INTERVIEW WITH PAUL VINCENT AUTHOR OF FREE CONDUCTED BY NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES

To read the review of Free click HERE

Good day Paul and thank you for accepting Bookpleasures' invitation to be interviewed:

NORM

Could you tell us about yourself, your writing experiences and how you became a writer?

PAUL

As a child I went to a British school that was set up by King Edward VI and is still run as a charity for poorer kids. Almost as an act of whimsy the school bought a commercial theatre, and as teenagers we used to write and produce plays. The plays were probably dreadful: 16 year olds musing about the meaning of life in a Samuel Beckett style doth not great theatre make. And people used to pay to watch us! I'm still blushing, but I've had the bug for writing ever since.

NORM

How easy or difficult was it to write your recent novel, Free? Were you self-conscious about the black humour that is very much in evidence throughout the novel?

PAUL

I write every single day, and have done for years. This gives me lots of chance to experiment and reshape ideas; I assume that 90% of what I write will never be used, so it gives me enormous freedom without the pressure to 'get it right' all the time. Sooner or later I come up with exactly the ideas and characters that give me a buzz and hopefully give readers a buzz too. I'm looking to entertain: I wanted Free to be truly gripping page after page, but also witty and full of interesting themes. AND I wanted to make it look easy. One of my all time heros is Cary Grant. By all accounts he worked furiously hard day after day... to make it look it easy. Do I get self conscious when writing about the stickier bits of life? I feel I stradle two different generations. When I was a child I used to squirm with embarassment if something sexual came on the TV and my parents were sitting there with me. But nowadays in the UK we have Sex and the City on mainstream TV at 9.25 and our kids troop into the room to watch it with us and share the snacks and ask supplementary questions. When writing I try very hard to make sure I am accessible to younger generations, so I try and bear in mind what they are comfortable with and what they relate to. So, no, I'm not self-conscious, but when I read to my wife's grandmother who is blind I do cut out the odd paragraph. I'm not sure I could handle her supplementary questions.

NORM

How much research went into the writing of the book and how many times was it redrafted before your editors were satisfied?

PAUL

Spain is such a great place to visit - friendly, fun and beautiful - that research was hardly a chore. One day, I even saw Brad Pitt sitting at a cafe table with his eyes closed soaking up the sun, so I'm evidently not alone in loving the place. There were about four drafts of the book and Gabrielle was the hero rather than the possible villain in most of them. Some of the greatest fictional villains, such as Hannibal Lector are men, of course, but it has always intrigued me that when Walt Disney was alive his cartoon villains were women (or animals, obviously) but never men. Was this mysogyny or is it that he felt that fictional women make for the scariest characters? Would Cruella DeVil have been better as a man? Should the Queen in Sleeping Beauty be replaced by a King? Who knows, but certainly when I made the man the victim in the book, it really came to life. As for editors: I've been blessed with editors who seem to be fans, so I don't get much trouble.

NORM

Do you agree that a good book generally focuses on the struggles of vividly drawn individuals, not issues? Through their interactions, we understand the issues profoundly. If you agree, why and how is this applicable to your novel, Free?

PAUL

Sticking with the example of Silence of the Lambs, we follow Clarice Starling's battles in a man's profession and I'd say it is one of the key elements that makes the book gripping. In Free I explore our relationship with history: the history of the country we live in but also, for example, the extent to which a partner's personal history has to be factored in. I love themes, but they don't sell many books, so I made sure Free works as a fun thriller as well as a literary work. This is probably why it has won prizes.

NORM Is there anything in today's contemporary fiction to be excited about?

PAUL

I love thrillers with the human touch: Nicci French, for example, I always buy the new hardback on the day it is released and spend the entire day reading it. I also admire writers who offer no plot but somehow make it gripping anyway. I adored The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank. Delicate and human.

NORM

Do you feel that people are reading less today, and writing is suffering and/or dying?

PAUL

This is something that annoys me about fellow authors. They moan that not enough youngsters read but then they don't make any effort to write books that youngsters might enjoy. They just want to blame the public all the time and not take any responsibility themselves. Harry Potter proves there are a lot of young readers out there. Why won't writers and publishers cater for them more?

NORM

Have you ever wanted to do something else other than writing?

PAUL

Nope.

NORM

Are there any writers today, living or deceased, whom you feel a particular kinship, and if so, why?

PAUL

I admire different elements in different writers, but I suppose I feel kinship with writers who are trying to create literary page-turners. Ian McEwan is probably my hero in this field.

NORM

What's next? Do you have another novel in you?

PAUL

A man goes to bed in his house in Greece. He is alone all night and the house is locked. But he wakes in the morning to discover the rooms are covered in blood: it is smeared all over the walls and all over the floors. He goes to ring the police, but before he has the chance, the police knock on the door and try to arrest him. The book is called Panic Disorder and should be out at the end of 2004. It is a totally gripping yarn that explores identity and what it is to be a male. It is simply fabulous. Though I say so myself.

Thanks once again Paul for agreeing to be interviewed by Bookpleasures.com