Interview With Author JOHN DONKEYPLONK
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I recently retired after a long life doing various things, but mostly as a career civil servant. I have just released my novel, “Prepare for the Zargian Delegation!” on Amazon. Writing is something which I did every day, but it wasn’t until I no longer had to do that, that I realised that I loved it as well. So now writing – and all the stuff associated with it – is what fills the majority of my time, although I did find a couple of spare months recently to be a Father Christmas in a shopping centre!
Although this is the first novel I have written, I have three others which are in various stages of preparedness. My first one, a psychological thriller, I have put to one side whilst I do some more work on it, but hopefully it will one day see the light of day. This is my second; my third is another quirky tale of a mysterious illness affecting a nursing home and how the feisty oldies defeat it. I have just got all the reviewer feedback in and am about to start editing. My fourth I am doing the pre-review edit on; more about that below. But it’s going to be pretty quirky! And I feel that quirkiness is my genre; some of my books are funnier than others, others have more of a mystery feel – but it is the quirk that unites them!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book which I have just released is “Prepare for the Zargian Delegation”. A satirical romp through the civil service mindset, it features a diverse group of civil servants who are called together to prepare for the arrival of a delegation of beings from the Planet Zarg. I use that threat as a way of poking fun at the public service mindset, and some ex-colleagues who reviewed it say they found it both hilarious and alarmingly accurate!
What inspired it? Just the need to combine the absurd with the everyday and the wish to give readers a good laugh. We could all do with that nowadays!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I am quite methodical. I spend a lot of the time mapping out the plot and making a rough framework of chapters before I actually start writing. I find that works best for me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I suppose Jasper Fforde is the nearest comparison I can make to my own work, in particular, “The Constant Rabbit”. But I like all sorts of stuff and I don’t walk into the bookstore with a preconceived idea of what I will work out with. I recently enjoyed two very different books; “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Isghiguro, and “The Sisters Brothers” by Patrick de Witt. I think that whatever you read has an influence, although you may not fully realise it at the time. I read a lot of SF as a teenager and I think that still has influence although I no longer read it nowadays.
What are you working on now?
A quirky novel about a regular guy who thinks he is a vampire but isn’t sure. He is fascinated by the bats that roost at the bottom of the garden and is deeply disturbed when a planning application is submitted to demolish the roost and build a community facility and apartments. He galvanises his local community to oppose it, but he is also looking for love and has a series of hilarious dates – using a website called “Weird and Wonderful” – with vampires and therians. So the book is really a tale of a quest for self-discovery; both in terms of where he belongs and in terms of his love life.
I am currently putting the final touches to it before running past a panel of vampires and therians – mostly US based – to check for technical accuracy.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am new to promoting on websites, so I will get back to you later on that one! But I also think more traditional methods have their place. I see civil servants as a key market for “Prepare for the Zargian Delegation” so I am off to London soon to distribute leaflets in their workplaces, and pubs and cafes where they go for recreation. I also intend to distribute leaflets in the local library and some shops in my area.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am not sure they want advice from someone who has only been doing this a few days and has sold a handful of books!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Live long and die a good colour”. It was my grandmother’s saying.
What are you reading now?
“Brat” by Gabriel Smith.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To finalise – either issue or shelve – the three novels that I have in the pipeline. I am a member of the Sheffield Writers Workshop and I may use their resources a bit more, particularly in terms of critical review and concept/structure editing. I may not produce write much new stuff in the next few months, but I have another novel mapped out. I intend to start it when the time is right but it will require a lot of research – it involves people trafficking and some of the victims are from Albania, so I may have to visit there.
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?
A couple of Jasper Fforde’s books that I have not yet read, and a good George Eliot novel – possibly “The Mill on the Floss.”
Author Websites and Profiles
JOHN DONKEYPLONK Amazon Profile
JOHN DONKEYPLONK’s Social Media Links
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