Interview with Gerry Hunt

This week our ‘Five Questions with...’ features Gerry Hunt, writer and artist on Blood Upon the Rose: Easter 1916, the new graphic novel from O’Brien Press. Gerry is a retired architect, who took up creating graphic novels on his retirement, and has previously published In Dublin City and Streets of Dublin.

What are you working on at the moment?

I'm working on the comic I was drawing when O’Brien Press contacted me. It's a continuation of Streets of Dublin in which Johnny and his brother unearth some gold trinkets which Hughie pilfers thus bringing to life the Viking who was laid to rest with it. He is not a happy lad.

Who's the best new writer you've come across recently?

I haven't had a chance to check what is current for years but Frank Frazetta is my favourite artist and there is also Joe Coleman.

Do you have any peculiar rituals you do before you start writing?

I have to spend 20 minutes reading the sport on the daily to wake me up.

Do you have anything like a regular working day as a writer?

Yes, 3 hrs work before lunch and 4 hrs to whatever time it takes after. I work 6-7 days a week and I haven't had a holiday for years.

Who's your favourite literary character?

Bart Simpson. When I see that guy and I think of the elderly lady that does the voice I crack up.

If you could be anything else in the world, except a writer, what would it be?

I would go straight back to Architecture.

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Gerry will be signing copies of Blood Upon the Rose in Chapters Bookstore on Saturday 24th October at 3pm.

Interview with Dacre Stoker

On Wednesday 30th of September at 2.30pm we are delighted to have Dacre Stoker, great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, in Chapters to sign copies of his book Dracula: The Un-Dead, the first official sequel to Dracula itself. I took this opportunity to ask him a few questions about himself and the book.

Pádraig Ó Méalóid: What is Dracula: the Un-Dead about?

Dacre Stoker: Dracula: the Un-Dead is our way of reconnecting with original Dracula fans. We have picked up the story 25 years after Bram's novel ends. We have tried as best we can to utilize Bram's original characters in a similar manner as Bram would have with appropriate modernization.

From our website:

Written with the blessing and cooperation of Stoker family members, Dracula The Un-Dead begins in 1912, twenty-five years after Dracula "crumbled into dust." Van Helsing's protégé, Dr. Jack Seward, is now a disgraced morphine addict obsessed with stamping out evil across Europe. Meanwhile, an unknowing Quincey Harker, the grown son of Jonathan and Mina, leaves law school for the London stage, only to stumble upon the troubled production of "Dracula," directed and produced by Bram Stoker himself.

The play plunges Quincey into the world of his parents' terrible secrets, but before he can confront them he experiences evil in a way he had never imagined. One by one, the band of heroes that defeated Dracula a quarter-century ago is being hunted down. Could it be that Dracula somehow survived their attack and is seeking revenge? Or is there another force at work whose relentless purpose is to destroy anything and anyone associated with Dracula?

PÓM: Am I right in thinking that Dacre is an old Stoker family name? And how should we be pronouncing it?

DS: That is easy, Dacre is an old Stoker family name. I am named after a famous Irish cousin, who was my god father: Commander H H G Dacre Stoker, the first submariner to take his sub AE2 up the Dardanelles in WW1. It was fateful as it happened during the ill-fated campaign of Gallipoli. Once in the Sea of Marmara, the tiny sub was attacked and crippled, and instead of being taken by the enemy, the crew scuttled the sub, and were captured. Many more interesting Stories about H H G Dacre Stoker exist; Irish Croquet champion at age seventy-seven etc etc!

To remember the pronunciation, try ‘Acre’ like an acre of land and put a D in front. Or Day-Ker.

PÓM: Did you have to do a lot of research for the book?

DS: The research for the book was done in a few different ways. I personally went to the Rosnebach Museum in Philadelphia with my wife and spent a day carefully reading through all of Bram's hand written research notes that he compiled for writing Dracula. We were looking for things that he had known about and maybe intended to use in Dracula but were left out for some reason. This helped us decide upon the use of Inspector Cotford as a character in our book. Ian Holt and I also hired Alexander Galant, to do research into street maps, and other important details pertaining to historical accuracy of the period.

PÓM: Have you had the usual list of strange jobs that authors always seem to have had?

DS: I have been a school teacher and athletics coach for most of my life. Since I then I owned and managed an outdoor clothing and gear shop for 4 years. Presently I am the director of a land conservation organization, I also teach CPR, First Aid, and Blood-borne pathogens.

