John Dean
When did you begin writing?
For as long as I can remember, I have written stories and by the time I was ten or eleven, I knew that all I wanted to be was a writer. It helped that I had encouraging parents and teachers. By thirteen I was banging out novel after novel on a battered typewriter, although it took another 40 years to actually have my first one accepted!
Tell us about your Call of the Isles story.
I am drawn to themes such as isolation and the impact of the long dark days of winter (we live on a hillside in Dumfries and Galloway and the winters are very long) and I like to use them in my writing when called for. The idea for this story was an examination of the way the long dark days play tricks with the imagination until you are not sure what is real and what is not. It was sparked by a family holiday on the Orkneys; although it was a summer break, it did not take much imagination to work out what the islands were like in winter!
Do you prefer writing short stories or longer pieces of fiction?
I am a novelist, first and foremost, and that’s where I feel I can best explore stories.
What is your favourite novel or short story that has an island setting?
It has to be Dark Matter, a novel by Michelle Pavey which was published in 2010. A ghost story, it tells of a young man who joins an expedition to the Arctic to escape the gathering clouds of war in the late 1930s and who, due to a variety of circumstances, ends up occupying their camp in a bay on his own. The sea is rapidly freezing as the brief summer fades and the long winter arrives and Dark Matter works because Michelle Paver uses the island landscape as a character in itself with the intense power of isolation combining with the never-ending darkness to create a story of growing unease. Add to that the realisation that something is out there in the darkness and you have the perfect ghost story.
What do you dislike about being a writer?
What’s not to like?
What’s your favourite under-appreciated novel or short story?
The Exploits of Engelbrecht is English surrealist writing at its best. Written by Maurice Richardson and published in 1950, the book is one of the strangest works of fiction ever written. Comprising fifteen short stories that relate the activities of the Surrealist Sportsman, it focuses particularly on Engelbrecht, who is a dwarf boxer. Surrealist boxers don’t take on human opponents, but do most of their fighting with clocks. Engelbrecht even beats a malign Grandfather Clock in a match where years rather than money is at stake, but his talents are also called upon to help him with a range of weird and wonderful sporting events, including arranging a rugby match between Mars and the entire human race, and playing chess with boy scouts and nuclear bombs as pieces. The book is still available, including on Amazon. Maurice Richardson’s fans include the great J G Ballard, who admired the stories, describing them as ‘English surrealism at its greatest’, and adding ‘witty and fantastical, Maurice Richardson was light years ahead of his time.’
What are you currently reading?
A Winter Dictionary by Paul Anthony Jones, a collection of words for the festive season. I’d hate you to think I am obsessed by darkness, it was actually a Christmas present from my son’s girlfriend Imogen, that I dipped into immediately (it’s that kind of book) but have not read in its entirety until now. It’s a delight and as an example how about ’quaff-tide’, a word for the season for partying, or ‘darkle’, which means to grow gradually darker as the days shorten as winter approaches.
What is the best piece of writing advice you have come across?
From my good friend Mike Watson, children’s author and prize-winning short story writer: ‘If you want to be a writer, write’.
What are you currently working on?
The 13th novel in the DCI Jack Harris crime fiction series, which is published by The Book Folks, a Joffe Books imprint.
Where can readers connect with you and your writing?
My website is www.johndeancrimewriter.co.uk
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You can read A Kind of Freedom in Call of the Isles.