Jonathan Pinnock Interview

It has been a while since I've had a guest on my blog, so I'm delighted to welcome Jonathan Pinnock. I first came across Jonathan when his short short collection, Dot Dash was published by Salt. It's a stunning collection, so I was intrigued when I discovered he had written a new novel, The Truth About Archie and Pye.

Hi, Jonathan! Welcome to my blog. It’s been a while since we were both on the reading team for the Bath Short Story Award. How did you find the whole judging experience and would you be on the reading team again?

As it happens, I was on the team again this year! I find it absolutely fascinating being a first-stage reader for a big open competition like that, because you can get literally anything coming at you. The range of quality is quite remarkable, and it can be really exciting when something really brilliant leaps out at you, as it did two years ago when I spotted the story that eventually went on to win. Even the really terrible stories are instructive, because they force you to analyse exactly why they are so terrible.

Are you an avid reader? How much time do you spend reading compared to writing?

Ooh yes. I can’t say for sure what the ratio is, but it’s close to parity. Never trust any writer who doesn’t read.

Who are your favourite writers and do you read more short fiction than novels?

I’m not entirely sure I have any favourite writers as such, in the sense of wanting to grab anything new of theirs as soon as it comes out - although Alison Moore comes close to that category and Jon Ronson does in the non-fiction world. The best book I’ve read this year by a country mile is Jon McGregor’s Reservoir 13, which surprised me because I’d previously only read his short fiction, and I didn’t quite engage with that for some reason. Maybe I should try again. Generally speaking I read a mixture of novels, non-fiction and short stories, so there’s no hard and fast rule. I go high-brow, low-brow and everywhere in between.

What inspires you to write? Do you keep lots of notebooks?

I don’t do notebooks. For short stories, I generally start from a prompt or an idea that appears from somewhere and see where it goes. I don’t plan.

Was there anything in particular that inspired you to write this particular book?

Very long story, which will probably be covered in an entire post elsewhere in this blog tour! The short version is: a prompt inspired an entry to a web forum short story competition. That ultimately got read at Liars’ League and published in my collection Dot Dash. Then I was frantically scrabbling around for something to write on my MA course, and I remembered this and based an entire novel on it.

What is your take on self-publishing?

I imagine it’s a hell of a lot of work, and very, very lonely. However, one of the most interesting books I’ve read this year was self-published (on Bitcoin and blockchain and all that nonsense), so I am not against the idea at all. But what I love about working with my current publishers, Farrago, is that they take care of the professional stuff such as editing, proof-reading, cover design and promotion via NetGalley etc. – stuff that I’d be tempted to skimp on if I were paying for it myself.

Have you got an agent and if not, have you tried to get one?

No, and oh, God, yes. Unfortunately, no-one is interested in taking on clients who write humorous thrillers at the moment. Or it could just be me.

What advice would you give new writers?

It’s that line from Galaxy Quest: Never give up, never surrender!

Do you still enter short story or flash fiction competitions? Do you think they are worthwhile?

I’m on a sabbatical from that sort of thing right now. But I will probably come back some time in the future. They have been massively worthwhile in the past, however, for many reasons. Probably the most important one is that success in competitions gave me the confidence to keep going (see the Galaxy Quest quote above).

Is this your first novel?

No, it’s my second (the first one was Mrs Darcy versus the Aliens).

What’s next? Have you got something in the pipeline?

The deal I have with Farrago is for two books, so I’m currently hard at work finishing the sequel, which will be out next year.

The Truth About Archie and Pye is available from amazon.co.uk

 

Something doesn't add up about Archie and Pye ...
After a disastrous day at work, disillusioned junior PR executive Tom Winscombe finds himself sharing a train carriage and a dodgy Merlot with George Burgess, biographer of the Vavasor twins, mathematicians Archimedes and Pythagoras, who both died in curious circumstances a decade ago.
Burgess himself will die tonight in an equally odd manner, leaving Tom with a locked case and a lot of unanswered questions.
Join Tom and a cast of disreputable and downright dangerous characters in this witty thriller set in a murky world of murder, mystery and complex equations, involving internet conspiracy theorists, hedge fund managers, the Belarusian mafia and a cat called µ.

