Rosanne: Hi Mike, thanks for joining me. You are
a musician, a composer, and, occasionally, an actor. What made you want to write children’s books?
Me: I’ve
been a writer for at least as long as I’ve been a musician, so writing is
nothing new. It’s just taken me a long time to get to the point of publishing
books.
In
the past all the books I’ve written (but not necessarily finished) have been
for adults, with one exception. However, there have been some children’s short
stories in the past, at least a couple of which have been published. The first
children’s book I completed (Grimhilda!) was based on a musical a friend and I
had written a couple of years earlier. I thought it had some ‘life’ beyond the
theatrical version, and that’s proved to be the case.
How do you balance your writing with
your other creative pursuits?
It
can be a bit of a juggling act, but usually it’s a matter of which creative
venture needs priority. A deadline helps, but at the moment I have deadlines in
two different areas, one musical and one writing. It’s not unusual for two
things to be running along together: they just have to give each other elbow
room.
You have referred to The Mumbersons and the Blood Secret as a
sequel of sorts to your first children’s book, Grimhilda!. Please explain
what you meant by that.
In
terms of the ‘sequel of sorts’ I mean that only two of the characters from the
earlier book appear (though Grimhilda is mentioned several times). In other
words, it’s a story about a new lot of characters who have some connections to
what happened in the previous book.
You mentioned that Grimhilda! was adapted from a musical that you wrote. What motivated
you to write The Mumbersons and the Blood Secret?
I’d
had a sequel in mind for Grimhilda! when we produced the musical, partly
because some of the cast talked about what happened next and were enthusiastic
about me writing another musical. However, the idea I had in mind didn’t seem
to work as a musical, or as something that could be done on stage. And I
enjoyed the freedom a book version gave me to let things happen that would have
been far too complicated to put in a script.
Do you foresee a third book in the Grimhilda series?
I’ve
since written a draft of a third story which will probably be described as a
prequel: it’ll take place some twenty years before the events in Grimhilda! and
will again only have a couple of characters in common with the first book. But
it will (probably) also explain how something that was rather curious in
Grimhilda! actually came about.
You have 10 grandchildren and one foster
grandchild. Have they read your
books? If so, what did they think of
them?
Strangely
I don’t think any of my grandchildren have read the books! They are all readers (at
least those who are of an age are) but it’s mostly been their parents who've read them. I think it’s probably not entirely unusual that family members are
so close to you they can’t see you as someone separate: a person who writes
books. However a number of the grandchildren did come to the musical, and enjoyed it, so I’ll have to do a bit of
promotion amongst them in terms of the books… Thanks for the reminder!
What are the challenges unique to
writing children’s books in your opinion?
I
think everything has to keep moving; you can’t have too much reflection on
what’s happening, or too much description of things that aren’t immediately
related to the action. On the other hand, someone did comment that The Blood
Secret didn’t seem to have any breathing places as the book headed towards its
climax. It’s a tricky balance.
I’ve
just been reading more of Diana Wynne Jones’ books. She wrote a large number of
fantasy stories, with lots of magic and big events. She was a highly successful
author of books for children, and yet the books vary enormously in pacing. The
one I read most recently had a rather long patch towards the end when things
went rather slowly and then suddenly, all of a rush, everything was sorted out
and the book was over. Even one of J K Rowling’s books ˗ I think it was the
last ˗ had a long stretch in it where very little seemed to be happening. They
tightened this up considerably in the movie. I’m not sure that children worry
too much about these things; maybe it’s adult readers who do. (I think adults
should read children’s books regularly; I certainly do.)
I have noticed that your blog covers a
wide variety of topics, some are about writing, some are religious in nature
and some are observations. What
motivates you to write your blog?
As
I said earlier, I’ve written since I was young, and it seems part and parcel of
my nature to record what I think about things. Before blogging came along I
used to do it in exercise books or in diaries or journals on the computer.
Blogging just became a way of making these things more public! I wrote a weeklycolumn for a local newspaper back in the 90s, for five years, and in it I was
free to write on anything I fancied. I guess the blogging is an extension of
that. For me, blogs that keep on hammering away at the same subject week in and
week out get a bit uninteresting after a while, just the same as newspaper
columns that are focused only on one thing. I like variety!
Do you find social media to be more
useful in marketing or in helping you to learn more about the self publishing
universe?
I
don’t know that I’ve made a distinction like that between them. I tend to read
anything and everything that’s going when I’m first learning about something.
Social media’s certainly been helpful in discerning what’s useful in terms of
marketing ˗ though you have to sift between what are often opposing viewpoints.
Equally there’s a heap of information about self-publishing out there: some of
it is excellent, some rubbish, some marginally informative and so on. It’s the
nature of the Internet. But it often points you to books that are of value: I’ve
discovered several books about self-publishing/marketing, and these have
probably been more helpful because they’re more focused. Deb Vanasse’s book
What Every Author Should Know is one I’ve read recently that I found very good
all round.
If you could ask any question on social
media about self publishing and get an honest answer, what would it be?
“How
can I guarantee that my books will sell very well?” I’m sure I’d get plenty of
honest answers, but I don’t think I’ll get one that will guarantee sales!
I would ask “How many books have you
sold?” There are so many of us out there and I think it would help to have a
better understanding of the goals (in terms of sales) that other authors set
for themselves and the timeline they set for achieving them.
With
e-books by relatively unknown authors, the secret seems to be perseverance:
keep on reminding people about the books through social media. But don’t do it in
a way that makes it sound like you’re insisting on a sale, or like you’re
advertising. Make it part of the overall conversation. Encourage people to help
your books to sell by word of mouth. An endorsement from someone who’s enjoyed
your books to one or more of their friends is still one of the best ways of
getting the books known, even better than good reviews.
I
was pleased this morning to find a tweet from a friend saying: My
daughter is again reading Grimhilda, by @mcrowl. She thinks it’s ‘awesome’. That
sort of publicity is invaluable, because it’s sincere.
Well, judging by your reviews on Amazon,
others find Grimhilda! awesome as
well! I really enjoyed The Mumbersons and
the Blood Secret and I look forward to reading Grimhilda! (I agree with you that adults should read children’s
books, and I do!). Mike, thanks again for taking the time to share your
thoughts with me. I wish you success in all of your endeavours!
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