, I have to cut myself off on a regular basis. I’ll pull out a book on marine life or get on the internet to find the answer to one small question and an hour will zip by without my noticing. There is just so much to learn about the ocean and it all fascinates me.
Was there something specific that inspired you to set your story in a world where at least part of humanity had moved underwater?
Just that I’ve always thought it would be cool to live underwater.
Do you have a favourite sea animal?
I love whales, always have, but after all my research I’ve fallen hard for sea slugs. They are unbelievably beautiful little creatures. And so varied. Type “nudibranch” into your web browser – you’ll see.
Did you set out to write a YA novel?
I didn’t think about publishing categories as I was writing, though I was consciously keeping my prose lean and my pacing fast to appeal to tweens. However, I hoped the world-building and story would interest older readers as well. I test marketed my manuscript on my father who is a scientist and avid science-fiction reader. When he gave it a thumbs up, I felt good to go.
Additional questions by Jennie Blake.
Kevin Brooks
Kevin Brooks was born in Exeter, Devon, and he studied in Birmingham and London. He had a varied working life, with jobs in a crematorium, a zoo, a garage and a post office, before – happily – giving it all up to write books. Kevin is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels including Martyn Pig, Lucas, Kissing the Rain, Candy and The Road of the Dead. His last two books Being and Black Rabbit Summer are both published by Penguin. His latest novel is iBoy, out now. He now lives in North Yorkshire.
We have to ask – are you a bookgeek?
Yes, and proud of it!
Do you have an audience in mind when writing?
No, the only thing I have in mind when I’m writing is the story itself, and making sure that I write it as it’s supposed to be. I think that if you start trying to write for a particular reader/market/audience, you run the risk of not being true to yourself or the story.
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given (and do you follow it?)
Stephen King in his book On Writing said:
Fiction writers, present company included, don’t understand very much about what they do – not why it works when it’s good, not why it doesn’t when it’s bad.
And he was absolutely right.
Where do you write?
In my room, at my desk (where I’m sitting right now). I can’t write anywhere else.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m writing my next YA novel – working title The Boy They Called Billy the Kid – which is set in London in 1976 and tells the story of a girl who plays in a punk band and a boy who might, or might not, be involved with the IRA. I’m also editing my first adult crime novel – called A Dance of Ghosts – which will be published in Spring next year.
Which authors do you find most inspiring as a writer?
James Lee Burke, Cormac McCarthy, Jack Gantos, JD Salinger, Jack Kerouac, Raymond Chandler, Norman Mailer, John Steinbeck …
The main character in iBoy is, quite literally, hit on the head by technology, do you think technology is that forceful (and that invasive) in everyday life?
On one level, yes, in that most people now (myself included) would probably feel quite bereft and at a loss without the technological developments of the last decade or so. But on a deeper level, most of these developments (apart, perhaps, from the Internet) are not really all that revolutionary so much as evolutionary. They don’t allow us to do anything that we couldn’t do twenty years ago, they simply make things quicker and easier and more accessible, and they do so with technically advanced interfaces.
iBoy highlights the nearly innumerable ways that we communicate now: from social media, to texts, to news websites. Where do you think books fit into this global conversation?
Again, I don’t think that much has changed really. There are more means of communication, but the substance of that communication is still much the same. And more people talking means more people telling each other stuff – which, for books, as for anything, can’t be bad.
What draws you to young adult fiction?
All kinds of things, too numerous to mention. But I suppose one of the main attractions about writing about young people is that when you’re young, everything means so much, all the time. Your self, the people you know, the world around you … your feelings, your thoughts, your sense of being … it’s all so vital and intense. What else could a writer wish for?
Has your writing process changed over time?
The basic process – ie, how I think about, plan, structure, and eventually write a novel – hasn’t really changed all that much. I know a little bit more about the craft of writing now than I did when I first started, which gives me more options … although, oddly enough, that’s not always a good thing. But, in general, although I’m always learning more and more, every day, and I’m always pushing myself and trying different things, I have a basic process that works as a foundation for me, and I’m happy enough with that.
