The Hippo Hands Over . . . . to Lynda Renham

Today I'd like to welcome Lynda Renham to The Hippo. Lynda is famous for her romantic comedy novels. She has been called A Comedian in a Book, Chicklit Royalty and A Comic Genius. Her writing style has been likened to Sophie Kinsella but is refreshingly down to earth with characters that become your friends. Lynda is a prolific writer, blogger and when not writing can usually be found wasting her time on Facebook. Lynda lives in Oxfordshire with her second husband and cat.

Photo courtesy of Lynda Renham

Lynda's latest novel, Remember Me, was published a couple of weeks ago. Described as a gripping psychological thriller with a jaw - dropping twist, it's getting fantastic reviews. Here's the blurb:

A new neighbour becomes a new friend. She looks up to you. She admires you, but is it you she wants? You begin to wonder if she wants your husband, or even your child. But then you realise, she wants your life.

When Sharni and Tom move into 24 The Pines, it seems like Clare and Chris have the perfect neighbours. Sharni is always there to help, especially with childcare for Clare’s two-year-old, Ben. But Clare can’t shake off the feelings of anxiety that assail her whenever Sharni is near. Is Clare just being overprotective, or are her feelings justified? As Sharni‘s influence touches everyone around her, Clare finds herself fighting for her sanity as well her family.

 If, like me, you think it not only looks but sounds great then read on lovely people as Lynda is very kindly sharing an excerpt here to give you all a little taster.

Chapter One

She stands on the doorstep. She’s shivering.  She isn’t wearing a coat and I can see the outline of her breasts through her thin blouse. She sees me looking and pulls her cardigan around her.

‘Hello,’ she says. ‘It’s freezing isn’t it?’

Her lips quiver with the cold. She looks shy and apologetic. Some hair has escaped her loose pony tail and she brushes it back.  She looks at me through rain splattered glasses.

‘I’m Sharni,’ she says.  ‘We’ve just moved in to number 24, next door.’

She points and my eyes follow her direction to a removal van. The house had been empty for a few months and Chris and I had wondered who might move in.

‘I’m Clare,’ I say. ‘It’s nice to meet you.’

She seems nervous and embarrassed.

‘I’m sorry to be a pain, already,’ she smiles. ‘But I’ve been sent some flowers and I can’t seem to find a vase anywhere. There are just so many boxes and …’

‘Oh, of course, come in,’ I say opening the door wider.

She closes it quickly behind her but not before a flurry of autumn leaves has blown in with her. Their rustic brown matches the colour of her hair.

‘It’s lovely and warm in here,’ she comments.

‘Do you not have heating?’

‘Oh yes, but with the door open all the time it’s impossible to stay warm.’

She looks vaguely familiar and I try to recall where I have seen her before.

‘I’ll get you a vase,’ I say, leading her into the lounge. ‘Would you like a coffee?’

She turns away and rubs her glasses on the sleeve of her cardigan.

‘I’m steamed up,’ she laughs. ‘A coffee would be great.’

Small gold hoops dangle from her earlobes and I notice ink smudges on her hands. Newspaper print I imagine. I remember Chris and I were covered in it when we moved in.

 ‘If we ever move again, remind me not to use newspaper,’ he’d complained.

I search under the sink for a vase. My hand encounters dirty dusters and old bottles of cleaning liquid, but no vase. A mouse trap slams shut on my finger and I fight back a cry. I hear Sharni talking to Ben. Her voice is warm and soft. Ben gurgles happily. I try another cupboard without success and finally reach for the hand painted vase on the top shelf of the Welsh dresser. Chris had bought it for me on our honeymoon. I hesitate for a second. It’s not like she’ll have it for long. She’ll probably give it back as soon as she’s unpacked.

The kettle clicks and I make the coffee.

‘Oh, that’s lovely,’ she says on seeing the vase. She’s on the floor helping Ben colour in his rabbit pictures.

‘My husband bought it for me when we were honeymooning in Ireland.’

‘If you’re sure?’ she asks. ‘I’ll bring it back tomorrow. It’s just I don’t want the flowers to die.’

‘That’s fine,’ I say, pushing my lesson plans off the coffee table and placing a mug in front of her.

‘He’s adorable,’ she says, looking at Ben.

‘He is,’ I agree.

She strokes the top of his head, her hand lingering.

‘You have a lovely home,’ she says, glancing around.

‘Thank you.’

‘I’m keen to get ideas. I want our house to look really nice. You’ve done a great job here.’

