Christopher Currie - Author Interview Series

So did you hear about the author who proposed to his girlfriend in the acknowledgements page of his debut novel? You did? Well you should enjoy this interview...

Brisbane writer and bookseller Christopher Currie's debut novel The Ottoman Motel by TEXT Publishing is available now!

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

I was fortunate to grow up in a book-loving household, so I couldn't actually tell you when I first discovered books; they were always there. Whenever I go back to my parents' house, there is a shelf of my favourite books as a child. Enid Blyton was an early favourite (my collection of hardback Noddy books is still formidable). Roald Dahl was my favourite author next (I even went to school dressed as Mr Twit for Book Week), and then I moved on to C.S. Lewis, becoming deeply obsessed with the Narnia series for a long time. As well, I probably read more British mystery stories than a young person should, as my parents were both big readers of people like Ruth Rendell and PD James (and they are not the type of people who throw out books). By the time I had a library card, the list had become too long and diverse to mention!

When did you first realise you were a writer? What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

My journey to being "a writer" is a bit of an upside-down one. I had always enjoyed writing stories is school, first as a bunch of sentences put together as an excuse to draw pictures above them (grades 1-3), then the starts of many epic planned fantasy trilogies copied into exercise books (grades 4-7), then surreal Douglas Adams-inspired musings on a typewriter (grades 8-10), but had never really considered it anything more than fun. I took a lot of science subjects through high school, with a vague plan of becoming someone who travelled to remote islands off South America to tag albatross colonies (I was a little obsessed with nature documentaries), but as I progressed through my studies, it made me realise that a scientific life wasn't for me. I changed tack at the last minute, enrolled in a creative writing course, and it was the best decision of my life.

As to what I want readers to "take away" from my book, I'm not quite sure. While it's true that any writer who tells you they don't write for an audience is seriously misguided (if you don't expect to be read, then what are you writing for?), I just want people to enjoy reading what I've written. I want them to feel the mood I'm trying to evoke, take pleasure in something I've explained or obscured, but most importantly engage their own imagination.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your ‘writer’ microscope?

I think the only types of books that come under my writerly microscope are the truly bad ones. That is why I'll never be a good editor. Working as a bookseller, I read a lot, good and bad, but can safely say that if I'm reading a really good book I'm not thinking "How did they do that?" because far apart from being a writer, I am a reader who really appreciates the act of reading. By the same token, I know a lot of writers say that one of the best exercises you can do is find a passage of writing you love and copy it out, to see how the author did it. Maybe I'll try that one day!

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

When I was in the middle of my first (virtually complete) rewrite of The Ottoman Motel last year, I certainly did have to avoid reading. I have a short attention span at the best of times, but having to control the lives and trajectories of my major characters while letting in more who weren't involved in the narrative I was building was too much to ask. More than that, I guess, I do tend to be influenced stylistically by other authors. As I mentioned about the types of writing I did during school, you can really draw a direct line between what I was reading and what I was writing. And while you'd hope that by the time your first novel came out, you had your "writing voice" down pat, this is far from the case. Some of my favourite authors (George Saunders, David Foster Wallace, Cormac McCarthy) are heavily stylists, and I definitely have to avoid them when I'm writing, as I start to (consciously or unconsciously) ape their styles and themes.

Name five authors or books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - Roald Dahl (showed me how short stories could be just as good as novels).
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families - Philip Gourevitch (let me realise just how powerful and important writing can be).
Brighton Rock - Graham Greene (taught me how to write dialogue)
Of A Boy - Sonya Hartnett (inspired me to write The Ottoman Motel)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape - Peter Hedges (the book that has meant the most to me)

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

There are only two books I re-read regularly: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt, so probably one of those. Running a close third would be the best book I've ever read while travelling: The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.

What makes a book ‘too good to put down’?

If I knew that, I'd already be on a royalty-funded yacht sipping champagne with Dan Brown, J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer. It's one of those true intangibles that I don't think anyone is truly able to explain. Even the words "too good" to put down may be misleading, thinking about those names I just mentioned (zing!). From my experience, books that I couldn't put down can mean anything from sublime poetic prose (Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter), to that "just one more page and then I'll go to bed" syndrome (Dan Chaon's Await Your Reply) to "if I finish this in one sitting I won't have to leave the world I'm in" (Daniel Woodrell's Winter's Bone).

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

Describing the character's appearance in detail on the first page. Needing to use a new verb every time you attribute dialogue. Showing off. Sterotyping. Being unoriginal. Not thinking about the importance of every sentence. Underestimating your reader.

