So, lets start with the easy ones... 

What is your name? Charlie King

What genre do you write? Children’s/Middle Grade fiction is the most recent genre I have taken a stab at.

Which author would you like to invite for dinner? Even though it carries a risk of disaster knowing the kind of plots he is capable of, I’d like to invite George R R Martin to dinner. I feel like the world and characters he created is something I would aspire to write; one where the moral grey area keeps shifting so that the characters you root for tend to change from one chapter to the next. There is a great subtlety about his writing, and it was clear to see this in the latest Game of Thrones TV series (once it went beyond his book) as all subtlety was seemingly lost.

When did you start writing? In terms of writing a book, I started back in 2016, a little under two years after the end of university when I finally felt settled after the initial shock of leaving uni for the real world. In reality though, I have always liked to write. I can point out instances around 11-12 years old where I would try to write a story, but I wouldn’t like to read it back now.

What does your writing space look like? It is nothing exciting unfortunately. Where I currently am, my living space consists of a bedroom so the only place I can work is on my bed, rather than some fine oak table with the birds singing from the windows nearby. 

How often do you write? I’d like to say every day but that would be a lie. In truth, I do end up writing most days but not solely writing towards a book. I keep my own blog where I talk about everything from TV to sport to musings about the life of an author, and have done some freelance article writing too. In terms of writing towards a book, I can usually have good weeks and bad weeks rather than good days and bad days. In a good week, I could write most days and probably cover at least 1500 words a day.

Do you have any advice for those starting out? If you have a few book ideas floating around in your head, write down or type the ideas up and try to start expanding on them. Think about the genre and its cliches and tropes, which ones do you like? Which ones are overplayed? Which one can you flip on its head? You might find you start writing about one of these ideas in detail and never stop and so the base story is born.

What is your next project? I have an idea for a sequel to my most recent book, Lizzie’s Dream Journal, but I still need to put the pieces together. I have a couple of other ideas for stories that need to be explored more before I decide if I can take them on. I have only written one book at a time so far, but maybe if inspiration strikes, I might be able to juggle writing a few at a time.

This section is a creative exercise. Book titles as questions.

let’s see what you come up with...

Who could that be at this time? (Book by Lemony Snicket) Whoever it is, if they are calling me or knocking on the door without informing me in advance then I am either going to pretend I am not home or stare at the ringing phone until it stops. Many great stories may start with an unexpected call or visit, but I’ll play safe and ignore it; if it is that urgent, they could always send a text message like us millennials do.

Where's Waldo? (Book by Martin Handford) There have been books and books written on this subject and still people ask that question. Perhaps a social media post going viral will help us to finally track down Waldo once and for all. Should be easier to find him now anyway since he’ll be the only person outside these days.

Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are? (Book by Frans De Waal) Humans aren’t even smart enough to realise how dumb a lot of humans are. If humans realised how smart animals really were, they’d probably feel intimidated. The fact that we keep learning more facts and seeing examples of animals utilising tools and showing grief suggests that the animals have got a lot more figured out for themselves than we have. 

Thank you so much