'You have to be lonely to be a writer.' - Edna O'Brien

Edna O'Brien is famously quoted as saying, 'You have to be lonely to be a writer.' There's a marvellous Guardian interview with her when her autobiography, Country Girl came out in 2012. You can see it here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/video/2012/dec/07/edna-obrien-autobiography-country-girl-interview-video

There are many definitions of loneliness, of course. As Edna says, 'you can be lonely in the middle of a party'. Her mother described her as 'a lonely child and hard to reach'. I guess my loneliness stemmed from not only being an only child, but from never feeling as if I fitted in. I still get that sense of not really belonging to this day. As Edna O'Brien says, 'our disposition as children remains with us all our lives' and 'my interior life is where I live life'. This is so very true for me. The beauty of writing is exploring this interior life and trying to interpret it through 'the shimmer of language and fiction'.  However, 'you couldn't go through the purgatory of writing, if you weren't a lonely person,' she says. And yes, writing can be purgatory.

Recently I've been wrestling with what kind of writer I really am and I'm coming to acknowledge the fact that I haven't been true to myself, particularly where my novel is concerned. The wonderful Joanna Campbell once advised me to 'forget the word count, forget writing to the market, just immerse yourself in the words'. I had the quote pinned above my computer for quite a few years until it fell off down the back of the desk, which is why I probably haven't got the words quite right here. You get the gist, though.

Norman Mailer once told Edna O'Brien that 'You're far too interior'. That may be so, but so was Virginia Woolf. Is this really a criticism? I interpret it as meaning these outstanding and gifted female writers actually write from the heart, which is exactly where we should all be writing from. Isn't the reader searching for emotional truth in whatever he or she reads?

Talking of reading, I haven't been true to myself here either of late. I've been reading popular fiction, mainly psychological crime thrillers, because this is the novel I've written and with which I've been trying to lure an agent, all the time knowing deep-down that something isn't right. I've written it with an eye on the market and it shows. I could name one or two female writers whose psychological crime novels I've recently read and have wondered why they've drifted so far from their outstanding debut novels and short fiction.

I'm going to mine the depths of my inner lonely child, hoping she isn't too hard to reach. Maybe then I'll produce a piece of writing, long or short, of which I can be truly proud.

And guess which author I'll be reading next?

Remember, Remember, The Fifth Of November

In a nostalgic moment earlier, I remembered our family bonfire parties in Clifton Campville back in the 1960s and early 1970s. We'd take it in turns to host the party with our neighbours opposite, The Cuffes. We both had a fair bit of land on which to erect a big bonfire and the neighbours in our street would all club together to buy the fireworks. Our mums used to put on a fine spread, including lots of potatoes wrapped in foil to cook on the bonfire, served with lashings of butter.

Tonight, for the very first time, we will have fireworks in the garden. On a whim, my husband, Nige, announced this morning that he was off to buy some. I put it down to the strong anti-biotics he's taking.

I had baked potato for tea, albeit done in the electric oven and served sans beurre and with Branston Pickle, salad and ham, not a whiff of foil in sight.

And finally, here's a Flash Fiction I wrote a few years ago in remembrance of those lovely family bonfire parties.....

POMPEII 1972

Jumpin’ Jacks lie like coiled worms on the rickety camping table underneath the kitchen window.

          Mum is wrapping jacket potatoes in tin foil ready to put on the dying embers of the bonfire, and Dad is lighting the Catherine Wheel. The Standard Firework box is almost empty. There’s just the Mount Vesuvius, a cone-shaped firework Dad always saves till last; a Spitfire and a Flying Saucer.

          I hope Toby arrives in time for the Jumpin’ Jacks. I love the way they chase us round the lawn.

          “Come and grate some cheese for the potatoes, Diane!” Mum shouts.

          It’s only when I’m through the back door that I hear a whistle from the garage. Toby must be hiding. He’s four years older than me and teases me all the time. Last week he set up his army play-tent in the kitchen and said he’d give me a tenner if I showed him my privates. I hid the brown note in a pink Tupperware box in our pantry. Mrs Crowther still hasn’t asked for it back.

          I grate the cheese, then skulk off to find Toby. He’s sitting on an oil drum holding a lit sparkler. It’s dangerous and thrilling at the same time. Just the two of us in the garage with the fireworks.

          “Which one shall we light first?” he asks with a grin.

          I point with a trembling finger, then run.

          We never did see the Jumpin’ Jacks. When Mount Vesuvius erupted, Toby turned to ash.

Birthday Books

My birthday was last Thursday and I was lucky enough to receive several books as presents. I admit that quite a few of them were on my Amazon Wish List, so it was easy for my family to choose their selections, but others weren't and I'm touched that my friends know me well enough to pick just the right book.

The Maggie O'Farrell was on my Wish List and my husband purchased it on behalf of my mother-in-law who is sadly now in a care home with dementia and Alzheimer's. I love a nice hardback, especially when it's got one of those beautiful ribbon bookmarks inside. I've almost finished this book, which is a memoir, featuring Maggie's seventeen brushes with death. It sounds depressing, but it isn't. In fact, it's quite an uplifting read and is a novel way of approaching the story of one's life. She continues to be one of my favourite authors and I've read everything she's written.

