Today for 12 Days of Bookmas, I have had the pleasure of interview Graham Parke, the author of No Hope for Gomez!
1) How did you choose being an author for your career?
I don’t think many people sit down to make a career choice and come up with ‘author’. Much like the number of enthusiasts for a vacancy as torture victim are, I suspect, quite low. In both lines of business, if I may call them that, it’s very much a matter of not having much choice about the matter. Being an author simply means you were born with an affliction. Most children, when they learn to read and write, develop an immediate immunity to needing to put their ideas to paper. They understand inherently that nothing good is likely to come of it and more healthy pursuits are to be found aplenty. They realize that there is no intrinsic value to a witty turn of phrase or a hearty one-liner.
‘Authors’ never really evolve past this point. No matter how fruitless their struggles, they never quite figure out how _not_ to write. This condition has yet to be recognized by the medical community.
2) No Hope For Gomez came out in February 2010, what is the book about?
It's the age-old tale: Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Girl already has a stalker. Boy becomes her stalker-stalker.
We've seen it all before, many times, but this time it's different. If only slightly.
3) How did you come up with the plot of NHFG?
I have two ways of approaching a plot. I start out writing a story that I think is interesting, but at that time I have no real details, just vague ideas of where a story might be headed (which often prove to be wrong, if not entirely naïve.) As I get to know the characters and the story better, a different plot comes about more or less organically. This way I can still surprise myself with little twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. In my estimation, that’s roughly one-fifth of the fun of writing.
4) Do you ever use any of your life experiences in your books?
Not really. My life is too boring for that. I do use a lot of my frustrations, though. Things that tick me off and that I can do nothing about, I can have my characters deal with them swiftly and successfully. From mundane problems such as noisy neighbours, to the darker realms of my incessant bad luck. It can make good cannon fodder.
5) Do you have any tips for the inspiring writer?
Of course. Don’t do it. Get out while you still can; get medical attention! After all, I really don’t need the competition.
6) Do you have anything you want to say to you readers/fans?
Yes. I know what the appendix is actually for.
You can read a free chapter of No Hope for Gomez here!
Peace and Fangs,
Alisha
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