Do you have a favourite author? Who is it and what is it about their writing that draws you to them?

I've probably mentioned a lot of my favourite authors already. But favourite as in someone who I read everything and anything they write: Graham Greene, Ian McEwan, Donna Tartt, David Mitchell, George Saunders. And many more.

What was your 2010 ‘best read’? What was it that made it number one?

Don't ask a bookseller that! I can hardly remember the book I'm reading at the moment! I can remember that the last book I read in 2010, just before Christmas, was Lev Grossman's incredibly clever and addictive fantasy novel The Magicians. I also read In Cold Blood for the first time in 2010. Wow.

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods – eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there’s a future for print books?

As in the debate between "Literature" and "Popular Fiction", I think pitting non-traditional and traditional publishing against each other is not only wrong but detrimental to both. Whatever way you can find that lets people enjoy books and reading is fine by me. Even as the popularity and take-up of ebooks increases, there will always be a market for print books. The book industry (authors, publishers, agents and booksellers) will just have to find the best way to adjust their practices to adapt to the new idea of what a book is. Let's face it, as long as we're talking about books, they're still relevant.

Chris's 'novel' proposal has gotten worldwide attention. See the CBS News interview here.

Chris Morphew - Author Interview Series

The Phoenix Files: Underground, the fourth title in Chris Morphew's popular series, is due out in May.

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

My parents read to me long before I could read to myself, and had excellent taste in kids’ books (A.A. Milne, Beatrix Potter, Alison Lester...) When I first started reading on my own, I developed a bit of a non-fiction obsession (six-year-old Chris was often seen lugging children’s encyclopaedias to school for silent reading time). Then came Roald Dahl, Colin Dann’s The Animals of Farthing Wood series – and then Animorphs, my great introduction to the world of sci-fi and serialised storytelling.

When did you first realise you were a writer? What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

I’ve written stories for as long as I can remember, but I was always hesitant to label myself a “writer” until I was actually doing it with some kind of consistency. I still do a bit of a double-take whenever I walk into a bookstore and see something I wrote sitting on a shelf among all the real books.

One of the incredible privileges you have as a storyteller is getting to hold up a mirror to the real world and let others see it in a new light. The world of The Phoenix Files is a dark and broken place, but it’s a place where the darkness and the brokenness do not have the last word. I’d love for readers to come away with some sense – or some hope, even – that that could be true of our world as well.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your ‘writer’ microscope?

I certainly read differently now that I’m a writer. I’m quicker to notice clunky storytelling and dodgy prose – but I’m also slower to criticise these things, because I know how hard they are to get right! Sometimes all of that falls away, though. I think the sign that I’m really enjoying a book is when I stop analysing it and just enjoy the story.

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

Usually I work the other way – I will quite often read within the genre I’m writing, just to see what else is out there, and to make sure I’m not inadvertently doing something that’s already been done.

Name five authors or books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way.

J.K. Rowling has probably taught me more about plot and character than any other writer I’ve read. I don’t know that I’ve ever been more invested in the fates of fictional characters than I was when I read the Harry Potter series for the first time.

C.S. Lewis has an incredible ability to infuse his stories with a kind of awe and wonder that makes the universe seem more beautiful and profound to me than it did before I started reading. I don’t know if I’m capable of writing like that, but I’m more than willing to give it a shot!

K.A. Applegate/Michael Grant, the authors of the Animorphs series, kept me completely engrossed in a book-a-month series for about four years in high school. I can’t pretend the books were high-brow literary fiction, but I’m sure they’ve influenced my own writing more than I even realise.

Don Miller is one of my favourite non-fiction authors. He’s written quite a bit about the connections between story and life, which has really helped to crystallise some of my ideas about the way I approach my writing.

I have a love/hate relationship with Stephen King’s writing. The journey is always so compelling, but I’m often frustrated by the destination.

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

The Bible, because it’s the only genuinely life-changing book I’ve ever read. Or, if I was restricted to fiction, probably The Stand by Stephen King, because it’s a massive brick and I keep meaning to read it but haven’t got around to it yet.

What makes a book ‘too good to put down’?

Characters I can care about, a plot that feels like it’s headed somewhere, an ending I don’t see coming, and something to make me think, without telling me what to think.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

Usually some combination of the opposites of a too-good-to-put-down book.

Do you have a favourite author? Who is it and what is it about their writing that draws you to them?

It’s a toss-up between J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis, for the reasons I talked about above.

