Festivals You are in: Bristol > Entertainment > Festivals > Justin Somper interview  Justin on board the Cutty Sark Justin Somper interviewBy Caron Parsons Justin Somper - author of the Vampirates series of books - comes to the Bath Festival of Children's Literature on Saturday, 22 September. We caught up with him to find out more about his work and his sword fighting lessons! - Q: Can you tell us a little about the Vampirates series and where the idea to blend pirates and vampires into one story came from.
- A: Vampirates is set in the future, though it feels rather like the past. Twin children Connor and Grace Tempest are shipwrecked and drawn into the world of piracy and ocean-going vampires respectively. As the books continue, their involvement in these worlds deepen. The idea came, very simply, from the word Vampirates just popping into my head. It happened about seven years ago and was a real “eureka!” moment for me. I knew I was onto something exciting but scary too, as I knew very little about vampires and next to nothing about pirates at that point!
- Q: What sort of children do you think the books appeal to?
- A: I reckon the core age range I’m writing for is 10-14, though I have had fan mail from kids younger and older than that. The books look like they might be more suited to boys but I know that there’s a 50/50 split in terms of the feedback I get. They’re not pure horror either. The dominant genre is adventure, but with a splash of horror, a dash of comedy and just a little frisson of romance.
- Q: I understand you do lots of research for the books, to make them historically correct, how important is that and do you enjoy the research?
- A: I do enjoy the research. It’s not so much that I’m making things historically correct – after all the books are set 500 years hence so all bets are off. But I think it’s important that when creating a fantastical setting for your story, you provide as much concrete reality as you can to help your readers through.
- Q: Did you really take sword-fighting lessons to better understand your characters?
- A: Yes but only a couple. I’m no expert!
- Q: The twins, Connor and Grace, who are the heroes of the stories, are very different personalities and enjoy different facets of their adventures, but are obviously devoted to each other - are they based on yourself and your own experiences of family life?
- A: In a sense, all a writer’s characters constitute different facets of yourself. With the twins, it’s especially true as they are the characters whose emotions are explored most fully. Actually, Connor is somewhat based on one of my nephews – or was initially. As you go on, the characters become real people in their own right.
- Q: Are there any of your "naughtier" characters that you have a soft spot for?
- A: Oh yes. I have a special liking for the wilder characters – like Sidorio, Stukeley and new boy Johnny Desperado. The badder the character, the more fun they are to write. No question.
- Q: The books can be quite violent at times, as you would expect with pirates and vampires, do you worry about their effect on the youngsters reading them?
- A: I don’t worry about it because the books are not overly violent. I’m conscious of it though and mindful of the age-range of my readers. You couldn’t write a book about pirates and vampires that didn’t have violence in it but it is certainly not glamourised. There’s a major plotline in Blood Captain about violence which I guess is, in a very small way, a response to all the news headlines about young people committing violent acts.
- Q: I admit to being in the middle of your second book now, which I'm finding hard to put down - where do your ideas come from?
- A: Thanks. Ideas come from all over the place! Roald Dahl described the writer’s mind as being like a giant spider with pincers pulling in bits and pieces from hither and thither. I can’t describe it any better than that.
- Q: Do you have to be quite disciplined in your writing, or just write when the mood and ideas take you?
- A: To write and publish one book a year you have to be disciplined. Generally, the biggest battle is getting your bottom on the chair. Once it’s there, the ideas seem to follow.
- Q: Did you plan to write a series of books when you started the first one?
- A: When I had the initial idea, I felt that there would be too much material for just one book but it was really my publisher who first saw that there was definite potential in a sequence.
- Q: What do you enjoy most about writing books for children?
- A: I enjoy the pure fun of writing them the most. But getting out and about and talking to readers comes a close second.
- Q: You run a PR business - how do you find time to write a best-selling series of books for children - and do you hope to "give up the day job" after you've made your first million in book sales, or do you enjoy doing a bit of both?
- A: It’s certainly a feat of juggling and, I won’t lie, it can be very stressful! I enjoy both jobs. I’d only let the PR business go if I felt it was hindering my ability to write or to fulfill all the other aspects of being an author. At the moment, it isn’t.
- Q: What books inspired you as a child?
- A: All kinds! I read very widely and always encourage kids to do the same. Don’t get stuck in the groove of only reading one author or one kind of book. My reading included Roald Dahl, classics like The Secret Garden and Narnia but also Enid Blyton, the Hardy Boys and all kinds of pure page-turners.
- Q: You've got a new book out - Vampirates: Blood Captain - the third in the series - can you give us a little taster of what we can expect?
- A: Expect the unexpected! This is much my favourite book in the sequence so far. You’re going to meet more members of Captain Wrathe’s family – one of whom causes a lot of problems for Connor. Meanwhile, Grace journeys to a mysterious place called Sanctuary to help Lorcan regain his sight.
- Q: Is it the end of the series - and if so do you have ideas for a new one?
- A: No, this is only book three and there will be at least six books in the sequence. I’m just starting work on the next book now. I hope it will be even better!
- Q: You're coming to Bath for the Festival of Children's Literature - do you enjoy attending this sort of event and meeting your fans?
- A: Absolutely! And I like to get lots of feedback from the readers so I hope they are coming armed with thoughts and questions.
- Q: What can those attending your talk in Bath on Saturday, 22 September expect?
- A: That would be telling! I’ll definitely talk more about where the idea came from and how I developed it and key characters. And I’ll do a reading or do. But, as I say, I’m hoping to answer lots of questions from those coming along. I’m really looking forward to it.
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