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Q and A With Nick Fletcher
Questions set by Mark Slack, Sue Dyer, Peter
Kennedy and Neil Bonner
» What is the best writing
advice you’ve ever been given?
“Grab them by the lapels in your first
paragraph or they’ll never read your second!” That was the advice
given to me by a wily old journalist called David Potts on the day I
started as a trainee reporter, and I’ve tried to adhere to it ever
since.
» What is the most
exhilarating thing you have ever done?
Great sex is always the most exhilarating, but
that apart, probably shooting the rapids in a canoe, because I can’t
swim.
» What is the most enjoyable
book you have ever read?
The Darling Buds Of May by H.E.Bates. It
inspires you to make the most of life and appreciate much more the
sheer joy of living
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» What is your most
important possession?
My four dogs, Nell, Annie, Joe and Esther.
Though they think they own me!
» Have you been inspired or
influenced by other authors?
I always admired the descriptive powers of Ian
Fleming, the dialogue of Raymond Chandler and the inventiveness of
William Boyd. It was Boyd’s short story Hotel Des Voyageurs which
kick-started me to write fiction.
» What made you think
someone would want to read your books?
You have to be convinced you have something
interesting to tell, and can relate it in way that will entertain
others. You could say that displays a certain arrogance, but I prefer
to call if self-belief.
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» Which aspect of your
personality do you think your family and friends most admire?
It can’t be my modesty so it must be my
tolerance.
» If you were given £1
million pounds, what would you do with it?
Spend £100,000 on a writing-retreat villa in Spain and £900,000
creating a huge dog-rescue sanctuary.
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» What has been the most
significant event in your life?
Meeting my wife Cassie. Not only is she the most
kind, caring, and warm-hearted person I have ever met but she’s a
vivacious blonde too!
» Are looks or personality
the most important thing in a successful relationship?
It’s my experience that men seldom discover a
woman’s personality until after she has made a visual impact.
» Is there anything which
really incenses you?
The treatment of animals in the food-chain.
Animals feel pain and stress, yet are frequently force-fed, pumped
with chemicals, cruelly transported and inhumanely slaughtered on
their way to the dining table. And yes - I am a vegetarian!
» Have you ever read a book
you truly couldn’t put down?
Just one - Wallace: The Final Verdict by Roger
Wilkes. It’s a compelling account of an enigmatic 1930s murder, with
the author actually tracking down the real killer 50 years later.
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» What is your idea of
heaven?
Kissing a pretty girl on a star-lit beach comes
very close.
» When you are writing a
novel, where do you prefer to work?
In isolation - and abroad, where it’s warm.
Ideally, a villa with a seaview, perhaps on the coast of southern
Spain. In that kind of location, alone, and without a telephone, my
mind becomes energised and the ideas, situations, characters and
dialogue in my books and stories really flow. I can usually get a
first-draft done in about two weeks. After that, I can revise
and polish it back in the UK. It’s a method which may not suit
everyone, but it works for me.
» What advice would you give
an aspiring writer?
Never give up. Many writers get published as
much for perseverence as pure talent. Every successful writers
has had rejections slips. Just don’t be discouraged by them.
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