She fingers the art décor lamp on the side table and I smile. Ben begins to get irritable and I bend down to him.

‘Do you mind if I ask where you bought this?’

‘John Lewis, if I remember. They have lovely things there.’

Ben lets out a burp and we both laugh.

‘How old is he?’ she asks.

‘Almost two,’ I say.

He struggles from my arms and wobbles towards Sharni like a new born fawn.

‘He’s just discovered his legs,’ I laugh.

She catches him as he tumbles towards her.

‘Do you have children?’ I ask.

Her face clouds over. It occurs to me that maybe I shouldn’t have asked. She then smiles and I wonder if I imagined it.

‘No,’ she says flatly.

I struggle to think of something to say.

‘Are you in interior design?’ she asks.

I laugh.

‘Me? No, I wouldn’t know where to start. I’m a teacher, well, only part time now that we have Ben.’

‘But this room is gorgeous, you have excellent taste. I’ll have to pick your brains when I start decorating ours.’

‘It’ll be nice to have neighbours of our own age,’ I say.

Her eyes shine. She places her mug on the table and leans towards me.

‘I’ve got a great idea, why don’t you and your husband come over Saturday evening for house warming drinks. We can get to know each other better.’

‘But you’ll be up to your eyes won’t you?’ I say, surprised at the invite.

‘We’ll need a break. Do say you’ll come.’

‘I’ll need to check with Chris, my husband, but I’m sure it will be okay.’

‘Great,’ she smiles, getting up from the couch. ‘Shall we say about eight? If you can’t get a sitter then bring the toddler with you.’

I open my mouth to speak and then change my mind. I had hoped we could take Ben with us. I hate leaving him with sitters but I imagine she wants an adult evening.

‘Thanks,’ I say hugging Ben close. ‘Enjoy your flowers.’

‘Flowers?’ she questions.

‘The ones you needed the vase for.’

‘Oh yes. My mum sent them. Thanks Clare. See you on Saturday.’

* * *

‘I see someone’s moving in,’ says Helen, nodding towards the removal van.

I follow her gaze.

‘Yes. I met her this morning. She seems nice.’

We watch as a white sofa is carried into the house. I shiver as the cold air cuts through me.

‘Do you want a coffee?’ I ask, stepping back into the warm.

‘No, I just popped around for the lesson plans. I’ve got a pile of marking to get through.’

She closes the door and waits for me to get the plans.

‘They’ve invited us for drinks on Saturday,’ I say. I don’t know why I’m telling Helen. Maybe I’m hoping she’ll make me feel better about not wanting to go. 

‘God, they’d have barely settled in.’

‘I know. I’m thinking we should maybe say no.’

‘That’s daft. Of course you should go. I’m sure you can get a sitter,’ smiles Helen. ‘You’re always saying how Chris moans because you don’t go out much.’

I force a smile. It’s very short notice to ask Kathryn to babysit and I really don’t trust anyone else. It’s all right for Helen. Not having children she couldn’t possibly understand. I know she thinks I’m over anxious and maybe she’s right.  It’s not that I wouldn’t like to go out for the evening but it’s not much fun if I’m worrying about Ben all the time.

‘I’ll speak to Chris,’ I say.

‘How’s Ben?’ she asks, peeking around the door to wave at him.

‘He’s great. I love the days I’m home.’

She hugs me and opens the front door.

‘We need to do a trip to Ikea,’ she says, her face lighting up.

‘Great.’

‘We’ll get a date at school tomorrow. Better fly.’

I watch as a black Audi pulls up outside the house next door. A smartly dressed man emerges from it. He pulls a suitcase from the boot and wheels it to the house. I brush some leaves from the step and close the front door.

One year earlier

She sat in her usual chair in the therapist’s room her hands clasped together, her shoulders hunched.

‘Do you want to talk about the birth?’ Leah asked, handing her a mug of coffee.

No, I don’t want to talk about the birth, she thought. The rain splashed at the windows and her eyesight blurred.

‘I don’t really remember much,’ she said. It didn’t sound like her voice. It was too far away. ‘I know it was raining. I remember hailstones hitting the windows. I was excited that it was happening.’

She squeezed her hands tightly, the nails sharp and painful in her palms.

‘I remember thinking it doesn’t matter about the pain. It would all be worth it, and it was.’

‘It’s a good memory?’

She nodded.

‘But I wanted three. I always wanted three. I’d planned that we’d have the second a year later. That way they could grow up together …’

Her throat seemed to close up and she struggled to breathe.

