Andrew Tagg
When did you begin writing?
I guess I’ve been writing my whole life. Probably it started with me writing and drawing my own comics. Even when I played with my action figures as a kid there was always some kind of narrative. I hated when the other kids just smashed the Ninja Turtles together and made crashing noises.
Tell us about your Call of the Isles story.
My Call to the Isles story is all about a psychonaut who learns that Millport of all places has the best shrooms, but he has to buy them off a giant gangster frog. It’s supposed to be a bit magic realist, all events are true no matter how absurd, you just have to make your peace with savage fairies and mobster frogs.
Do you prefer writing short stories or longer pieces of fiction?
If I had to choose between writing long or short pieces of fiction I’d have to choose a longer piece. Short stories have been essential in developing my craft, but the novel I’m working on at the moment has completely transformed me as a writer. Creating an entire world, populating it, and making it entertaining to read has been a real eye opener.
What is your favourite novel or short story that has an island setting?
The best novel I’ve read set on an island has got be Lord of the Flies. It works on so many levels, which have been spoken about at length; an allegory for society as a whole etc. But it hadn’t seen kids shown in that brutal of a context before, it really sparked my imagination that lots of stuff can potentially scary/threatening. Funny too that in the real life story (I think) the kids actually cooperated and flourished.
What do you dislike about being a writer?
I don’t really dislike anything about it. If I had to pick? Maybe that it’s a bit of a lottery, even if you work hard to make your stuff as good as you can it doesn’t mean you’ll get any success from it.
What’s your favourite under-appreciated novel or short story?
A novel I think is quite under appreciated is Pulp by Charles Bukowski. It’s literally an exercise in bad writing, he says so himself. But it’s such a fun and self conscious book. It’s freewheeling, very laugh out loud and ironically it’s actually quite well written.
What are you currently reading?
Currently I’m reading House of Leaves. Really enjoying it, I’m told this makes you a “Reddit reader” but I swear I just picked it up because it had a cool title and interesting cover.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on a horror novel, set in a fictional town in Ayrshire. It’s got an unsolved murder, a mysterious group that engage in human sacrifice, and plenty of dark Scottish humour.
What is the best piece of writing advice you have come across?
Best writing advice I ever heard was from Allan Moore where he suggested you should know the ending of your book first to avoid narrative drift. This is what I’ve done for the novel I’m currently writing and it’s inferred everything that I’m putting on the page.
Where can readers connect with you and your writing?
Connecting with me is pretty tough, I have absolutely no online presence at all. That could change in the future, currently collaborating with some writer friends on a website that links to our community group Write Club.
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You can read Gangster Frogs and Monster Munch in Call of the Isles.