Here at Olympia we love hearing from our authors, getting an insight into their lives in writing and asking them what their advice would be to future authors. This week we had the pleasure of interviewing Chris White about their book.
1. Hold old were you when you first wrote something substantial?
Well, I used to get told off at school for writing TOO much. The English teacher used to dread marking my homework from over the holidays as you could guarantee that I’d written twice the amount needed. I just used to enjoy it though! I think I must have been about 13v when I wrote my first ‘masterpiece’. The first thing I remember writing ‘of substance’ was a very detailed diary of my cat’s adventures over a six-week summer holiday in the eighties. There was time-travel involved. I was a strange child…
2. Did you ever have aspirations to become a writer?
Yes, I did. The trouble was that other people were writers, not me. Kids from small villages in the East midlands of England weren’t writers, you had to work in a shop or a factory or for the local council. ‘Writer’ wasn’t exactly advertised in the local paper. I had to wait for my chance to pop up, and then grab it with both hands. If the chance ever did pop up that is. I had to wait a long time and do an awful lot of awful jobs first!
3. What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?
“Enjoy every sandwich…”
4. What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Write from the heart. If you enjoy what you write and get satisfaction from doing it and reading it, then don’t worry about what other people think. Write for yourself.
Also, never run out of tea bags.
5. What did you find easiest and hardest about writing?
The easiest thing about writing is that you can do it anywhere. On a plane, in a field, petting a man-eating lion… As long as you have your imagination with you, you don’t even have to write anything down.
The hardest thing is when that great idea is just on the edge of your brain, on the tip of your tongue, but it won’t quite topple over into your pen. Like those machines in arcades that you roll a 2p into. Sometimes an idea, or the right word, or a certain sentence teeters on the edge of your mind like a wobbling 2 pence piece. Sometimes it falls over though, and you win!
6. Was it faster to write your book or to have it published?
My book with Olympia is quite a short and sweet one. I wrote it in about an hour, sitting on the grass in Nottingham Castle watching a small child pull a tantrum when he wouldn’t eat the food that was placed in front of him. That’s where ‘Roar of the Dinnersaur’ sprung from. So, it took longer to publish it, definitely. Drawing and painting the pictures though took a while.
7. What was your favourite part of your book to write?
It all happened very quickly, in a waterfall gush of ideas. I’ve got lists of ideas scribbled down from years ago, but this idea sprang out of nowhere. So, I didn’t really have chance to enjoy it as it was happening, it was just ‘BOOM!’ there’s a book! It’s nice when that happens as it doesn’t happen very often.
8. Do you have any plans to publish more work?
Oh yes. The list of ideas is only getting longer.
9. If you could review Olympia Publishers in just a few words, what would they be?
I had no idea what Olympia would be like as I hadn’t published anything with them before, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised! Professional, friendly and great at keeping you up to date with each step of your book’s journey.
