How would you describe your style of writing to someone that has never read your work?
A modern-day ‘pulp fiction writer,’ fast-paced storytelling that is engaging, amusing, entertaining, and at times enlightening. I have many influences, from Hunter S Thompson to Arthur Conan Doyle. Yet the two authors that were the reference points for Tales from The Foxes of Foxham were Kenneth Grahame (Wind in The Willows) and L. Frank Baum (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz). Their writing style draws you into a magical adventure, be it Toad getting arrested or Dorothy on the yellow brick road. For my first novel, A Crafty Cigarette – Tales of a Teenage Mod, my key reference authors were Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) and Joe R. Lansdale (Hap and Leonard), as their first-person narrative, whether it is Tom Sawyer or Hap Collins, is like hearing the character speak to you. That is what I emulated for my debut novel; I made the book read like a teenager is talking to you. My second novel, The Magnificent Six in Tales of Aggro, an anthology set in West London, I turned to Martina Cole (British Crime writer) and Robert Bloch (Psycho), as there is an urban underbelly theme to this book. Yet the list is long of influence and inspiration for all three of my novels, yet I find it good practice to immerse myself with books of a similar style and genre when writing.
Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?
A combination of both. I never suffer from writer’s block as such. Yet, some days, I will be more productive and creative than others. I do find the first ten minutes is the ‘acid test,’ as I can be easily distracted. Then once I start writing, it does begin to flow naturally, and I am in the zone.
What mindset or routine do you feel the need to set when preparing to write (in general whether you are working on a project or just free writing)?
I create a timetable and schedule for research and writing with self-imposed deadlines. I am well organised, due to running an online magazine. So I am accustomed to allocating time to a specific project, and I am willing to miss a ‘social gathering’ if a job needs to be completed. Regarding Tales from The Foxes of Foxham, I drafted the outlines of the first 12 chapters by hand. Then I copied the text onto a spreadsheet, with columns for word count and status. As mentioned earlier, I turn to books for influence. For the Foxes of Foxham, I binged on TV shows, like Once Upon a Time, The Twilight Zone, Luna Nera, Always a Witch, The Animals of Farthing Wood, ITV’s Wind in The Willows (1980s), and many more.
Films I watched to get me into the mood to pen The Foxes of Foxham were Universal films Frankenstein and Dracula, loads of Hammer Horror films, The Phantom Tollbooth, Zootropolis, Paddington 1 and 2; again, there is a vast list. Then I turned to research the folklore of Norfolk, as much of the book is set there. I took two holidays to Norfolk to take photos and get inspiration. In Tales from The Foxes of Foxham, there is fantasy, magic, horror, witchcraft, anthropomorphic foxes fighting the good fight, adventure, and outlining social issues like prejudice and animal cruelty, two things I strongly oppose. It might sound that it was full-on, yes it was, but fun. Yet, I did find time to watch sports, hang out with friends, and such. I always have a balance, and as a rule, I don’t write after 10.00 PM; that is movie time!
Do you take your character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character all the way through to the page? Do you people watch to help with development? Or do you build upon your character during story creation?
Yes, I do take the character prep to heart, as the development is an emotional one. Along chapters for Tales from The Foxes of Foxham, I wrote a list of characters and their traits. I gave this to Andy Catling, the illustrator, I gave him carte blanche. He gave the characters life, more than I did, as he got my vision. A good example is Alberto Bandito, the young fox from Naples, who The Witches of Benevento want to sacrifice. His original draft was exactly how I saw Alberto in my mind’s eye. Getting the draft and the final copy from Andy, was as exciting to me as seeing Italy scoring a winning goal in a football game, or hearing the band of my youth, The Jam’s new single. There was pure passion and understanding between Andy and me, a creative friendship, that I am sure will grow and grow.
Regarding the writing of Tales from The Foxes of Foxham’s characters they developed as I was writing them, and some of them change their course. Like Carlotta, the good witch, who saves Alberto, originally, she was going to be killed off in Chapter five or six, as a bad witch. Then I saw that she would make a great hero, for she is young, hip, beautiful and finds the right path. There was going to be a human, male, who saves Alberto, but sadly, he was not written into the book, and replaced by Carlotta. Most of the characters in this book are total and utter figments of my imagination, however some real historical people do make a brief cameo. For the characters in A Crafty Cigarette, and The Magnificent Six in Tales of Aggro, I drew a lot of inspiration from family, friends and foes.
Do you have a character that you have been working on that you can't wait to put to paper?
Presto, a fox magician, who wears the traditional black top hat and a cape with red lining, carries a silver-topped black cane and drives a yellow Edwardian roadster, similar to the car, Bessie, that Jon Pertwee drove when he was Dr Who. A fox wizard that is a mixture of good and bad.
Presto lives in Sardinia and earns a living performing magic tricks around the island, and occasionally he will pickpocket the unsuspecting tourists. Whether the Foxes of Foxham go to Sardinia, or he goes to Foxham, I haven’t got that far, but he will appear in the sequel.
Can you share your next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?
Even though I have a follow up to Tales from The Foxes of Foxham in mind. I have a book written many years ago on the hard drive, about a commedia dell'arte troupe led by a clown that try to bring down a totalitarian regime in renaissance Florence, which I would like to bring out. I would certainly do a follow up to A Crafty Cigarette, and another London theme anthology. Yet I want to spend at least the next six to eight months, pushing Tales from The Foxes of Foxham. Then April next year, I will review my next writing project.
What are some of your publishing goals for this year?
ZANI, which is my website for popular and counterculture, has published other books; A.G.R‘s thriller trilogy, The 7PS, one and two are already out. Paolo Sedazzari’s Feltham Made Me is a witty coming of age story about three Feltham friends in the 1970s and 1980s. Dean Cavanagh’s humorous, brutal, poignant, and philosophical novel, The Secret Life of The Novel and Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh’s Performers, staged at the Edinburgh Festival in 2017 about the cult film from the 1960s, Performance. Yes, Irvine Welsh has published a book with ZANI.
We are bringing out Jason Disley’s The Desired Article: A Concise Look At Style. Fashion. Articles written by my friend, Jason, an author and poet on ZANI last summer, were well received, so Jason and I thought, let’s do the book. We plan to go to market by the end of 2021.
If you could have dinner/dinner party with 7 fictional characters, who would they be?
Winston Smith from 1984, just to see how he is doing. Hazel, the rabbit, from Watership Down, I am sure he could spin a yarn or two. Tom Ripley, I would be careful not to upset him, yet I am sure I would find his conversation uplifting. Toad from Toad Hall, I know he will be a laugh at the table. Dorothy Gale would add magic to the dinner party. Irene Adler, the strong-minded woman, who outwitted Sherlock Holmes, her conversation would be intelligent and full of insight. Long John Silver, a guest who will give the dinner party an edge. Seeing Long John Silver having a drunken argument with Toad would be out of this world. The food choice would be French cuisine in a Tudor mansion-style dining room, just like Cluedo or Clue, as you say in the USA.
Where would you spend one full year, if you could go Anywhere, money is not a concern? What would you do with this time?
Italy, from top to bottom, by foot, train, boat and bike. I wouldn’t be fussed over accommodation, as long as it is basic and clean. As most of the time, I will be exploring, seeing the culture, from football to art galleries, learning the language and sampling the food. Being half Italian, I have been there many times, from Sardinia to Rome. Yet to have 12 months there, would be a dream come true, and a possibility, if I get a number one international best seller.
And oh, I wouldn’t post anything on social media, until the year was over!
Is it possible to meet the right person at the wrong time?