Have any experiences from your previous jobs made appearances in your novels?
Yes, occasionally, but I always make sure that I fictionalise them.
Additional questions by Jennie Blake.
Are you a bookgeek?Yes, and proud of it!
2) Do you have an audience in mind when writing?
No, the only thing I have in mind when I’m writing is the story itself, and making sure that I write it as it’s supposed to be. I think that if you start trying to write for a particular reader/market/audience, you run the risk of not being true to yourself or the story.
3) What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given (and do you follow it?)
Stephen King in his book ‘On Writing’ said: Fiction writers, present company included, don’t understand very much about what they do – not why it works when it’s good, not why it doesn’t when it’s bad.
And he was absolutely right.
4) Where do you write?
In my room, at my desk (where I’m sitting right now). I can’t write anywhere else.
5) What are you working on at the moment?
I’m writing my next YA novel – working title THE BOY THEY CALLED BILLY THE KID – which is set in London in 1976 and tells the story of a girl who plays in a punk band and a boy who might, or might not, be involved with the IRA. I’m also editing my first adult crime novel – called A DANCE OF GHOSTS – which will be published in Spring next year.
6) Which authors do you find most inspiring as a writer?
James Lee Burke, Cormac McCarthy, Jack Gantos, JD Salinger, Jack Kerouac, Raymond Chandler, Norman Mailer, John Steinbeck …
7) The main character in “iBoy” is, quite literally, hit on the head by technology, do you think technology is that forceful (and that invasive) in everyday life?
On one level, yes, in that most people now (myself included) would probably feel quite bereft and at a loss without the technological developments of the last decade or so. But on a deeper level, most of these developments (apart, perhaps, from the Internet) are not really all that revolutionary so much as evolutionary. They don’t allow us to do anything that we couldn’t do twenty years ago, they simply make things quicker and easier and more accessible, and they do so with technically advanced interfaces.
“iBoy” highlights the nearly innumerable ways that we communicate now: from social media, to texts, to news websites. Where do you think books fit into this global conversation?Again, I don’t think that much has changed really. There are more means of communication, but the substance of that communication is still much the same. And more people talking means more people telling each other stuff – which, for books, as for anything, can’t be bad.
9) What draws you to young adult fiction?
All kinds of things, too numerous to mention. But I suppose one of the main attractions about writing about young people is that when you’re young, everything means so much, all the time. Your self, the people you know, the world around you … your feelings, your thoughts, your sense of being … it’s all so vital and intense. What else could a writer wish for?
10) Has your writing process changed over time?
The basic process – ie, how I think about, plan, structure, and eventually write a novel – hasn’t really changed all that much. I know a little bit more about the craft of writing now than I did when I first started, which gives me more options … although, oddly enough, that’s not always a good thing. But, in general, although I’m always learning more and more, every day, and I’m always pushing myself and trying different things, I have a basic process that works as a foundation for me, and I’m happy enough with that.
11) Have any experiences from your previous jobs made appearances in your novels?
Yes, occasionally, but I always make sure that I fictionalise them.
Andrew Kaufman
Andrew Kaufman was born in the town of Wingham, Ontario, Canada, the birthplace of Alice Munro. This makes him the second best writer in a town of three thousand. He is also a film maker, radio producer and a regular contributor to the McSweeney’s website. Andrew’s debut, All My Friends Are Superheroes was a cult bestseller, and his new novel, The Waterproof Bible, is published by Telegram Books in July.
Nick Lake
Nick Lake is an editorial director at HarperCollins Children’s Books. He received his degree in English from Oxford University.
His first novel, Blood Ninja, was inspired by his interest in the Far East, and by the fact that he is secretly a vampire ninja himself. Nick lives with his wife in Oxfordshire. We asked him about the genesis of the novel, his writing tips and his Ninja skills.
