“My books were all written pre-Google, so the research was done the old-fashioned way; interviews, libraries, museums, visiting the places where the events in the books took place, even going as far as to sit in our local cemetery to make sure I had the correct vegetation and birdlife.”
Jan Hurst-Nicholson 22 December 2011
The Back Flap
And for your in-flight entertainment – A Bit of Light Literature, Short Stories & Other Fun Stuff. It’s a light-hearted variety of humorous articles, short stories ranging from hypochondria to murder, plus a quiz, agony aunt column, limericks and a collection of malapropisms to keep you amused and divert you from the tedium of flying. .
“This muesli must be old. It’s got weasels in it.”
A great book to keep with you whilst travelling, and a perfect gift (suitable for both men and women) for someone who is going on a trip.
REVIEWS
“Should be compulsory reading to keep incorrigible chatterers quiet” – Frequent Flyer.
“Could also be used to ram down their throats” – Flight Attendant.
“The stories about me are hugely exaggerated” – Author’s Spouse.
“Shredded drafts of this book line my litter tray. Royalties from this book will go towards proper deodorized litter and reduce complaints about the smell” – Family Cat
“What a relief that will be” – Family Dog.
About the Book
What is the book about?
It’s a compilation of my previously published humorous articles and short stories, plus a quiz, agony aunt column, limericks and a collection of malapropisms to keep readers amused while travelling.
When did you start writing the book?
Most of the actual content was written over several years, but I started putting it together in 2006 and self-published it as a paperback (a publisher who was interested wanted to change the title, which was the whole point of the book). Three of the short stories are modified chapters of But Can You Drink The Water?
How long did it take you to write it?
As most of it was already written it took about four months to write the fillers and get the illustrations and formatting done. It went back and forth between my colleague and I 14 times before we were satisfied with the formatting – we learned a lot!
Where did you get the idea from?
When I was working in a charity bookshop, customers would often come in looking for ‘something to read on the plane’, and this gave me the idea for the book. I did a quick survey among friends and relatives asking what they like to read on the plane and most of them liked short pieces that could be read in a few minutes. It also meant that I could re-cycle some of my published stories (always a plus for a writer.)
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Each story had its own writing challenges, but trying to format the book for Kindle proved to be the most challenging! Fortunately, I read a post about using Word options and displaying the formatting marks. This proved to be a breakthrough and I could see where the paragraphs were messed up, even though they appeared ok on the page. I finally understood why the printing company had such a problem converting it to their software programme for the printed version. Even so, for the e-book version I had to abandon the fancy text boxes in the Agony Aunt column.
What came easily?
I don’t think anything in writing comes ‘easily’, but I enjoy writing dialogue, and I don’t find it too difficult coming up with characters.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
It‘s usually the opposite – my characters become ‘real’. In fact, at one writers’ workshop a writer strove to prove her point by quoting one of the characters in her book, and we all nodded sagely in agreement, until we laughingly saw the irony of it.
My characters tend to be composites of people I know; relatives; workmates; neighbours; a stranger overheard on a bus or in a restaurant; characters in TV dramas or films – or even a bit of myself.
I took great delight in naming one of my least likeable characters after someone who was mean to me at college – Writers Revenge.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
When I first began writing fiction I was advised, “If you want to learn about characterisation, read Monica Dickens,” (great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens). I read The Fancy and was smitten. Even the most insignificant of her characters hop, skip and jump off the page. She is the only author whose books I read more than once, just for the sheer joy of the characterisation. I’m also an admirer of Deric Longden (The Cat Who Came in From the Cold). Anyone who can anthropomorphise a sultana, name it Ralph and make it a character in a book, has to be admired. I also enjoyed the observational humour of Hunter Davies with his ‘Father’s Day’ column in Punch magazine, and Alan Coren columns were brilliant. Erma Bombeck ,with her gems of truth, inspired me to look for humour in the mundane and write about it in such a way as to create reader recognition and so allow readers to laugh at themselves.
Do you have a target reader?
For Something to Read on the Plane my target reader would be anyone from teens upward, especially those who travel (but one reviewer said that she now keeps her copy in the toilet – although it does mean lengthier visits!) I was gratified to see a teenage boy chuckling over the contents, and my 30 yr-old neighbor said he read out the funny bits to his travelling companions on a long car journey.