If you had to list them, what would be your ‘top ten’ reads of all time (excluding the classics) and why?

Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate
Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
The Reason for God by Timothy Keller
The Red Tree by Shaun Tan
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell

This is a pretty eclectic mix – everything from theology to picture books to trashy science fiction novels. It’s probably not a strictly accurate top ten, but it’s as close as I could get, and it does encapsulate something of the scope of what I like to read.

What was your 2010 ‘best read’? What was it that made it number one?

My favourite novel of 2010 was probably Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness. Pulling off a really satisfying ending to a trilogy or series is a huge challenge (one that I’ll be staring down the barrel of myself in the coming months), and I think Ness managed to tie everything together brilliantly.

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods – eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there’s a future for print books?

We’ve already seen how the internet has democratised the distribution of music and video through services like iTunes and YouTube, and I think we’re going to see something similar happen in the book industry. There will still be a place for print books and traditional publishing, but where these have generally been the only viable (or at least the most viable) means of distributing books, I think they’ll be increasingly seen as just one of a broader and more accessible range of options for people looking to get their content out there. Whatever happens, writers will keep writing, readers will keep reading... and I’m happy to just wait and see about the rest.

Born in 1985, Chris Morphew spent his childhood writing stories about dinosaurs and time machines. More recently he has written 12 titles for the best-selling Zac Power series, and is now working on The Phoenix Files, his first series for young adults. Chris lives in Sydney, where he balances his time between writing and casual teaching. He thinks talking about himself in the third person makes him sound like a tool.

To find out more visit Chris's Blog at http://chrismorphew.com/

Sean Williams - Author Interview Series

Sean Williams' latest book is Troubletwisters, which he co-wrote with Garth Nix. The book is due out in May, published by Allen & Unwin.

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

I discovered a voracious love for books when I was very young. I would literally read anything that was lying around --trashy old pulps, my mother’s Agatha Christie Novels, even Alex Haley’s Roots (which I remember reading when I was about nine or ten). I also loved Doctor Who, so it wasn’t long before I was reading the novelizations of the show, and I still have my collection after all these years. I even read one of them recently. Other books I still read from those early days are the Le Guin Earthsea trilogy, Alan Garner’s Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising sequence, and John Christopher’s Tripods novels. My family moved to Darwin when I was 11 or so, and the local library had a terrific collection of Golden Age SF, so it was then that I discovered my great love of the genre. And then, when I was 12, someone gave me The Lord of the Rings. After that point, there was no going back.

When did you first realise you were a writer? What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

I started telling stories when I was about nine years old, as my Creative Writing exercise books from that time reveal. They’re not very good, but the desire is there--to take a lead from the stuff I’d been reading and create my own plots, characters, settings, etc. I guess the desire was in me from that moment, to be a writer, and I wrote a bunch of novels in my teens, driven by that desire. But I didn’t decide that I would give it a concerted effort until I was 22 or thereabouts, when I dropped out of uni, got a bunch of part-time jobs, and really went for it. The plan was to sell a novel within ten years, or I’d have to give it up. Such was my desperation not to give up, it took me only five.

I hope that my readers will find my books impossible to put down, and that they will be left with something that changes them--be that an idea they’ve never encountered before, a glimpse into a character who challenges them, or even just an emotional aftertaste--hopefully a positive one.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your ‘writer’ microscope?

I’m very critical. Books have to grab me on the first page or I don’t read any further. When books do grab me, I’m a very willing reader, and I love nothing better than to be swept away. Sometimes both the reader and the writer in me gasp in awe, and books that do that are the holy grail. If only there were more of them.

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

I’m definitely influenced by the books I read--on every level, from word choice to theme--so I’m careful only to read books that contribute to the work I’m trying to produce. It’s not always a direct match--YA novels while writing YA, or SF while writing SF, or whatever. When I wrote The Force Unleashed a few years back, for instance, I was reading nineteenth century Gothic novels. I can’t put my finger on what I was getting out of them, but whatever it was, it was working.

Name five authors or books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way?

Larry Niven--for pacing, style, balancing characters against hard SF.
Tim Powers--for magic systems, process, voice.
Patrick O’Brian--for proving that as long as you’re being entertaining and effective, every rule can be broken.
Kevin J Anderson--for early (and ongoing) advice on how to be a professional writer.
Anne McCaffery--for romance, non-fantasy dragons, and graciousness at all times.

I could go on for pages.

