Interview With Author Christopher Shoust
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was trained as a journalist and worked across Canada for many newspapers over 15 years. During that time I have written many novels about the somewhat surreal nature of having to be a nomadic wanderer in that career. One such novel was published in 2013 called The Beggar. The second was published in 2025 called In The Western Night. Several other novels are in the process of being polished.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
In The Western Night is my latest book. It is somewhat of an incredible story as much of surrounds a kind of perfect storm of uncertainty and terrible circumstances. But the main character ends up finding hope in all of these most desperate situations.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually write while watching old movies, using only certain pens but other than that, nothing is too out of the ordinary.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I tend to learn from a lot of what I read even if it is poorly written or of the highest quality of the craft. But what got me writing was I suppose, two people that wrote together but were very different: Kerouac and Ginsberg. Both had ways of gripping people and that is what I loved and still love. But one was a poetic novelist. The other was a prosetic poet.
What are you working on now?
I am working on another book that I have been crafting and honing over the last 20 years about the prairies.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
www.losttelegrampress.ca
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Have a day job. Learn how to fix your own vehicle. Learn how to live on very little.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In the context of writing there have been so many… this is too broad a question to answer.
What are you reading now?
Down and out in Paris and London by George Orwell.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I can’t see into the future.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Leaves of Grass. The Great Gatsby. The Trial.
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