Close Enough

A - There's a saying, somewhere, that if the book you want to read hasn't been written, you must write it. If you want the honest answer I wrote it for me. As a reader, I love British satire and humor or humour. I love funny; funny epic fantasy novels like Terry Pratchett's Discworld and comedic sci fi like Douglas Adams. But I also like a gripping tale that zips along quickly in the time honoured tradition of adventure and action fiction. And of course, I like genre fiction mashups; Douglas Adams meets StarTrek, Doctor Who, Terry Pratchett and James Bond. I wanted fantasy that was also science fiction. I wanted crazy weird alien races, but I wanted to make them up myself. I wanted a fast paced story, a gripping tale but also comedy in the tradition of all the great funny British authors. You won't find standard mythic creatures in my sci fi - I couldn't face the deluge of emails I'd inevitably get from those who knew more about them than I do, telling me I'd got them wrong. However, you will find all sorts of quirky misfit characters and interesting alien species. From six feet Swamp Things with antennae to cute furry creatures like the Blurpons, with their fluffy ears, big button eyes and penchant for extreme violence. A - Hopefully, the same things as I do: the world building, the characterisation, what, I hope, is pithy witty dialogue (or dialog) and of course, crazy characters who are flawed and stuff up, and are not beautiful. There's not one skinny woman in a leather jumpsuit anywhere in this series. I like writing characters who have zero combat skills, putting them in a situation where they could really do with knowing how to fight and seeing how they cope - I'm mean like that. Oh and of course the snurds. You've gotta love a flying car, right? A - Oh yes. I wrote them entirely for me. If anyone else likes them, that's gravy. I love British humour, and parody in sci fi and fantasy: people like Pratchett and Adams. There's so much texture and depth in their books. I think if you're funny you can be harder hitting and setting it all in a parallel reality with made up species of creatures also helps. A - Not really. I wrote it with my nephew in mind - he was a teenager at the time - but it's more a mind set and an approach to life that I'm reaching out to. To give you an idea; the oldest fan of my books whom I knew about was in his 90s - sadly, he's died now - and the youngest is 10.