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

I had to come up with a Top Ten recently, and that was hard. Just one is impossible! *reaches for ten-sided dice* A Wizard of Earthsea. I read that book every year. Pure genius.

What makes a book ‘too good to put down’?

Everything: characters, plot, setting, theme, structure, voice, etc. When it’s all working together, all chugging along in perfect sync, it becomes better than the real world. Literally. The real world doesn’t have an author or editor making sure that everything fits; it’s just random, messy, disappointing. Who wouldn’t take a good book over that?

There’s only one thing better than a book that’s too good to put down and that’s a book too good to finish. I’m halfway through O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin sequence, and have been for a while because I just don’t want it to end.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

It can be bad science in a book purporting to be take itself seriously. It can be the wrong tone when dealing with a subject I hold dear. It can be overt and uncritical religiosity. It can be graphic sex that feels like it was written by a 12-year old. It can be a grammatical error, or even just a quirk that gets on my nerves. It can be anything, basically, that lifts me out of the book and puts me back into the real world--because that’s not the contract I entered into. I read a book to be transported elsewhere, not to be reminded of myself holding a book that isn’t gripping me.

Do you have a favourite author? Who is it and what is it about their writing that draws you to them?

For a long time, my favourite author was Robert Anton Wilson, because he juggled more or less successfully a whole bunch of things that are very difficult to do individually, let alone all at once--including humour, sex, memorable characters, concision, non-linear narratives, outrageous allegories, scientific rigour, and mind-blowing ideas. His Schrödinger’s Cat books got me through adolescence, and to a large degree made me who I am today. I couldn’t say that he influenced me as a writer--I don’t think I’m brave enough to write the way he did--but without his books I don’t think I would have become a writer in the first place. He taught me that a little craziness is a good thing, and what could be crazier than dropping out of uni to become a writer?

If you had to list them, what would be your ‘top ten’ reads of all time (excluding the classics) and why?

Another hard question. And I guess it depends on what you define as a classic, since the very presence of a book on my list would qualify it as a classic, at least to me. :-) I’d have to go back to my Top Ten Desert Island novels, which are, in order by author:

Soul of a Robot by Barrington J Bailey
A Maze of Death by Philip K Dick
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
The Water-Method Man by John Irving
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin
Ringworld by Larry Niven
The Satanic Mill by Ottfried Preussler
The Schrödinger’s Cat Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson
The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham

To make it onto this list, I had to have read each book more than once. That I keep coming back to these books, over and over again, makes them timeless for me.

What was your 2010 ‘best read’? What was it that made it number one?

I’d probably put Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith in that spot. It wasn’t published in 2010, but that was when I encountered it. It’s a wonderful modern Gothic exploit, with a beautiful romantic arc as well. Everything’s on fire in this novel. I couldn’t fault a single word.

The other novels I really loved were the two released this year by Lee Child, 61 Hours and Worth Dying For. Jack Reacher is possibly the best male action character ever written. I just devour his books.

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods – eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there’s a future for print books?

I’ve been waiting for e-books for fifteen years, and I’m so glad they’re finally booming. It seems to me that book sales have to go up, now that books are easier to obtain and store, cheaper to buy, and completely portable. That doesn’t mean it’ll be good news all across the publishing sector, of course. The mass-market paperback seems to be a dead format, and I wouldn’t want to be running a big chain of bookstores right now, but I do think printed books will survive, and so will bookstores. There are markets in which digital isn’t likely to make huge inroads, like books for kids, cookbooks, and of course pop-up books, of which I am a big fan.

Sean Williams writes prolifically across the field of science fiction and fantasy, for adults, young adults and children, and enjoys the odd franchise, too, such as Star Wars and Doctor Who. His work has won awards, debuted at #1 on the New York Times hardback bestseller list, and been translated into numerous languages. He even writes the odd poem. Born in the dry, flat lands of South Australia, he still lives there with his wife and family, and DJs in his spare time.

Find out more about Sean at www.seanwilliams.com

Michael Pryor - Author Interview Series

Michael Pryor is the best-selling author of the Laws of Magic series. Hour of Need, the sixth and final book of the series, is due for release in May.

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

As a child, I was a hungry reader - and I still am. I read everything I could get my hands on, but I was particularly excited by fantasy books. CS Lewis was an important early find, and Tolkien's The Hobbit, but also books of folk tales from around the world, myths and legends, King Arthur and Robin Hood stories. I also loved Pooh, The Wind in the Willows and the great Enid Blyton.

