Oscar De
Muriel’s thoughts on Books, Publishing, Nightmares and Dinosaurs!
I cannot tell
you how thrilled I was when my new author crush, Oscar de Muriel, agreed to be my first ever interview with
Britain’s Next Bestseller!
For an
author so obviously destined for great things, he is incredibly down to earth,
funny and approachable.
I first
noticed him through a literary agent’s blog. I was looking to submit and they
had an article on the man himself so naturally I was hooked! Not only because of his unique
voice, but because of this…
This is his
signature, one of numerous unique doodles he signs his books with (anyone who
knows me will get why I like it!😉)
I am sure
you are as intrigued as I was, so here are some words from the man himself…
I was born
in Mexico City in 1983, in the building that now houses ‘Ripley’s Believe it or
Not’ museum ( some people claim to see a connection there…) I had a very happy
childhood even though I did not try refried beans until I was six (I refused to
eat anything brown and gooey).
My first
attempt at writing stories, aged seven, was a tale about a Triceratops and a Stegosaurus battling a very hungry
T-Rex. Their three-page, ten-line long adventure was profusely illustrated by
the author. Stegosaurus was extinct millions of years before the first T-Rex
hatched, but still I consider it a milestone.
When I was ten, Jurassic Park (the novel) scared the Jesus out of me – reminiscent of that
Friends episode where Joey Tribiani hides his books in the fridge (I blogged
about that) I'd never thought that
written stories could have such a thrilling effect, and as soon as I got JP out
of the freezer I decided I wanted to become a writer.
After a few
fiascos and blatant steals, I managed to produce a few decent novels in various
genres. However, I found myself particularly comfortable writing historical fiction. I came to
the U.K. to complete a PhD in Chemistry, working as a free-lance translator to
complement my earnings (I was responsible for some cool Johnnie Walker’s ads
for Columbia). During this time I produced a handful of academic papers, and
the idea of a spooky whodunnit started to take roots in my head.
After
several visits to Edinburgh, the city struck me as the perfect setting for a
crime mystery. The entire concept of Nine–Nails McGray came to my head while
eating pizza with a couple friends (guys, do you remember Cantina Los Perros
and the sea monster?)For years I'd been meaning to write a story about the
Devil’s sonata (I am a violin player myself, which I should have probably mentioned
earlier…) and it fit perfectly as McGray’s first case – the first of many.
I went
through the literary agent hunt (I will definitely blog about that some day!) until
Maggie Hanbury rescued me from the slush pile and lent me her very professional
hand. I currently live in Lancashire in a lovely house that overlooks Pendle Hill,
a field of limping sheep, and a very creepy-looking manor I aspire to own one
day.
Wow! As I
said, not only are his books fantastic, his life is pretty awesome too and he kindly
allowed me to ‘open the floor’ for questions, on Facebook (how cool is that…?)
Emma Pullar
asked 'Do you
believe Storytelling can be taught? Or do you think that Writers have a natural
talent and simply hone their tool with experience, like a Singer does their
voice?'
Some people
train to sing all their life but they will never be Adele.
Great Adele
example! I can't sing a note. I do think people are born with different skills,
and storytelling is just another skill. Having said that, even if you ‘have it’
you still need to put lots of work into it, polish up your style and technique.
The competition is fierce!
Ellen
Devenport asked 'How do you
find your dark places? Can you open and shut this door freely?'
It is
easier to open it than it is to close it!
When I
write a spooky or dark scene I usually play some music to get in the right
mood, and writing at night also helps. Mind, I wrote the wrapping up chapters
of ‘Strings of Murder’ home alone at 3am, and couldn't sleep after that!
Sarah
Hodgson asked 'Do dreams, nightmares, influence your work?'
Of course.
Part of book 4 will be based on a nightmare I had a few years ago.
Donna Maria
McCarthy asked 'Do you
believe that getting your book out there is more important than talking
verbatim what the industry says about avenues to achieve this?'
That really
depends on what you want from writing. I always knew that I wanted to make a
career out of it. I think the traditional publishing industry is very exciting,
full of creative and talented people that I wouldn't have met otherwise.
Donna Maria
McCarthy asked. 'How did you
create your fantastic signature? It was how I initially noticed you. Do you
think we all need a hook to get noticed, read? The slush pile is a scary place
to be!'
I swear
this is true:- On a launch party for ‘The Strings of Murder’ someone put a book
in my hands and asked me to sign it. Until then I hadn't thought of it so I
just scribbled my initials. They looked cool enough so I went on like that! On
the other hand I like to draw a doodle on every book I sign, and I come up with
a different one for each book in the series. To draw quickly enough I need to
practice them a few times, but I think it is worth it, it's my sign of
appreciation to the readers.
I
absolutely loved this interview, and thank you again to Oscar for taking time
out of his busy schedule (he assures me that he is ‘madly writing the climax to
book 4’ And I for one cannot wait!
Follow the
links for Amazon to dip into this awesome series!
Bellissimo!! Loved this!!
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