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Revision as of 17:36, 7 March 2011
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|date=20 February 2011
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JM: [[Mortlock by Jon Mayhew|Mortlock]] if they haven't read it! But self-interest aside, Dead of Winter by [[:Category:Chris Priestley|Chris Priestley]] and his Tales of Terror series, The Black Book of Secrets and the others in [[:Category:F E Higgins|F E Higgins's]] series, Oh, anything by [[:Category:Marcus Sedgwick|Marcus Sedgwick]], [[The Dead (The Dark) by David Gatward|The Dead by David Gatward]] or The Bili SanGreal books by Sarwat Chadda.
* '''BB: Have you ever thought about collaborating with another author on anovel? If so, who would be your dream writing partner? (Alive or dead, I'm feeling generous!)'''
JM: You're too kind! I'd love to brainstorm ideas with [[:category:David Almond|David Almond]] or [[:Category:Eoin Colfer|Eoin Colfer]]. I think Mr Colfer would be fun to work with. As would [[:Category:Marcus Sedgwick|Marcus Sedgwick]], I love [[White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick|White Crow]] and its modern interpretation of the Gothic. I suspect though that many writers are a bit like me in that they quite like to work alone, so it may not work. Writers from the past? They'd probably have me burnt at the stake for my heretical thoughts.
JM: I'm wary of giving advice but I think the one thing I would say is write the book you'd love to read. Enjoy writing it. I could be wrong but I get the impression that if you try to write 'the next big thing' you'll spend half your life trying to second guess the markets and the other half miserable and not enjoying your writing. Pointless.
* '''BB: As a fellow massive folk music fan, I love the atmospheric lyricsscattered throughout your two books so far. Any particular folk artists you'd recommend to your readers? And, if I can sneak in an extra question, do you listen to music when you write?'''
JM: An album called Castabell by a trio called 1651 had a huge influence on Mortlock, it's a dark and mysterious take on Playford's Dancing Master. It sends shivers down my spine. Alva's take on Long Lankin gives me bad dreams. A lot of Martin Carthy's music inspires me, his version of Scarborough Fair with Chris Wood and Roger Wilson (Wood Wilson and Carthy) was part of the inspiration for The Demon Collector. He actually makes the song sound sinister! I also love Faustus and Maclaine Colston and Saul Rose. In answer to the sneaky extra question is partly all of the above with a healthy dollop of The Sisters of Mercy, Hawkwind, Steppenwolf, The Pogues and the sound tracks to many, many horror films!
* '''BB: If you could ask any other author any question, what would you ask andwho would you ask it to?'''
JM: I would ask [[:Category:Louis Sachar|Louis Sachar]] how he plans his stories. There must be a secret to crafting such clever, twisty, turny plots that look so simple. Maybe it's just genius though!
I also think it's a great vehicle for giving something back, hence the free Mortlock short stories between Jan 2011 and April 2011 downloadable from [http://www.mortlockdemon.com here].
* '''BB: What's next for Jon Mayhew?'''
* '''BB: Ooh, excellent. We can't wait to see them. Thanks for the interview, Jon!'''
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[[Category:Interviews|Mayhew, Jon]] [[Category:Jon Mayhew]]