P.C. Hodgell
P. C. Hodgell is the author of the God Stalker series currently being reissued by Baen: God Stalk and Dark of the Moon in the omnibus The God-Stalker Chronicles; Seeker’s Mask and To Ride a Rathorn in Seeker’s Bane. The fifth in the series, Bound in Blood, was recently released. Pat lives, teaches, knits, and falls off horses in Wisconsin.
Celine Kiernan
Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Celine Kiernan (website) has spent the majority of her working life in the film business. Trained at the SullivanBluth Studio’s, her career as a classical feature character animator has spanned over seventeen years. She’s spent most of her time working between Germany, Ireland and the USA.
Celine wrote her first novel at the age of eleven, and hasn’t stopped writing or drawing since. She has a peculiar weakness for graphic novels as, like animation, they combine the two things she loves to do the most: drawing and story telling. Bookgeeks’ Jennie Blake recently reviewed her forthcoming novel, The Poison Throne, and loved it, so we thought we would ask her about what makes her tick as a writer, and how she has found the process of being published.
Tad Williams
Tad Williams’ debut fantasy series Memory, Sorrow and Thorn sold millions of copies around the world and established him as one of the greatest fantasy writers of modern times. His virtual reality saga, Otherland, and his standalone novel The War of the Flowers were published to similar popular and critical acclaim. The third volume of the Shadowmarch series. Shadowplay, has recently been released (it was going to be a trilogy, but Williams’ fans know his track record with trilogies!), so we caught up with him to ask him about his craft…
Brian Thompson
Brian Thompson was born in London in 1935 and now lives in Oxford. He has written two award-winning volumes of memoir: Keeping Mum (2006), winner of the Costa Prize for Biography and the PEN/Ackerley Prize, and Clever Girl (2007), longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. More recently, he has written two two volumes in the Bella Wallis series of mysteries.
Bella Wallis is a respectable society woman with a secret identity: in an office buried deep within the seedy backstreets of London, she writes sensationalist novels exposing the scoundrels that litter high society under the pen name Henry Ellis Margam. She first appeared in The Widows’s Secret, and the in the follow-up The Captain’s Table. She can be found blogging here, and you can read Jennie’s review of The Captain’s Table here.
Dave Simpson, author of The Fallen
Ever been held hostage in a dressing room with your parents? Ever been thrown off the bus in the middle of a Swedish forest or abandoned at a foreign airport? Ever been asked to play at one of the UK’s biggest music festivals with musicians you’ve just met who are covered in blood, or taken part in a ‘recording session’ in a speeding Transit? If so, you’ve probably been in The Fall.
Dave Simpson made it his mission to track down everyone who has ever played in Britain’s most berserk, brilliant group, The Fall. He uncovers a changing Britain, tales of madness and genius, and wreaks havoc on his personal life.
Dave Simpson writes on music and the arts for the Guardian newspaper from an isolated base in the North of England. He has been a fan of the Fall since 1979, and once admitted to hating the Beatles.
Bookgeeks’ own Simon Parker asked him for his thoughts on Mark E Smith’s musical circus:
Chris Hannan, author of Missy
Chris Hannan’s work as a playwright has been produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican (1991) and by Sir Peter Hall at the Old Vic in London (1997) as well as by the National Theatre of Scotland in its inaugural season (2006).
He often creates big central roles for women. The Guardian hailed Elizabeth Gordon Quinn as a “monstrous and magnificent heroine”.
Four of his plays have had their world premiere at the prestigious Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, including Elizabeth Gordon Quinn and the award-winning Shining Souls. His 1990 play The Evil Doers was produced by the Bush Theatre in London and won numerous prizes including a Time Out Award, and in 2001/2 he was the Judith E. Wilson Visiting Fellow in Drama at the University of Cambridge.
