1. Why do you blog?
Started blogging to try and gain exposure for my writing after years of frustration trying to get noticed through the traditional routes.
Blogging was just another thing to try; it has now become much more than that. As well as gaining a growing audience/readership I feel I have gained friends and now blog to keep in touch with them as much as to display my writing.
2. Which author and/or book has most influenced you?
Hard to say, haven’t read much over the last few years; in the past I’ve read and enjoyed Martin Amis, Nick Hornby, Nevill Shute, Jeanette Winterson, George Orwell, Douglas Adams and many more. If I had to choose one author it would probably be Martin Amis and his books London Fields and Money.
3. Which three blogs do you most visit?
Debi Alper at: http://debialper.blogspot.com/,
The Inner Minx at: http://innerminx.blogspot.com/ and
Petrona at: http://www.petrona.typepad.com/
4. Why do you read fiction?
For the story mostly, and as a way of taking an intimate peek into other writers’ minds and feeling connections. I learn a lot from the books I read
5. What makes you laugh?
The fact that George Bush is running the world is a hoot; and Tony Blair as leader of the Labour Party is ludicrously funny. Political satire, participants in Reality TV programmes, pomposity, anyone who takes themselves too seriously. Also sunshine, pictures of cats, oh - loads of things . . .
Derec Jones blogs at Skint Writer, which can be found here: http://skintwriter.com/
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Aug 9th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
London Fields is the longest and most ambitious work of Amis. He describes the encounters between three main characters in London in 1999, as a climate disaster approaches.
Aug 9th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
I find the answer to question 2 interesting. Shouldn’t writing be a process of osmosis? The flitering and exchange of language from reading and writing. Does the lack of external stimulation reduce the capacity to be good writer?
Aug 12th, 2006 at 11:07 pm
Gav: good point, this is something I’ve pontificated about for a long time - need to clarify my thoughts about it. My instinct is that reading and writing are not inseperable. You can be a good writer without being a prolific reader . . . . think I’ll go and do a post on it . .