Thursday, March 1, 2012

Our Interview with Leigh Mitchell!

                      Naive eyes

                                                          Bio
Hello. I'm Leigh. I'm twenty six years old and I live in Southend-On-Sea, a town famous for being home to the longest pleasure pier in the world. I'm lucky that frequently vandalized wooden structures inspire me. I'm an aspiring author, a backpacker, a television watcher, a boyfriend, a brother and a son.
This story is based on some elements of my real life, but mostly just things that I wanted to happen.
In the two years that have passed since I started writing it, some of the things that I wrote and wanted to happen, did.

                                              Bio provided by author

It was our pleasure to get the opportunity to interview Leigh and learn more about him and how he came to be a writer. So get comfortable and give a warm welcome to Leigh!
1. What makes for a good hook in your stories? Where does your inspiration come from?
I’ve always written with a keen eye on suspense, I like to keep things a little mysterious. It may seem as though I’m making it up as I go a long, and to be totally honest I enjoy giving that impression, because you never quite know where the story is going. It keeps me turning pages, and hopefully my story does the same. My inspiration comes from the people I love, the places I’ve visited, and the stories I read as a child. The innocence and artlessness of first love is something that has always fascinated me, and that’s what I want to try and capture
2. Are you an organized writer? Do you do things like take notes and make lists of characters? Or do you free write and work it out as you go?
I’m not an organized writer by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m not an organized human either! I tend to have an idea for a character or a series of dialogue, keep a notebook with me wherever I go and then patch it all together when I have some spare time.
3. What is your normal writing day like? Do you write when you are inspired or do you have a schedule? 
  I only really write when I’m inspired. Schedules take all the fun out of it for me and that’s when I lose interest. My favourite time to write is when I’m travelling to visit my girlfriend, I have a couple of hours to myself on the train and that’s when it flows.
4. Who is your favorite author and how did they inspire you to write?
My favourite author is, and always has been Roald Dahl. His ability to write for children without patronizing them, and to reveal his dark sense of humour without offending anyone, made me want to do this. I enjoy his stories as much now as I did as a five year old, and I can’t wait to read them to my children.
5. It’s easy to see that you have a passion for writing but is there any part of it you don’t like?
Sometimes I struggle with showing people my work. I guess a lot of writers have the same problem, but I write for myself first and foremost so I’ve always found that part of it difficult. It’s only as I’ve got older that I’ve gained the confidence to let others read the things I’ve written, but the reaction I’ve received has been amazing
6. Do you make time to read and if you do what are you reading right now?
I do, as much as possible. At the moment I’m reading the rum diary by Hunter S. Thompson. It’s fantastic; I love the chaos of his writing.
7. How did you get started in writing in the humorous fictional genre? Is there personal life experience in the writing?
  I’ve always tried to write what I find funny, but ‘naive eyes’ was an idea that I came upon whilst backpacking around the world. It actually stems from a poem I wrote in Fiji, and it was something I couldn’t get out of my head for six months! I thought I had to write it down to get the voices to shut up, it worked, but it was touch and go that I might get sectioned for a little while.
8. Your books have been published with Amazon.com, Does this mean you see the publishing industry headed this way?
I spend a lot of time on trains, and all I see now is commuters with e-readers, so yeah I guess I do. Its great in some ways, especially for aspiring authors, but I do think it’s sad that future generations might never experience the pleasure of holding a paperback.
9. Do you have any online sites where others can read more of your writings?
I’m currently in the process of setting up a website that will include excerpts from another novel I’m in the process of writing, as well as some other bits and pieces. A good friend of mine will also contribute, but for now the vast majority of my work is sitting in an old fashioned pile of scrap paper on my bedside cabinet! 
 
10. Do you have any more stories in the works? What kinds of stories do you plan to write next?
At the moment I’m putting the finishing touches to my second novel, but I don’t plan to release that for a few months. In the meantime I plan to release a collection of short stories, ‘swimwear’, within the next couple of weeks. Again it will be released through Amazon, but I will be sending advance copies to anyone who contacts my facebook page asking for it.
11. Who would be your first choice to play Maximilian Lywood from your book "Naive Eyes"?
Have you ever seen that Bob Dylan movie ‘I’m not there’? Well I’m into the idea that a character can be played by anyone, regardless of gender or race. And because of that my first choice to play Max would be Whoopi Goldberg, I think she’s got the manic screeching act down to a tee.

12. If you could meet anyone from any time who would it be and what would be your first question?
 That’s a great question! If I could meet anyone it would probably be George Harrison, and I’d ask him if he’d give me a cuddle

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