In 2008 his first novel Missy was published in the UK and the US – so we thought we’d ask him about the process of creating it and his inspirations…
Ben Kane, author of The Forgotten Legion
Ben Kane was born in Kenya and raised there and in Ireland. He studied veterinary medicine at University College Dublin but after that travelled the world extensively, indulging his passion for ancient history. Now he lives in North Somerset, where he researches, writes and practises as a small animal vet. He is author of The Forgotten Legion, recently reviewed by Simon A, and The Silver Eagle and is currently working on the third novel in the series.
We intruded in to to his inbox to ask about his writing habits, his historical passions and his views on the use of animal entrails for forecasting the future…
Jay ‘Bird’ Dobyns, author of No Angel
Jay Dobyns, alias Jaybird, is an ATF undercover agent who infiltrated the Hells Angels motorcycle club from 2001 to 2003. He was offered membership into the gang after faking the murder of a rival Mongols Motorcycle Club member and providing ‘evidence’ of the staged murder to Hells Angels leaders. Dobyns and his partners worked undercover for 21 months leading to Federal arrests and search warrants on July 8, 2003.
He’s written a book about his experiences, No Angel (read Simon A’s review, and there’s competition to win signed copies too), and we talked to him about his reasons for writing the book and what he feels about the Hells Angels now.
Marcel Theroux, author of Far North
Marcel Theroux is a British novelist and broadcaster, who has written The Stranger in The Earth and The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes: a paper chase for which he won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2002. His third novel, A Blow to the Heart, was published by Faber in 2006, and his fourth, Far North in March 2009 (read Simon A’s review). He is the older son of the American travel writer and novelist, Paul Theroux, and his younger brother, Louis Theroux, is a journalist and television presenter.
We caught up with Marcel to talk to him about his writing and the ideas and inspiration behind Far North.
John Wray, author of Lowboy
John Wray was born in Washington, DC in 1971. His first novel, The Right Hand of Sleep won a Whiting Writers’ Award. He was recently chosen as one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists 2007. Jennie recently enjoyed and reviewed his latest offering, Lowboy, calling it “a thriller, a coming of age novel, and an immersion into the head of a schizophrenic boy.” We caught up with John to ask him about his craft.
Photo credit: Amber de Vos
Are you a bookgeek?
I’ve never been asked an easier question in an interview. Yes, absolutely. I’m a geek, and I love books. But of course Mother is the ultimate authority on this issue. Perhaps you might ask her.
Giles Kristian, author of Raven: Blood Eye
Born in 1975 to an English father and a Norwegian mother, Giles Kristian has led a varied and somewhat unconventional life and admits that this suits him just fine. As the lead singer in nineties pop group Upside Down, he achieved four top-twenty hit records in the official UK sales charts and appeared on countless national and international TV shows including MTV and VH1. Upside Down were the subject of a BBC documentary which followed the band’s formation and rise to fame, including their first appearance on Top of the Pops.
Later, he worked as a model in London, appearing in national TV ads and poster campaigns. His poetry has been broadcast by the BBC, which has in turn led to him receiving numerous commissions. In 2004 Giles began working on Raven, the story of a boy’s relationship with a band of marauding Norsemen from across the grey sea. It is a rich and violent coming-of-age story with more than a touch of the old sagas about it, which I really enjoyed. I asked Giles about how writing compares to pop-stardom, and what happens to Raven next…
Josh Bazell, author of Beat the Reaper
Josh Bazell has a BA in writing from Brown University and a MD from Columbia University. He has worked as a screenwriter, and while in medical school investigated suspicious deaths for the Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York. He is currently a medical resident at the University of California, San Francisco, and is working on his second novel. We recently read and enjoyed his fusion of medicine and the Mob, debut Beat the Reaper (review), and we chatted with him about his writing and the US medical system.
For our traditional opener: are you a bookgeek?
Books have been important to me my whole life, but after reading Nightmare Alley I’ve stopped referring to anyone who doesn’t actually bite the heads off chickens as a geek. Which I guess makes the answer “Yes.”