PÓM: Is there any interest in filming the book, or is it too early to say?

DS: That is something we are involved in at the moment, we have two routes to go, the independent and studio route. Right now we have significant interest from a few studios and a group putting together financing for an independent project.

PÓM: Dacre Stoker, thank you very much for your time.

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5 Questions with... Suzanne McLeod

This week, our ‘Five Questions with...’ features British writer Suzanne McLeod, author of the Spellcrackers.com series of urban fantasy books, which so far includes The Sweet Scent of Blood and The Cold Kiss of Death. Besides her website, Suzanne also regularly writes on her blog.

1: What are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on The Bitter Seed of Magic, Book 3 in my Spellcrackers.com urban fantasy series. Genny Taylor, the main character, has got an eighty-year-old curse to crack; a couple of relatives who turn up and present her with a challenging (and blood-splattered) problem; and at least one murder to solve. My books are set in London, and some of the most fun I have when writing (apart from devising interesting, magical ways to kill people, and putting my characters in difficult and horrific situations) is choosing which parts of the city to set my stories in. Of course, then I have to have a day out in London to do the research – my next trip will be to the Tower of London, with maybe a detour via the shops... It’s a hard life being a writer sometimes :- ).

2: Who’s the best new writer you’ve come across recently?

Sadly, I’m not reading a lot of new authors just now, as most of my free time is given over to my own writing. And when I do read, I tend to choose authors I love and am familiar with – I have quite a long list – and catch up with their newest books. But the one book which hooked me recently is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. By about two thirds of the way in, I ended up desperate to know how the main character was going to get out of the problem she was in. I’m eagerly waiting to find out what happens next in Catching Fire.

3: Do you have any peculiar rituals you do before you start writing?

I make a cup of tea, bow down before the writing gods and ask for inspiration, and plug my brain directly into the computer... OK, no just kidding. I do start with a cup of tea, then I have a tweak and edit of the previous session’s writing to get me back into the story, and then slowly make more words. I work either on the computer or the laptop, depending on where I am – I’ve written on trains and in airports from necessity – but I prefer to do most of my writing at home, where it’s quiet, and the kettle’s handy for more cups of tea. But if anyone knows where I can get that direct brain/computer link, please get in touch.

4: Who’s your favourite literary character?

I think it’s a close call between Bram Stoker’s Dracula (as if you couldn’t guess that from someone who writes about vampires) and the Phouka – a shapeshifting faerie – from Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks. He’s a wonderful character full of contradictions and internal conflicts who grows and changes along with a great fantasy story.

5: If you could be anything else in the world, besides a writer, what would it be?

I’d love to be able to play the saxophone and sing. Unfortunately, I never got to grips with music, and I can’t carry a tune. Luckily for everyone else, I know it, so no one will ever be subjected to my – really embarrassing – musical attempts.

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Graphic Novel, is it?

The Graphic Novel is the fastest growing literary form, but there has been mixed opinions about the term since it was first used in 1977 by Will Eisner to describe his A Contract with God. So, curious to see how the professionals felt about it, I asked sixteen assorted comics writers, artists, and publishers the same question: What's your opinion of the term 'Graphic Novel'?

Neil Gaiman said:

It is at moments like this Pádraig, that we remember what Dr Johnson said on the subject:

As far as I can tell, GRAPHIC NOVEL was a term coined by YAHOOS specifically to pester, irritate and lykewise get the GANDER of MASTER EDDIE CAMPBELL, such that SMALL BOYS and STREET URCHINS are said to shout it at him in the street (Viz, Here Comes Master Campbell, Have you written or drawn another Graphic Novel today?). Persons of QUALITY do not utter it, preferring such terms as BIG COMICAL BOOK ALL BOUNDEN TOGETHER WITH A THICK SPINE or even A COLLEXION OF PAGES WITH PICTURES AND WORDS PRINTED IN SUCH A WAY THAT BOOKESHOPPES CAN SELL THEM TO THEIR PROFIT.

Other, more serious, opinions can be found in this blogpost, from people like Bryan Talbot, David Lloyd, and Dave McKean.

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5 Questions With...Peter Murphy

We continue our mini-interview series by putting 5 Questions to Peter Murphy, journalist at Hotpress and author of the dark coming-of-age novel John the Revelator, highly recommended by Chapters and described (by Cathi Unsworth no less) as "blues noir...with shades of William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor and Harry Crews."