‘Do you need a glass of water?’ Leah asked kindly.

She shook her head. All she seemed to do here was drink endless amounts of water.

‘I still can’t accept it. I do try. I remember the pain, it went on for hours. I would have liked a natural birth but I was relieved when I was taken to the operating theatre. Everyone said I should be grateful to have a baby but I only felt disappointment and anger. It was my mother who told me that I couldn’t have any more’.

‘Are you still angry with the doctors for taking away your womb?’’

She shrugged. Her hand trembled and she carefully placed the mug of coffee onto the table next to a solitary box of tissues. She found herself wondering how often Leah replaces the box. Every day? Every few hours?

‘You need to get past this if we’re to move on.  You have to accept.’

It’s easy for her to say, she thought angrily.

‘Do you have a family?’ she asked.

‘It’s not about me.’ said Leah

‘I have to go,’ she said suddenly, standing up.

Leah didn’t seem surprised.

At least she’d stayed longer than last time.

                                    *    *    *    *

 If that's made you want to carry on reading, you'll be pleased to hear that you can download your very own copy of Remember Me for just 99p.

You can find out more about Lynda and her books and connect with her using the links below:

Website

Amazon

Twitter

I'd like to thank Lynda for sharing an excerpt of Remember Me and I hope she gets lots more fabulous reviews for it.

Pre-birthday giveaway!!

As a book blogger, I love books. I can spend hours looking at books, reading blurbs and of course sniffing them. Don't knock it til you've tried it! So imagine how sad I feel when I have them rationed.


With my birthday coming up at the end of next week, family and friends ask me what I'd like for my birthday and just as I'm about to reply with a request for the latest book I've had my eye on, they jump in with "but I'm not buying you any books because you've already got more than enough"


OMG! Really?? How can you have more than enough? There are so many fabulous books out there I haven't read yet and that I NEED to add to my bookshelf, kindle . . . . . .and other various places around the house. I have to try and sneak them into the house without my husband seeing them and remember to hit the "Don't share" button on Amazon whenever I buy a kindle version.  Whoops that's me in trouble if he reads this! Despite being an avid reader himself, he just doesn't understand the addiction I have for books. A couple of days ago he proudly announced that he'd read all of the books on his kindle. Yes, you read that right, ALL of them! How the hell did he manage that? I've got 17 pages and counting on mine and I haven't bought any for ages, well, apart from a sneaky visit to Amazon last week to buy This Love, the latest book by Dani Atkins 😳 but don't tell my husband!


So I've decided to share the book love by giving away one of my own books. I've enlisted the help of my two trusted hippo helpers/models, Hamlet and Howie and they've chosen the book that I'm giving away.

If you haven't read it yet, here's the blurb:

A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn't have prevented it. Could she?

In a split second, Jenna Gray's world descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever.
Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating . . .


To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic book, and a few extra goodies as well, all you have to do is leave a comment for my family and friends telling them why you think they should buy me books for my birthday!


You've got until 7pm on Saturday the 8th of April to enter and the lucky winner will be announced here later that evening. This giveaway is open to UK and Ireland residents only due to postal costs.

The Idea of You - Amanda Prowse

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a huge fan of Amanda Prowse so I was so excited when my review copy of her latest book The Idea of You arrived. I kept looking at it (well it's just so pretty isn't it?) but didn't want to read it too soon because then it would be over. If you love books as much as I do then you'll know exactly where I'm coming from when I say that, I soon gave in though and I can assure you that it's another stunning book from this hugely talented author.

Lucy Carpenter unexpectedly meets Jonah, the man of her dreams at a christening and after a whirlwind romance the couple are soon married and life is perfect. . . . .almost. The only thing missing in Lucy's life is a baby. While Jonah's teenage daughter, Camille, lives in France with her mum, Lucy yearns to have a child of her own. When she discovers she's pregnant the couple are overjoyed but it's a short-lived joy as a few short weeks later she miscarries leaving her devastated.

The couple manage to muddle through this devastating time but it's clear that Lucy is hiding her distress and sadly this is just the first of several unsuccessful  pregnancies. Each time the loss hits Lucy harder and the once blissfully happy marriage starts to show the strain which is only made worse by the arrival of Camille who has come to stay with them for the summer.