Douglas Jackson, author of Caligula
Douglas Jackson’s debut novel Caligula (recently reviewed and enjoyed by Simon A) is the first in a three-book series set in ancient Rome, and centres on the character of Rufus, a young slave. Douglas Jackson was born in Jedburgh in the Scottish borders and now lives in Bridge of Allan. Caligula grew out of his love for history, which was ignited as a boy when he grew up in the shadows of 12th century Jedburgh Abbey.
He is now an assistant editor at The Scotsman, and wrote Caligula on a packed commuter train between Stirling and Edinburgh every day on his way to work. He was signed up by a literary agent when he asked for feedback on his writing on www.YouWriteOn.com.
The Bookgeeks caught up with him to ask him about the inspiration for his debut, the research behind it and what’s next for Rufus and the Emperor’s Elephant…
Nick Harkaway, author of The Gone-Away World
Nick Harkaway is the author of The Gone-Away World, which we at Bookgeeks thought was rather marvellous and is now available in paperback (and which was recently nominated for the BSFA Best Novel Award).
Nick was born in Cornwall in 1972. He studied philosophy, sociology and politics at Clare College, Cambridge, and then worked in the film industry. He has trained in fencing, aikido, jujitsu, and kickboxing, and is notably bad at all of them. He lives in London with his wife, Clare, and he’s working for on his second novel. Nick’s father is John Le Carré, who we also think is rather marvellous!
We picked Nick’s brains about dreams, inspiration, whether or not he’s a book geek, and his recent nomination…
Michael Kimball, author of Dear Everybody
Michael Kimball’s first two novels are The Way The Family Got Away (2000) and How Much of Us There Was (2005), both of which have been translated (or are being translated) into many languages. His third novel, Dear Everybody, has just been published in the US, UK, and Canada, and here on Bookgeeks we really loved it. Time Out New York calls the writing “stunning” and the Los Angeles Times says the book is “funny and warm and sad and heartbreaking.” Kimball is also responsible for the collaborative art project–Michael Kimball Writes Your Life Story (on a postcard)–and the documentary film, I Will Smash You (2009).
We asked Michael for his answers on a postcard to our cunning questions about books and writing…
Mark Sarvas, author of Harry, Revised
Mark Sarvas is best known as the host of the popular and controversial literary weblog “The Elegant Variation” which has been mentioned in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Guardian (A Top 10 Literary Blog), Forbes Magazine (Best of the Web), Los Angeles Magazine (A Top L.A. Blog), The Scotsman, Salon, the Christian Science Monitor, Slate, The Village Voice, NPR and numerous other fine publications (and we’re not jealous, oh no). His debut novel, Harry, Revised, was published in 2008 by Canongate in the UK and Bloomsbury in the US.
Mark lives the quiet life in Los Angeles, where he has been a newspaper editor, travel agent and bass player. He has written episodic comedy for HBO and Showtime as well as screenplays for Warner Brothers, producer David Foster, and the World Entertainment and Business Network.
We picked Mark’s brains about books, writing and whether or not he’s a grammar nazi…
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The Bookgeeks Interview
Kat Falls
Kat Falls grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and now teaches at NU, where she is continually inspired by her students’ creativity. She started writing Dark Life as a writing exercise. Knowing that her 12-year-old son loved reading about the ocean, Wild West pioneers and, of course, the X-Men, she combined his interests and created the premise for a story that kept her up nights plotting and world-building.
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The Book That...
Robert Lloyd Parry: The Book I Would Like To Be Buried With…
This special twentieth Bury Me… features grand panjandrum and actor Robert Lloyd Parry, the man behind the Nunkie Theatre Company, responsible for many an uneasy evening with the master of English supernatural stories…
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The Bookgeeks Competition
The Richard T. Kelly Column
Richard T. Kelly
Richard T. Kelly’s exclusive monthly column, in which he addresses various matters literary, writers and their books, the publishing business and his own experiences as a writer. Richard is a novelist, screenwriter, biographer and journalist, and you can read his column exclusively on our sister site, Bookhugger.co.uk.Connect with Bookgeeks
Bookgeek Chic
