Interview for The Devil’s Breath & Book 2`
Just because you finish writing a book doesn't mean the work is over. I did another edit of the new book, trimmed some wafty words and tried to make sure Max Gordon's adventure rips along at a snappy pace. My editor at Puffin has a pen like a sword and she wields it like a mad pirate juiced up on fermented coconut milk. There's one whole section she wants to trim - or should that be slash? - out. I'm busy sharpening my own quill to fight this one.
Had a long talk yesterday to Sam from Dulwich College who's writing an article for the school paper - so he interviewed me. Apparently he had everything set up in the school's computer room so he could record the interview. I hummed and aaahd a bit with some of his questions because he caught me by surprise with some of them. One question that made me stop and think was what period of history would I like to have been born in other than today.
I couldn't think of a quick answer. Medieval times were really brutal, Victorian times tough as well (read Charles Dickens!) Then there was the horrible and senseless First World War where millions died... then WW11. So I know we all moan about things today but we're so well off compared to those days. The best I could think of was late Victorian early Edwardian times. There was a lot of exploration going on then and I'd like to have been an explorer discovering new countries and their cultures.
It was a very good interview, with well thought out questions.
Back to the final rewrites of Max Gordon's new adventure to make sure the action moves along and the secret code is complex enough to make you scratch your head, but not too difficult for you to understand how to crack it.
