Before concluding his travels, James is here today at the Hearthfire to answer some questions about his work:
You were a teacher before
becoming a full-time writer, which is not that unusual a past career for
an author (and not specifically for children's authors). Why do you think
that is? For you, how does writing YA compare to teaching?
I suppose the answer is twofold.
On one hand, they’re both incredibly creative professions (or they CAN be if
you’re teaching well). The best part of being a teacher for me was coming up
with madcap ideas for what we were going to teach and how – it’s a shame that
the current government wants to squeeze the fun out of teaching and learning.
Secondly, teachers are surrounded
by children’s literature and you can’t help but be inspired by that. I suppose
if you’re in a position of being an authority on how to write, it figures that
you’d imagine you’re quite good at it (like a writing megalomaniac!)
Hollow Pike is shot through with the idea of witches and there's clearly an interesting history there. What kind of research did you do into witchcraft to write Hollow Pike? Are there any cool facts you picked up that didn't make it into the book?
An earlier version of Hollow Pike
would have centred around Ley Lines rather than witchcraft. Ley Lines are
supposed channels of energy that flow under the earth. Areas with a high
abundance of Ley Lines are said to be hotbeds of mystical energy and that is
how the kids of Hollow Pike would have developed their abilities. In the end
though, witches are just more fun and the Pendle case proved irresistible.
Earlier this year, you were the first man to be nominated Queen of Teen, which brought some interesting press coverage. What were the highlights of that experience for you? Are there any 'lowlights'?
The Queen of Teen was such a
great experience – man do they know how to throw a party! I was proud to be
nominated because the Queen of Teen organisers were keen to show it wasn’t a
‘girls only’ affair and that pink is for everyone. There was some fuss when the
nominations were announced but, if I’m honest, I thought it was pretty
hilarious. Some critics didn’t like that a bloke was stealing attention from
female authors, but these were the same critics who hated it being a ‘girly’
award. The poor organisers couldn’t win whatever they did.
With the Queen of Teen, you just
have to enter into the spirit of it. Male or female, the day IS pink and
light-hearted and stereotypical, even if that’s not altogether PC. It was
designed as a remedy to stuffy awards ceremonies and there’s something quite
punk about the whole day. It’s two fingers up to the establishment. More
importantly, it gives readers a chance to vote for THEIR favourite books – not
the books critics tell them they should like. On a final note, the winning
author, Maureen Johnson, is a million miles away from being pink and fluffy, so
that speaks for itself really!
I've seen several interviews already asking about your writing practice, now that you're a full-time writer. I note that you are very professional and organised about the whole thing (no lying-in until noon, for example). So, there really aren't any strange writing habits you could share with us? No rituals or routines to help you get down to writing?
This is such a boring answer, but
no! I wake up, eat breakfast, shower and write. Actually I do eat constantly on
the orders of my personal trainer. Actually, that’s still quite boring isn’t
it? Writing is my job. I keep office hours. I’m sorry I’m not more flouncy and
artistic!
Well, I suppose we can forgive you :) Thank you so much for answering my questions - and for producing such a fabulous read!
Great interview. Interesting that you found witches more fun than ley lines. I'm fascinated by both. There's nothing wrong with writing 9 to 5. I've added Hollow Pike to my tbr list.
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