Chris Turnbull is another new to me author that found me after I shared a post on my Facebook page for my blog.
1.
When
did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?
My
first book ‘The Vintage Coat’ came from an idea I got after purchasing my own
vintage military coat in an antique shop. This was in the summer of 2013 and
over the course of a year I start putting the story together. I finished the
book in September 2014 and after editing etc. finally released it in March
2015.
2.
When
writing about something you don’t know very much about where does your
information come from?
All
of my books are set in the past, and so researching is one of the biggest parts
of my writing. I absolutely love this aspect of my writing as it allows me to
discover new things from times gone by that I never knew before. Sometimes I
use other books for help, but in this day and age the internet is the perfect
tool for looking up facts quickly.
3.
What
advice would you give someone who had “ran out of creativity” while writing?
Take
a break. You won’t have run out of creativity you are probably just exhausted.
Take some time away and do some reading of other books and go out and enjoy
life for a bit. Something will always pop when you are least expecting it.
4.
Is
there anything you would like to say to your readers?
I
would just like to thank them all. I had had those who have been with me from
the beginning and those who have jumped aboard somewhere along the journey. No
matter when you got on board though I want to thank them all as they are the
reason I keep writing and publishing, they encourage me to better myself and also
stay true to my own voice.
5.
If
you could invite three authors and/or poets to dinner who would you invite?
Well
as I am a huge Harry Potter fan (since I was 10 years old) it would certainly
have to be JK Rowling. I would also probably invited RL Stine, as I used to
absolutely love reading Goosebumps as a child. And lastly I would love Roald
Dahl (I know he is no longer alive) as to me he is the best author there has
ever been…his imagination is unreal and I wish I had a tenth of his talent.
6.
What
is your all-time favourite book?
Other
than Harry Potter I would say The BFG.
7.
Which
one of your books would you recommend to someone who is looking for a quick
easy read?
Probably ‘The Vintage Coat’, it is not only my first ever
published book, but it is also my shortest. It is hugely popular with my reader
and people still talk to me about it now after all this time (and 8 other books
published).
8.
When
naming your characters to you give thought about the meaning of the name?
Mostly
yes. It is very rare a character is named randomly. Sometimes I use the
surnames of people I know…because it is set in the past I like to think of it
as being their ancestors. I don’t always do this though, but first names are
always important to me too. It has to be relevant to the times my book is set.
9.
Do
you use real life facts based on true stories?
All
my books are fictional stories, however because I like to do a lot of research
regarding the time period (and the stories are always set in real tows/cities)
I do like to include true to life pieces of information where possible. Be that
a street / shop name or an event that happened in real life – for example in my
book ‘Carousel’ the events of this book happen in 1889 Paris which is the year
the Eiffel tower opened.
Side
stepping a little bit, I do have two childrens books out – ‘A Home For Emy
& ‘Emy Gets A Sister’ – there books are based on real life events as they
are my real dogs that I had as a teenager. The books are illustrated in water
colour and promote recuse dogs from a dog shelter. These book have been hugely
popular and I am always receiving lovely messages, often with photographs of
children holding up there copies. It is delightful to see.
10. What is your favourite part of a book to
write?
For
me it is the research, I absolutely love it. I usually do it alongside writing
the first draft. This is when I can start seeing the story unfolding and
details coming out from my simple idea. I also really like the final stage when
the book is all edited and finished and it just needs formatting together…I
don’t know why but I really enjoy formatting my own book.
