Caroline
said I was getting on her nerves and suggested I “do something useful for a
change.”
“Like
what?” I said.
“Anything.
What about that blog thing you used to spend hours on?” I said I couldn’t think
of anything to write.
“Oh
for God’s sake, writing’s easy. Just ask someone you know a few questions and
write the answers down.”
“But
I don’t have any friends, not since that business in Brazil…”
So
when Karin Bachmann suggested a
reciprocal blog visit, I jumped at the chance. I told Caroline not to talk to
me, I would be busy for a while, and she said, “Thank goodness for that.”
Some
people are just good communicators, and Karin Bachmann is one such person. She
blogs, she googles, and she tweets. She also finds the time to write fiction
for the teen market. Her recent book The
Venetian Pearls was commended in the Writing Magazine self-publishing awards.
Karin is a winner of the valuable Swanwick Writing for Children prize. Karin
was kind enough to send me answers to my daft questions, so I didn’t have to
write very much myself.
I notice that The Venetian Pearls is
set in Isles of Scilly. Why did you choose that location?
A
few years ago, a friend and I decided to have a holiday in England. We wanted
to visit some of my relatives and discover a new spot before going to see them.
When the travel brochures arrived, I dropped one. It fell open and revealed the
most beautiful seascape. The Isles of Scilly. We spent four days there. Every
one of them better than the one before, and I told myself: one day, I'm going
to set a story here. I've been to the Isles of Scilly twice more since then.
You can't help but fall in love with the place.
Where did you get the idea for the
plot?
Several
incidents eventually mingled. I went to a talk about precious stones and
pearls. Then I cleared out my schoolbooks and stumbled upon the story of
Ulysses and the ogre again that plays a part in the solution of the mystery in
the Pearls. And I had an encounter with a leg-amputated child when waiting for
a train connection. Stuff everything into a hyperactive brain, give it a shake,
let it fester for a few nights – hey presto!
Were you able to do any book
promotion around the publication of The Venetian Pearls?
Not
very much but I did my best contacting English bookshops in Switzerland and
Cornwall. There's an amazing number of English-speaking organisations and
schools in Switzerland, where I was able to give talks – well at some of them.
When the German version came out, I sent brochures to schools, which again
resulted in readings and sales.
But
best of all, last summer, I returned to the Scillies. I contacted St. Mary's
Library in Hugh Town (on Twitter: @StMarys_Library, incidentally the library
with the most beautiful view in the world). The librarian was extremely
helpful. She organised a workshop for the local writing group, a reading for
children, and an interview on Radio Scilly. She also put me in contact with
local bookshops who now stock the book.
Having been through the experience of
publishing your own book, what advice would you give to someone who wanted to
try it themselves?
You
have to know that it's hard work. The production process is the smallest part –
it's the PR that kills you. So make sure your book is really the best it can
be. For example, it pays to have it professionally proofread and to have a
striking, stunning cover. The hardest bit is not to get it out there but to get
it noticed. Try to befriend locally situated librarians and booksellers – and
teachers when writing for children. Such people are worth their weight in gold.
What do you enjoy most about writing
for a younger audience?
To
be able to feel like a child again, with all the wonder, mischief and enjoyment
that involves. But also the fear and helplessness. Trying to see the world from
a child's perspective can open up our grown-up-view-of-the-world.
And
then, of course, meeting the audience at school readings. Children are very
blunt. They'll let you know what they think about you and your stories.
Do you connect with your inner child
when you are writing?
Sometimes
I'm not sure if I've ever grown up at all. So my inner child is very close to
the surface. On the other hand, I was a strange child; interested in history
and science from an early age. I've been accused (by adults, mostly editors) to
overestimate my readers. I'm not sure if that's true, and rather think adults
tend to underestimate children. I remember that one of the most irksome aspects
of being a child was being talked down to. That's the thing I try to avoid when
writing for children.
Where and when do you do most of your
writing?
I
work as an optician in an 80% post, so do my writing on Sundays (social media
and correspondence in the morning, fiction in the afternoon) and Wednesdays and
Thursdays. I can write almost anywhere if necessary – except on trains. That
is, I can write on trains but not decipher what I've written afterwards.
Do you enjoy social media such as
Facebook and Twitter, and do you count that as writing too?
Being
a digital dinosaur, it was very hard for me at first to start with social
media. But all the tutors and speakers at the Swanwick Writers' Summer School
seem to agree that you have to do that nowadays if you're a writer. I've grown
rather fond of tweeting and quite like blogging. Having said that, I do count
it as writing and reserve special slots in my writing days for social media.
Do you have a ‘work in progress’? If
so, are you ready to tell me about it?
The
working title is "The Grandmaster's Sword" but you could just as well
name it "Never Ending Story Part 2" because I've been working on it
for ages.
It's
a sequel to the Pearls and set in Malta. Nicky, Chris and Daniel are on the
scent of a precious historical sword. Everybody thinks, Napoleon acquired it on
his way to the Battle of the Nile, and that it's exhibited in the Louvre museum
in Paris. But Chris' father – a historian – has a hunch that the sword's never
left Malta. A mysterious motorbike rider follows the friends and Chris's father
in a scary way, as does the shady archaeologist Villard. When Chris's father is accused of having
stolen a priceless artefact, Nicky, Chris and Daniel have to start
investigating…
If you could set a novel anywhere in
the world, and had to travel to research it, where would you go?
That's
a hard one! I'm a travel-addict. I'll go anywhere, as long as the place is
interesting – preferably with a historical background. I wouldn't mind a bit of
adventure as well such as having to get there on horseback or in a canoe (as
long as there aren't too many creepy crawlies).
Are there any authors you return to
again and again?
Yes,
many. For adult stories, it's Terry Pratchett, Dick and now Felix Francis, Lyndon
Stacey, Frank Tallis, Roz Southey and Simon Hall. For children's books it's
Eoin Colfer, Roald Dahl, and recently Curtis Jobling and Derek Landy. I'm
always thrilled to discover new, exciting books and series.
What is the book you think everyone
should read (apart from your own)? Why?
The
Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. It's a brilliant, heady concoction of a
gripping mystery in a stunningly authentic historical setting. And the language
is great, too. Although I wouldn't know for sure as I've only read the German
translation. (And you probably won't believe me that I wrote this answer before
his death. I'll miss that writer!)
What advice would you give to someone
just setting out on writing a book?
Don’t
try to be artistic. Write according to your mouth, as it were. Have fun making
up and writing the story, because chances are that your readers will then have
fun as well.