I have to admit that not being maternal myself, I did have a slight niggle in the back of my mind that I wouldn't enjoy this book as much as other novel's by Ms Prowse due to the subject matter but of course I needn't have worried. The Idea of You is a sensitively written and emotionally charged novel - everything that I have come to expect from Amanda and knowing that she has her own personal experience of this subject makes it even more moving. Hard to read in places, especially when you see some of the somewhat seemingly harsh and heartless medical terms for some of the procedures, but is difficult to put down.
Dealing with every aspect of motherhood as well as family, love, courage, loss and acceptance, this is a book that highlights a difficult to broach subject with real compassion and honesty. Amanda never fails to deliver a beautifully written story that grips the reader right from the outset and one that will resonate with many women. This is another brilliant book and one that I would highly recommend.

With kind thanks to author Amanda Prowse and publisher Lake Union Publishing for the review copy.

Midnight's Chicken - Tom Jeffery - Review and author Q & A

Every bookworms dream job would be to work in something bookish related right? So how great would it be to work in a bookshop? That's exactly where the story in Midnight's Chicken takes place, and what a story it is!

Russell Hobbes is the manager of Books-R-Us in Baytown and he has a profound love of the printed word, well, the good printed words. He often wonders how some books manage to get published at all and that leads him to thinking about his own, uncompleted manuscript, lovingly titled NOVEL.doc on his computer. He was hoping to have completed it before his idol, Internationally acclaimed author Abhinav Raksha comes to Books-R-Us but with everything else that's going on it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Meanwhile Abhinav has his own problems to deal with, number one being that he's left his wife for a high maintenance nail technician called Madison closely followed by the fatwa that's been dealt to him for misspelling the name of the second prophet's daughter in his book The Devil's Poetry.

If all that's not enough, there's the little matter of the terrorist cell that are planning their own welcoming committee for Abhinav's arrival at Books-R-Us.

I loved reading Midnight's Chicken, it's a book that has a little bit of everything and three strands of a story that smoothly come together for a more than satisfying end. The characters are wonderful and Tom clearly has an eye for detail as the way each person is described, no matter how briefly they appear, conjured up an almost photographic image of them as I was reading. Russell desperately wants to impress people by writing his great South African novel, but he just can't find the time inbetween work and ferrying his tattoo-headed girlfriend Griselda around to her  poetry slams. Rafiq, Ali and Kwikspar Muhammad (not to be confused with Autozone Muhammad) are the very inexperienced members of their own terrorist cell and I have to mention the zebra print clad customer who is carrying her Maltese dog, Peekaboo, in her handbag, demanding the hardback version of a book as she wants to read the interviews and the inferior version they have on the shelf isn't acceptable. Talking of books I so want to get my hands on some of the ones mentioned. I'll give you a few examples; Chakra's: Real or hippy bollocks, or how about Fifty More Reasons To Be Glad You Don't Have A Penis (I was left wondering how many reasons there were in the first book!) Maybe I'll google Vagina Press when I've finished writing this and see if I can order a copy of that too, but the one that made me laugh the most was Donkey Hotey - you've heard of it haven't you? It's the one about a donkey who liked windmills. Yes THAT one!

This is a book that will make you laugh one minute and then have you thinking about some more serious and very relevant worldwide issues that sadly we hear about in the news on what seems like a daily basis. It's a fantastic and thoroughly enjoyable read and one that I would highly recommend to every bookworm!

                                                *    *    *    *

I'm absolutely thrilled to welcome author Tom Jeffery to The Hippo today for a chat about himself, bookish things and of course his fabulous book Midnight's Chicken!

Photo courtesy of Tom Jeffery

Hello Tom and welcome to my blog. It’s a pleasure to have you stop by today.

Firstly can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

My first job was at an Oceanarium, where I worked with dolphins and seals and rehabilitated injured and orphaned sea creatures. I loved that, but it could be a bit heartbreaking. I still love animals and nature, which comes out in my photography. Reading has always been my favourite thing to do. I have an MA in English Literature, and I was fortunate to get a job at the South African National English Literary Museum just after I completed that degree. I work there now as the Curator of Exhibitions, a job I love. We’re just busy finishing a massive exhibition on the history of South Africa as told through the country’s literature. I’m working on a PhD in museology, which I’m hoping to finish at the end of 2018. I’m always writing in one way  or another, either creative or academic. I am married with three lovely cats. Every author needs a cat. I love Formula 1. I have a plan for a novel set in the racing world, but it’s not number one in the queue to get written. One day I want to have a house by the sea, from where I shall travel the world. I am interested in everything except accounting and Fox News. I don't like fundamentalists of any sort, people who are mean to other people and animals, or anyone who shouts a lot. Which are often the same thing. My favourite number is 42, and I am drawn to things that are blue or green or that say ‘Nikon’ on the box.

