A Question and answer session with Justin Somper, author of Vampirates (Photo © Matthew Venables)

 

BM: Hi Justin, thanks for your time. I'd just like to say how much I enjoyed BLACK HEART – book four already!

 

Thanks. It’s always a nervous time just ahead of publication when only a handful of people have read the book. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s my favourite to date in the VAMPIRATES sequence.

 

 

First question:

 

BM: Vampires and Pirates seems an obvious storyline for children – did you wonder why no one had thought of it before?

 

JS: In a way, yes. I feel extremely lucky that the idea came to me. It was something of a “Eureka!” moment – one day, the word literally dropped into my head. I regularly thank my lucky stars that another (would be) writer wasn’t walking past at that moment.

 

BM: Although the series is set in the future, its echoes of the past are profound. If you could bring one thing to the future from the past, what would it be?

 

JS: Great question! I think I’d like to bring a certain sense of slowness and quiet, which we’ve lost or have to fight very hard not to lose. Yesterday, we had heavy snowfall in London. You couldn’t drive a car through the drifts. The streets were hushed. Everyone took to the streets and parks with their kids and dogs and seemed happy and relaxed. It was a reminder how good it is to slow down and shut out the noise that punctuates our daily lives.

 

BM: And what wrongs would you hope for to have been resolved in the real future, as opposed to the future in Vampirates?

 

JS: Well, of course, VAMPIRATES is set against a background of extreme global warming and sea-level rise – the oceans have grown and given rise to a new dawn of piracy. I’d like to think that we can act now to combat such dramatic climate change. Other than that, I guess – and this is hardly original – man’s inhumanity to man. But I’m guessing that’s an ongoing struggle, both in my books and in reality.

 

BM: Are you one of those people who believes in vampires and werewolves and suchlike? And fairies, for example? I like to keep an open mind myself!

 

JS: As a writer, especially of such things as VAMPIRATES, it pays to keep an open mind. I guess I’m a bit dubious but I’m very wedded to the idea that when writing fantasy (with a small ‘f’) fiction, you have to make things as concrete as possible for your readers. I spend a lot of my time therefore working hard to make the unbelievable seem completely possible.

 

BM: If you weren't a successful writer, what do you think you would be doing right now to earn a living?

 

JS: Well, I’m already a “portfolio worker” and have another business as a PR consultant. So, in all likelihood, I’d be doing that full-time like I used to. That said, I do have a fantasy career, which would be as a garden designer. And, actually, since I go into schools a fair bit now, it has occurred to me that being a teacher would be enormously gratifying – albeit very hard work.

 

BM: Do you plan your books meticulously, or just plough straight in and start writing?

 

JS: I used to plough straight in, but I planned BLOOD CAPTAIN and then BLACK HEART in a lot of detail, creating chapter grids and sticking to them fairly tightly. I’m doing the same now for the next book in the sequence. It’s useful in a number of ways – it reassures me that I know where the story’s going and helps prevent writer’s block or, perhaps more likely, writer’s panic. It also means I can discuss the plot with my editor and identify any areas which might be tricky. Because, I’m on quite a tight writing schedule with each book, I can’t afford wasting time by going off into a dead end. But all that said, there’s plenty of room for me to improvise as I’m writing – I need that, otherwise it would be too rigid.

 

BM: Do you read other contemporary children's books to keep up to date with what the current trends are?

 

JS: It occurs to me every now and then that I should do but in all honesty no. I do read other children’s books if I’m working on them in a PR capacity or indeed if I’ve heard great things about them and just want to see what the fuss is about. But I don’t read for ‘market research’.

 

BM: Can you say what your all-time favourite five books (or book series) are? Do you still have any of your favourite books from your childhood?

 

JS: Always a tough call but I’d happily be sent to a desert island with CLOUDSTREET by Tim Winton, THE GREAT GATSBY by F Scott Fitzgerald, THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway, FRANNY AND ZOOEY by J D Salinger and GOODBYE TO ALL THAT by Christopher Isherwood. These books all feel like old friends that I like to catch up with every now and then. I certainly do have my favourite books from childhood with me, which include THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Enid Blyton, the Hardy Boys mysteries, THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Roald Dahl’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and the books in Helen Cresswell’s BAGTHORPES SAGA.

 

BM: What type of adult fiction do you like to read? Or non fiction?

 

JS: I have a pretty eclectic taste and a bad habit of having several books on the go at once. I have a definite liking for thrillers and have just finished THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson which, in common with five million other readers, I thought was stunning and so atmospheric. I’m saving the sequel for my US author tour to keep me occupied on the flights. I’m getting more into non-fiction than I used to be. I recently enjoyed Haruki Murakami’s book, WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING. For anyone who writes, runs, does both, or neither, it’s a great book.

 

BM: Thanks Justin, the saga of Connor and Grace continues – thanks for sharing it with us! Don't keep us waiting too long for your next book – thanks for answering my questions and good luck with whatever you do.

 

Thank you! I’m working hard on Book 5 so it should be in the shops around the same time next year.