My good friend, Mandy Huggins warned me that I'd be receiving a parcel in the post, which looked like an Amazon parcel and not to open it, because it wasn't gift wrapped. I was a good girl and didn't open it until the morning of my birthday. Inside was a book I hadn't heard of, but I was delighted to discover the author lives in Saltburn by the Sea, where we've enjoyed many a happy holiday. I look forward to reading it. It's next on my list. Mandy has read it and has been raving about it.

Back in August I had a lovely time in London visiting my friends, Nigel and Tom. We first met at The Bedford International Short Story Award Presentation Evening in January 2016. Nigel and I were both on the shortlist and our stories were featured in the anthology. The three of us got on like a house on fire and we've been firm friends ever since. On my latest visit, Nigel took me to The British Library and we took in the LGBT Exhibition there. It was fascinating. One of my favourites exhibits was Kenneth Williams' actual diary from 1967. He had the tiniest handwriting. I told Nigel that I dearly wished I could have picked it out of the glass case and read it from beginning to end. "Have you not read the published diaries?" he asked. "No, I haven't." So, this duly appeared a couple of days before my birthday. A very thoughtful present and it was beautifully gift wrapped, too. I'm tempted to start it and read alongside the Carmen Marcus novel.

As most of you know, I attend The Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival at Harrogate most years. An author I have got to know well is Eva Dolan. She has championed my own writing and been incredibly helpful in suggesting agents and how/when to approach them. I've read most of Eva's novels and they're real page-turners, but with a gritty insight into the political and social issues of our times. I'm now lucky enough to be on her publisher's review list, so I receive pre-publication issues. In fact, I've almost finished her latest novel, due out in January, This Is How It Ends. I won't go into detail here, because I've to write a review, but it's excellent. Anyway, the one novel of Eva's I haven't read is Tell No Tales, which is how it came to be on my Amazon Wish List. My son, Matt knows that I love a good hardback, so bought me the hardback version along with the latest Jake Bugg album on CD, which I've played to death in my car.

My husband, Nigel and I visited Howarth Parsonage on a trip to Yorkshire recently and when I saw this in the bookshop I was very tempted. However, I was restrained and put it on my Wish List instead. It was a lovely surprise to open Megan's present and find this. I'm still reading Shirley, so will save this one until I've finished the novel.

I visit my late husband's mother, Doris every Friday for coffee. She's now nearly 91. She loves reading, so it's something we have in common and can chat about. Unfortunately, her eyesight isn't at all good these days and she struggles to read, but she manages. Anyway, she gave me a beautiful birthday card last week and included some cash. I promised her I'd buy books with it, then promptly went into Rugby Town Centre (a rare event) and spent the cash in WH Smith's. It was quite a novelty to buy books from a proper shop instead of online. I had great fun browsing. Hunter Davies A Life In The Day was one of the books I was hoping someone would buy me for my birthday, so this is the one I sought out first (although the Biography Section was very hard to find!). I heard Hunter Davies talking about A Life In The Day on the radio, and last month I bought it for my goddaughter, who is a Beatles fan. I also wanted to read about his wife, Margaret Forster, because I'm a huge fan of her books and most of them are on my shelves.

It's been a while since I read any Marian Keyes, but I'm seeing her latest book everywhere lately, so I thought I'd give it a go. I loved her Under The Duvet collection of anecdotes and articles, so couldn't resist Making It Up As I Go Along.

My final purchase was the brilliant Kate Atkinson's A God In Ruins. Unfortunately, I missed out on the hardback when it first came out. I read Life After Life in hardback some time ago and I absolutely loved it. I've been itching to read the sequel, but now I'll have to read Life After Life again to fully appreciate it. It won't be a hardship, I assure you!

I love birthdays!

The Retreat West Launch, Reading

I had a fabulous time in Reading on Thursday and I'm so glad my mate Mandy Huggins invited me to attend The Retreat West anthology launch. It was even worth putting up with the horrible Cross Country Trains experience!

We stayed in a fabulous hotel, The Ibis Central, just round the corner from the station. I couldn't fault it for cleanliness, efficiency and hospitality. Antonio on Reception was lovely. He even let me put my overnight bag behind Reception free of charge the next day when I wanted to explore the town and have lunch.

For Mandy and I, our evening began with a lovely meal at Jamie's by the river (I think she's now forgiven me for flooding our table with water! I now have a reputation as being 'a bad pourer').  We'd already sought alcoholic refreshment earlier in the afternoon in the pub next to the station, where I decided it was easier to meet, simply because there weren't any benches to sit on on the station concourse (that was my excuse, anyway!).