How would you describe Midnight’s Chicken to entice someone to read it?

Midnight’s Chicken will make you laugh. It will also, if you let it, make you think. I think that everyone can relate in some way to the experiences of the characters in Midnight’s Chicken, particularly if you have worked in retail or if you have felt somehow trapped in your life. Midnight’s Chicken is funny and easy to read, and also has some insight into what it is to live in the world today. 

Can you describe how your book took shape and how long did it take you to write?

I had the idea for a novel set in a book shop drifting about in my head for a few years. When I actually started to write it, it went really quickly because I knew what I wanted it to be, but more importantly, I didn’t agonise over it too much during the writing process. I just let it come out. It took probably about four months to get the first draft down, and then I spent the next six or seven months reading it and rewriting it. All told I would say it took about a year and a half to get to a point where I felt that it was ready to go into the world, which I feel is quite fast. I was helped a lot by a good friend of mine, Jayne, who is an editor at a publishing house in the UK and was kind enough to read Midnight’s Chicken and give me a lot of good advice. Sadly, she works for an academic house, so no go for a publishing deal there. Though of course, we live in a world in which self-publishing is a respected discipline which, if you put in the time and effort, can earn you a decent living. Apparently. I’m just setting out on that road.  Wish me luck.

I love the cover, despite having a fear of clowns, and it perfectly depicts an event later in the book. Did you design it yourself?

My mum did it. She writes children’s books, and she is an artist and illustrator. Her work is absolutely beautiful. I wonder what it is about clowns that is so scary? Personally, I blame Stephen King.

There’s lots of laugh out loud moments and fantastic characters, but there’s also some serious issues raised. How easy was it to integrate these into Midnight’s Chicken whilst still keeping the story humorous?

I’m really glad you asked that. I wanted Midnight’s Chicken to be funny, but it’s impossible to live in a country like South Africa, and a world like ours, without the issues we face shaping your writing in some way, without the experiences we daily have coming into the stories we tell. It wasn’t hard to integrate the more serious issues, because they are right there, all the time. It would have been harder to write characters who didn’t experience them and it would have been, I think, rather meaningless. Religious fundamentalism is not as visible in South Africa as elsewhere in the world, further north in Africa for instance, but fundamentalism comes in many forms and it certainly shapes the way South Africans live. I enjoyed creating my religiously fundamentalist characters and telling their story. Fundamentalism of any sort is such an inherently ridiculous position, so obviously flawed, that it lends itself to satire. Though of course fundamentalism is also a form of oppression, of tyranny, and there is the frightening side of it, people killing others who don’t share or who somehow threaten their narrow beliefs, which I hope I have captured. I don’t take tyranny lightly, but I didn’t want to come across as too earnest. I don’t like preaching. I think that planting an idea is more effective than telling people what they should be thinking, and making them laugh while you do it helps.

I also feel that the division that exists between so-called literary fiction and ‘genre’ fiction is in many ways artificial. There is no reason that writing can’t be simultaneously meaningful and entertaining, or funny on the surface with serious issues lurking beneath. What you get from a book depends on how you approach it, and if you dismiss ‘genre’ writing as inherently less worthy, then you won’t see the depths that it may possess. Surely ‘literary’ writing implies nothing more than the skilled use of words, and that can be found in any genre. There is an intellectual arrogance in the division that I find to be shallow and which lacks any sense of irony – which is a part of Russell’s character in Midnight’s Chicken. Irony is so important for a healthy world view. Fundamentalists have no sense of irony. This is what I believe to be wrong with them.

If you were a character in your book who would you be and why?

It has to be Russell. Some of the things he thinks and does come straight from me. Not all of them, mind. I’m not as messed up as he is, hopefully. I suppose his experience of life in South Africa is the closest to my own.

You work full time, you write and you take amazing photographs, how do you find the time to fit it all in? If you could only do one full time which one would it be and what would your reasons be?

Thank you for saying my photos are amazing, that means a lot to me. I get up early. I try and structure my time as much as possible. Get up, work, come home, write, take photographs whenever I see something I want to photograph. That said, structuring time is good, but it’s also important not to be too strictly regimented. If I planned to write this evening, say, but I have a good idea for an exhibition I’m working on, then I’ll do that instead. Sometimes I have a great writing idea when I’m at work, so I do that. I try and make as much of my time productive as possible. It’s not easy though, some days you’re just not up to it and that‘s when I come home from work, we make supper and veg on the couch with a bottle of wine and the TV. You have to let yourself chill sometimes, otherwise your brain will melt and be no use to you. I’ve heard of some superhuman people who never stop, but that’s not me. I like to stop sometimes.