1. What are you working on at the moment?

Another book. Please excuse the vagueness. I'm superstitious when it comes to blathering on about work in progress for fear it might inhibit the desire to tell the story. William Gibson likened it to taking the lid off a kettle that's trying to boil.

2. Who's the best new writer you've come across recently?

I very much liked Kevin Power's book Bad Day in Blackrock.

3. Do you have any peculiar rituals you do before you start writing?

Cup of tea and a roll-up and I'm good to go.

4. Who's your favourite literary character?

Huckleberry Finn, The Chief from Cuckoo's Nest, Boo Radley, Riddley Walker, Francie Brady, Judge Holden from Blood Meridian, Euchrid Eucrow, Brother William from The Name of the Rose, Preacher Harry Powell, Ida Richilieu from The Man Who Fell In Love With The Moon, Hazel Motes from Wise Blood... the list goes on.

5. If you could be anything else in the world, except a writer, what would it be?

Carny. Burlesque organ-grinder. Revivalist proselytizer.

Peter Murphy soundtracks his book for Largehearted Boy, plus go have a look at the book trailer for John the Revelator. "Well who's that writin'?"

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5 Questions With... C.E. Murphy

Here’s another in our series of our ‘Five Questions with...’ mini-interviews, this time with Urban Fantasy writer CE Murphy, universally known to her friends as Catie. Originally from Alaska, but now living in the wilds of rural Longford, Catie is a regular attendee at all of the Irish Science Fiction Conventions, where she is always popular, and she has rapidly made a name for herself as one of the finest writers in her field. So, over to Catie...

1) What are you working on at the moment?
Well, when I got this email I was working on fitting "The damned weather is changing from brilliant sun to pissing rain every forty-five seconds and I can't decide what clothes are appropriate. Maybe I'll just forego them entirely. Except that would be cold." into the 140 character limit on Twitter...
On a slightly grander scheme, though, I've just finished the revisions on Truthseeker, first of a new fantasy duology due out next fall. Today I'm going to finish writing the proposal for its sequel, and then try to convince my editor that it actually needs to be a trilogy.
This week, I'm doing revisions on Demon Hunts, Book Five of the Walker Papers. (Book Four, Walking Dead, is due out September 1st!) Then I'm writing the proposal for the sixth book.
This month, I'm writing an Old Races short story featuring Janx and Daisani.
Then I'm writing another book. :)

2) Who's the best new writer you've come across recently?
That would probably have to be Sarah Rees Brennan, and not just because she's a friend of mine. Her debut novel, The Demon's Lexicon, hit the shelves in June and I really truly loved it.

3) Do you have any peculiar rituals you do before you start writing?
I used to play three games of Solitaire, but that became "well, okay, five, maybe I'll win one, okay that sucked maybe just seven, okay well nine or eleven or hey how did it get to be 4 in the afternoon without me writing a single word?" So I took Solitaire off my computer and now I don't even miss it WHY DO YOU ASK *claws fingernails into keyboard*

4) Who's your favourite literary character?
Gerald Tarrant from C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy.

5) If you could be anything else in the world, except a writer, what would it be?
An actor. Failing that, an artist. Failing that, a musician. Failing that, an astronaut, though that would really be for the "out of the world" experience, rather than the "in the world". :)

You can Find Catie Murphy on Twitter, on LiveJournal, and on her own website. And you’ll always find a full selection of her book on the shelves at Chapters!

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5 Questions With... Iain Banks

A regular feature we hope to have here on the Chapters blog is ‘Five Questions with...’, a series of mini-interviews with writers and others in the book business. To start us off, we sent our Five Questions to bestselling Scottish author Iain Banks, famous for both his mainstream literary fiction, and for his science fiction featuring The Culture, which he writes under the name of Iain M Banks. So, over to Iain...

1) What are you working on at the moment?

Tomorrow's hangover! (Thank you for starting with the easy ones first.)

2) Who's the best new writer you've come across recently?

Still David Mitchell and Alan Warner.

3) Do you have any peculiar rituals you do before you start writing?

Not really. I do find that several months of fairly intensive forward planning (as though there is such a thing as backward planning) helps though.

4) What's the best thing you've written?

This. Definitely. I retain all film rights, yah? Talk to my people.

5) If you could be anything else in the world, except a writer, what would it be?

A Culture GSV*. Or GCU**. I'm not fussy.


* General Systems Vehicle
** General Contact Unit

And there you have it. Iain Banks’s next book will be Transition, published by Little Brown, which will be available September 2009.

For more information about Iain, visit his website.

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