The Breadwinners should appeal to readers who enjoy family sagas, Mystery at Ocean Drive is aimed at the YA reader who is a fan of The Hardy Boys. My Leon Chameleon PI books were written to appeal to children and parents, and include a subtle educational element that I hope will endear them to schools
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I’m a fidget, so writing is done very much in fits and starts, and having two dogs that are forever on the wrong side of the door means that I’m up and down like a fiddler’s elbow. I like to do my thinking while performing mundane tasks, such as ironing, or washing the dishes, and I can often been seen tearing off my rubber gloves as I dash from kitchen to office as a thought, or even complete paragraph forms and I rush to get it down before I forget it. If I’m stuck for a word or phrase I’ll go into the garden and pull out a few weeds. Not only does a change of place invigorate the mind, but it’s also good for your health (at least that’s my excuse for not being able to sit and concentrate for any length of time.) You can read all about my writing process in A Writer’s Day on my website.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just Chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I have an idea of where the story is going, but I don’t go as far as chapter headings as the work usually takes on a mind of its own and things can rapidly change.
For The Breadwinners, which is a family saga of three families over three generations, I had to keep track of all the characters. I used a book on astrology that gave quite extensive outlines of character traits, appearance, careers, home etc. for each zodiac sign and I assigned one to each character, which was especially useful for the minor characters. When a situation arose and I wondered how a minor character would react I consulted the astrology book.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I like to do brief edits as I go along. Reading the previous chapter gets my mind into gear for the next one. I do numerous edits once the first draft is completed. It’s a bit like building a house; once you have the basic structure you can then begin the plastering, painting, carpeting etc until you get to the final edit when you are choosing the colour of soap to match your bathroom. You know it’s time to stop editing when you start putting back commas that you’ve just taken out.
Did you hire a professional editor?
The articles and short stories in Something to Read on the Plane have all been published in various magazines, so they have been ‘professionally’ edited. With my other books I have a friend who is also a writing tutor and she kindly goes over everything. I’m also open to typo/spelling corrections from readers. My trad published books were obviously edited by the publishers.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
No. I would find that very distracting, and I’m easily distracted – especially when an email arrives.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I did have an agent up until last year, but sadly she passed away. I tried other agents, but gave up as soon as I discovered e-publishing.
What made you decide to go Indie? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I entered But Can You Drink The Water? in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and was thrilled to get into the semi-finals (top 50 out of 5000). Although I didn’t get into the final three, I had a wonderful review from the Publishers Weekly reviewer who described it as ‘droll, witty and utterly British’ and this gave me the confidence to e-publish.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did it you do it yourself?
The basic idea for the cover of Something to Read on the Plane was mine, but I found a wonderful illustrator to draw the cartoon, and a graphic artist friend helped with the design and back cover. Unfortunately the printing company has never managed to get the yellow colour quite right on the printed version, despite it going into a second printing.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I think I’ve tried every trick in the book to market the paperback version of Something to Read on the Plane. Apart from the airport bookshops, bookshops and gift shops, I’ve offered it to airlines as a marketing tool; conference conveners, large corporations, and I’ve even sold books at a flea market. I’ve given talks to organizations and book clubs, and to schools about my children’s books. For my e-books I’ve posted on forums and various blogs and joined writing websites. I have tried to get Something to Read on the Plane into overseas airports, but the distributors only seem to work with the big publishers.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
My advice to writers would be: learn your craft (if you can master ‘show’ don’t ‘tell’ then you’ve made a good start); be prepared to take advice; edit and re-edit, and be ready to ‘murder your darlings’; don’t publish until you are quite sure the book is the best you can make it; persevere – and develop a thick skin in preparation for rejections and poor reviews.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Cheshire in the UK and attended Liverpool College of Technology.
Where do you live now?
I live in Durban, South Africa
What would you like readers to know about you?
My books were all written pre-Google, so the research was done the old-fashioned way; interviews, libraries, museums, visiting the places where the events in the books took place, even going as far as to sit in our local cemetery to make sure I had the correct vegetation and birdlife.
The books were also written pre-email, which meant posting the manuscripts overseas by snail mail and waiting 3 – 6 months for a reply – a costly and depressing process. But at least it gave you time to dream, unlike today when you can receive an email rejection within an hour of sending it to an agent.
What are you working on now?
Marketing the books I’ve already published so that I can earn enough money to get my unpublished children’s stories illustrated and e-published.
End of Interview.
Jan is an Indieview author and friend of the blog. You can find her page here.
Flying this Christmas season?
Pick up ‘Something to Read on the Plane’ from Amazon US or Amazon UK, for your Kindle before you go.