If I had to do one thing only it would definitely be writing. That is what I love the most. Ideas. I think that if there is one thing I do that is most likely to have an impact on the world, it is my writing. Isn’t that what we all want, to have an impact on the world?

Photo © Tom Jeffery

Are you currently writing anything new that you can tell us about?

Yes. I am busy with a series of three novels, called The Eden Deception, which are in an advanced draft. They are dark adventure stories, set in our world but with gods and monsters and the fantastic. In the first book of the series, Revelation, the central characters discover the other world and their lives are transformed by it. The next two books follow them on a journey towards the ultimate truths of human existence. The story is inspired by mythology, San/Bushman myth for Revelation and Biblical mythology for the two sequels. The series tag line is: ‘There is a god, but it does not love us’. So not comedy, but hopefully just as enjoyable.

I also have a plan for a novel with an environmental theme, but as I said, I don’t like to be too earnest. Like Midnight’s Chicken, this one will be influenced by some of the serious and urgent issues we face as a species, in this case climate change and human overpopulation, but it will also be funny. I hope. This one is next on the ‘To Write’ list, after The Eden Deception books, and I’m really looking forward to it.

In the ‘About Tom Jeffery’ section at the end of your book you refer to your time spent working in a bookshop and you say that we wouldn’t believe some of the stuff that customers pulled off. Is there any one particular incident that sticks in your mind that you could share with us?

Well, it might not be very funny in itself, but the one that really sticks in my mind is the woman I found between two shelves scanning books with a portable scanner. It was just so balls-out brazen. She was quite grumpy when I asked her to stop, too. Actually, it is quite a weird thing to do, isn’t it? A lot of the customer incidents in Midnight’s Chicken are based on real events, by the way.

Who are your favourite authors and which book do you wish you’d written and why?

The two authors for whose work I have the deepest feeling are Clive Barker and Douglas Adams. Clive Barker introduced me to the dark fantastic, as he calls it, which is the genre to which I would say my Eden Deception books belong. I love his novels Weaveworld, Imajica and The Damnation Game, reading those was a formative experience for me. For writing which is both hilarious and deep, Douglas Adams is in a class of his own. Marvin the Paranoid Android is one of the best characters ever written. Some say that beer is proof that there is a god and that he/she/it loves us, but the corollary of that argument is surely to be found in the fact that a man like Douglas Adams died so young and yet that orange muppet Trump continues to befoul the planet.

More recently, I was totally captivated by The Martian by Andy Weir, and also World War Z by Max Brooks. World War Z is actually a perfect example of ‘genre’ fiction with a profound literary element and real insight into contemporary issues.

I have to mention The Lord of the Rings. I will always return to that book.

On your website there’s a sample of ‘Skrik’ (a South African word for a sudden fright or panic) which was an experimental collaborative story that started life on your Facebook page. How did that come about and would you start another one?

I was looking for ways to get people involved in my Facebook page, and starting a story on there seemed like a good way to get people to interact. It turned out to be too cumbersome to work in the comments field so I moved it off Facebook quite soon after it started. It worked out that only me and two friends really got into it so we ended up writing it together. I’d write a bit, email it to Morné and Jonathan, they’d add a bit and mail it back, like that. I edited the final draft, Morné, who’s a graphic designer, did the cover art,  and there it was. The whole story is available on my site, by the way. It was a lot of fun, and I’d definitely do it again. It’s interesting how the people you write with interpret your ideas in ways you would never have imagined. I suppose the process of writing collaboratively is so interesting because the people involved are simultaneously writers and readers of the story, creators and consumers, so the two perspectives meet and give you a new way of thinking about what you’re producing.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the readers?

Please read Midnight’s Chicken. Is that too obvious? If you want to write, don’t overthink it, just start. Write something, anything, and it will take shape. That’s some simple advice that really helped me, so I hope it will help somebody else.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Tom.

No worries. Thanks for the interview.

 If you'd like to find out more about Tom, his book and his photography you can use the links below:

Facebook
Website
Amazon US
Goodreads

I'd like to thank Tom for the review copy, for taking the time to answer my questions and finally to say sterkte with Midnight's Chicken!