I love meeting up with fellow writers. It's also exciting to meet online writer friends for the first time (Amanda Saint and Judith Wilson to name but two). The lovely Jo Campbell and her family were in attendance and I fell in love with Jo's 1960s outfit. How I wish I had the figure for such fab clothes! We had a lovely discussion about Amazon Wish Lists and Save For Later! We promised each other that we'd resume our regular email exchanges and commented that emails had now become something akin to letter writing now that it was so much more instantaneous to chat online via Facebook Message or Snap Chat. Such a shame!

Jude Higgins reading her prize winning Flash

There was a special atmosphere at the launch party in Waterstones with the wine flowing freely and lots of interesting nibbles! There was a real buzz in the room and I dearly wished I'd  entered Retreat West last year. I certainly will be doing so this year, as I would love one of my stories to be published in a similar anthology and be invited to the launch next year. Jude Higgins (whom I've known for many years now) won first prize in the Flash category and read her touching piece about a grandfather in hospital. I met Judith Wilson (and her husband/driver) for the first time, unaware at first that she won the short story category. It was a delight to hear her read her story, On Crosby Beach. I could picture the scene vividly, recalling my first visit to the beach and the Anthony Gormley statues last year.

Towards the end of the launch, Mandy and I decided it would be fun to get our anthologies signed by those authors who had pieces published therein. The idea caught on and it all got very confusing!

Mandy Huggins, Diane Simmons, Jude Higgins and I finished off a great evening with drinks in The Pitcher and Piano and had a lively discussion about MAs and the reason why so many people don't think you're a real writer until you've had a novel published. We then had 'one for the road' in The Ibis Hotel bar. It has to be noted that Mandy was on the Diet Coke by this time and Jude went to bed.

Hotel bar nightcap!

All in all, a most enjoyable evening! I had a lovely time exploring Reading shops and had lunch in Bill's the next day. My son, Matt, has an interview in Reading on Wednesday and I am crossing everything, hoping he gets the job, because I think it would be a wonderful place for him to live and work (and I'd have an excuse to visit the town more often!).

Too Many Books! Not Much Time Left!

This morning I was eating breakfast (cranberry and orange bread with crunchy peanut butter, if you're interested) and became aware that the bread (even though I'd bought it yesterday) wasn't particularly fresh. In fact, I didn't even like the taste much either. Rather than wade my way through it, I put it in the bin. Life's too short to eat something that isn't hitting the spot. It occurred to me that it's the same with reading.

The older I get, the more discerning I get about what I read for pleasure. I think that one of the reasons for this is that I'm all too aware of time running out. There are so many damn fine books in the world, that it is impossible to read them all. I have hundreds of books on my shelves that I haven't yet got round to reading (yet I still continue to buy more) and, as one of my Facebook friends said in a recent post, ploughing through a book you're not enjoying for the sake of feeling you have to finish it, is a waste of time; time that could be spent reading something wonderful. Other friends swear by the Page 50 Test. In other words, if you're not enjoying the book fifty pages in, then cast it aside, because it's unlikely to get any better. However, I have been known to abandon a few books fifty pages before the end!

I admit I feel a little guilty about casting books aside without having read them cover to cover, but I do give away the books I've finished with,  either to the secondhand bookshop at the National Trust property where I volunteer, or I give them to friends and relatives. It's not as though I throw them in the bin or (heaven forbid) set fire to them.

I've struggled to find books I'm passionate about recently (maybe this is a sign of getting older!). I get a lot of freebies from publishers as well as goody bags from literary festivals and I have to say it's unusual to find a real gem amongst them. Having said that, All The Wicked Girls by Chris Whitaker (one of at least a dozen freebies from Harrogate Crime) was an amazing reading experience. Why? The characters, sense of place and wonderful writing made it stand out from the crowd. For once a crime novel that didn't rely exclusively on plot!

I'm currently reading Shirley by Charlotte Bronte (inspired by a recent visit to the Bronte Parsonage in Howarth). Boy, could that woman write! It's an old battered hardback copy, a New York edition, in fact, that belonged to my late mother, who was incidentally called Shirley. You even learn a bit of history, too. Can't be bad.

In other news, I had a busy day yesterday, beginning with a bike ride in torrential rain. Tuesday is my National Trust volunteering day and, although we had fewer visitors than in recent weeks, it was an enjoyable day and I got a great short story idea from a young couple.

Another bike ride today, but I managed to avoid the rain showers. I also tackled some much-needed housework!

And yes, I did manage to enter The Writers' Forum Short Story Competition on Monday.