Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Manchester, England and get up to all sorts of nonsense. Writing keeps me out of trouble … most of the time. ‘FAT Girlfriend’ was written alongside working extremely long hours during my employment at Citi Group and other fantastically exciting financial institutions that have been lucky enough to employ me – every one of them said they were very sad to terminate my contract. All proceeds go to a charity called ‘Georgia’s Children of the World’, and every penny they receive goes directly to the children who need it in Cambodia, Romania and the UK – nobody takes anything in wages. We’ve just finished our annual music festival which saw me putting on 16 bands and raising around £20,000. Music is my other love, and there are quite a few hidden and not so hidden musical references in FAT Girlfriend.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Sixty Thousand Muppets’ is due out in July 2016. This is a novella and collection of short stories which are almost entirely not about soccer. Well, at least that’s how it started … it’s true that soccer does burst into each story now and again, but this book is about life and the culture, music, and lunacy that goes around the supporting of a sports team, not the sport itself. Anyone can read it. Well, not anyone – a basic grasp of the English language is somewhat of a pre-requisite. In fact, the more basic, the better.
If you like to laugh, enjoy a good story and don’t take life too seriously, then this is for you. Or not – read it and tell me. Thank you for taking the time to read about the author and my work – it is more than appreciated. If you liked it, please tell others via the Amazon Kindle Review page – it may make my next redundancy easier to take.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not allowed to discuss it in public. Let’s just say that I have to have the blinds drawn when writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favourite US author is probably Carl Hiaasen – I love his wit and his irreverence, and the depths of his characters stay with you long after you’ve forgotten the story itself. I have a resonance with his themes as well, and whilst the rivers and canals of Manchester will have very little resemblance to the Quays of Florida, we would all like a less polluted place to live in.
Northern Irish author Colin Bateman has a similar acidic wit, memorable characters and gritty story lines. Both these authors prove you can deal with difficult subject matter and still find comedy in them.
I could name a thousand more authors who have had a direct bearing on my writing, but if I can choose one more it would be Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and other ridiculous stories. Douglas had his own ‘better world’ themes, but his books are some of the funniest I’ve ever read, and I have no problem re-reading them at any opportunity. Life can be tough sometimes – it’s great to lose yourself in something funny for a while.
What are you working on now?
Wondering if I can stay in a paid job long enough to finish off Sixty Thousand Muppets.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll let you know when I’ve found it. So far my most successful method is threatening people in the street to buy it.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes – avoid giving advice to new authors.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
‘If a man can’t change the world these days, I still believe a man can change his own destiny.’ The Alarm, Spirit of ’76.
What are you reading now?
I’ve just finished The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson. There aren’t too many laughs in it, but it’s a brilliant and terrible story set in North Korea. People who reviewed it said that they kept putting it down because some of the subject matter is so frightening (more so because it will be very close to the truth), but then going back to it because it’s just so good.
What’s next for you as a writer?
It will be a novel, it will be humorous and it will probably result in me getting sacked from at least three jobs during the writing of it.
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?
I would cheat and and bring the Hitchhiker’s ‘Trilogy’, as there are five books in that alone. After that it would probably be Robinson Crusoe and ‘How to get off a desert island for Dummies’.
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