When did you first realise you were a writer? What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

While I was at school I always thought I could write, and tell a story (they don't always go together) but I didn't really think about writing seriously until I was older, after I'd been teaching myself for ten years or so. After I had my first few short stories published I still didn't think of myself as a real writer, but when I had my first novel in my hands, that's when I thought that I was a true and proper author person. I hope people will enjoy reading my books - and want to read another one of mine. That might sound simple but I prize the quality of engagement in books. If a book doesn't engage it can't do anything else. It can't entertain, it can't amuse, it can't change someone's life if it has been put aside because it didn't engage.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your 'writer' microscope?

I can, and do, still read for pleasure but I find myself at times examining sentence structure, or word choice, or dialogue, either in admiration or with a shake of the head. I think about my writing deeply and I can't help but do that for other people's writing.

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

I can't read anything that's too close to what I'm writing. Currently, I'm writing in the steampunk mode, which means I can't read Scott Westerfeld's newest work, or Richard Harlan's. This is a pity because they both sound just like the sort of thing I like to read. When I'm writing historical or historical fantasy, however, I do a great deal of deliberate background reading to help me develop a style which is suitable to my current project. For instance, I read the complete Sherlock Homes stories before embarking on writing the first of The Laws of Magic series to help embed a sense of vocabulary and the rhythm of dialogue. Other reading is more deliberate research, but this osmotic method - where the language seeps in - is an important part of my writing method.

Name five authors of books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way.

Tolkien/Lord of the Rings - for showing me that made up stories could be grand, adventurous and moving. CS Lewis/Narnia - for showing me how our world and a fantasy world could be linked. Tim Powers/The Anubis Gates - for introducing me to Steampunk. Terry Pratchett/Discworld - for showing me that funny stories could still be serious. Robert Heinlein/his early stuff - for showing me the importance of story.

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

The Complete Works of Shakespeare. So much in one volume - romance, tragedy, comedy, with some of the greatest language ever to be spoken.

What makes a book 'too good to put down'?

Story. A book can have interesting characters and an intriguing location but if nothing happens then that book is all too easy to put down. A story must have a narrative drive, a compelling beat that makes the reader desperate to know what's going to happen next. Naturally, good characterisation and a strong sense of location are impotant and will help keep a reader interested, but the vital third leg of a good book is that narrative impulse.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

If it's boring. Life is too short for a boring book. Having said that, I find it's much easier to read a fat interesting book than a skinny boring book. I get impatient with pretentious writing where the author postures about, drawing attention to themselves, where characters moon about, contemplating things and where interior monologues masquerade as characterisation. I'd much rather lear about characters by what they do rather than by their thinking about what they'd like to do.

Do you have a favourite author? Who is it and what is it about their writing that draws you to them?

At the moment (and this changes the more I read) it's a toss up between Neal Stephenson and Tim Powers. I'll buy their next book, whatever it is they publish. Both of these writers are astoundingly inventive, astonishingly erudite and language craftsmen, but they never let any of this get in the way of telling a rattling good yarn.

If you had to list them, what would be your 'top ten' reads of all time (excluding the classics) and why?

The Lord of the Rings - Tolkien

The Cryptonomicon Neal Stephenson

The Baroque Cycle - Neal Stephenson

The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers

Declare - Tim Powers

Lord of Light Roger Zelazny

The Last Call - Tim Powers

Hyperion - Dan Simmons

Longitude - Dava Sobel

The Dying Earth - Jack Vance

All of these are in the basket that I call 'Literature of the Imagination'. They all have great and grand ideas. None of them are limited by the here and now. They all grapple with ideas that are timeless and of great consequence. They are thick with characters who are complex and fascinating, who face great moral, ethical and personal dilemmas. And they all have a sweeping, relentless narrative drive that hooks the reader early on, straps them in and takes them on one hell of a ride.

What was your 2010 best read? What was it that made it number one?

Anathem by Neal Stephenson. An epic story (900 odd pages) which brought together higher mathematics, philosophy, the fate of the human race, the ethics of engineering and the role of self-determination. A mind-expanding book.

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods - eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there's a future for print books?

I think print books and ebooks will exist side by side for the forseeable future. Ultimately though, the medium isn't important - the Story is.

Michael has published over twenty popular and critically acclaimed novels and more than forty short stories, and has over one million words in print. Along the way his work has been six times shortlisted for the Aurealis Award, shortlisted for the WAYBR Award, longlisted for an Inky Award and been five times listed as Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Books.

Find out more about Michael at http://www.michaelpryor.com.au/