Pyongyang Punk
I met steampunk author AJ Farelly at the Pyongyang Literary Festival, where we took time out from the propaganda lectures and the tour of the new fridge factory to have a chat about life and books.
AJ, whatβs steampunk?
That's a question I get asked a lot Denis - especially by my super-fans here in Pyongyang - and it's a tricky one to answer. My most concise response is that it's science fiction and fantasy, but as the Victorians might have envisaged it. There are lots of staple elements that are borrowed from the great authors of the Victorian era and earlier - mad scientists in goggles, airships, submarines, giant octopuses, automatons etc.
How would you summarise your novel Time to be Gonagain?
I'm not sure that I'm the best person to do that. I like to think it's an easy-to-read bit of escapism - adventure, humour and a hint of romance in an alternative world. I hope Gonagain and his crew are fun to hang out with.
The airship in the book is called The Reliant, which is also the name of a British car manufacturer who made the iconic Robin and Scimitar. Is there any link between the two names?
I'm very glad you asked that Denis - no.
Seriously, the more observant reader, like yourself, will have spotted the gentle nod to the TV sitcom 'Only Fools and Horses' - two brothers, trading from a tatty, yellow, three propellered dirigible. Beyond that though, the plagiarism - sorry homage - rapidly falls away. (My Korean fans recognise it from the original version - as penned by Kim Jong Un - 'Only Goats and Dissidents'.)
Ha! Which actors would you like to see playing the main characters in the book?
I've thought about this more than is entirely sensible, and still not come up with a satisfactory cast. Perhaps Robert Sheehan for the title role. Or maybe I'd opt for relatively unknown actors for the main characters and cameos for peripheral ones.
Did you do any research for the book?
As little as possible - it's one of the benefits of building your own world. I have a distaste for research that is second only to your friend, Marco Ocram. For example, I began to research the lifting properties of helium and hydrogen, but gave up and invented my own lifting gasses instead. I did enjoy discovering the pantelegraph though - a fax machine from the 1860s.
The book ends with a lot of open questions - does that mean we can hope for a sequel? If so, when might it be out?
I'm not a huge fan of Hollywood-style, neatly packaged endings tied up with a bow. I like it when there are a few loose strands to ponder at the end. The hero achieved his main objectives, the villains were left considerably worse off than when we met them and the more ambiguous characters... well their futures were still ambiguous. That said, yes, I'm currently working on the sequel, The Honking Goose Rally, which should be out next year.
Were you consciously influenced by other writers?
Well, the whole steampunk genre is strongly influenced by the likes of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Mary Shelley. As far as contemporary writers are concerned, I was certainly inspired by Chris Wooding, Philip Reeve, Scott Westerfield and Cherie Priest.
How did you get to become a published author?
As I say, I was inspired Messers Wooding and Reeves. I enjoyed the Ketty Jay series and the Hungry Cities series so much, and I wanted something else that appealed to me in a similar way - so, I decided to write it myself - just for a bit of fun. It escalated from there.
Describe your approach to writing.
Here again, I take my lead from Mr Ocram. No notes, no outline, no plot - I'm a genuine pantser.
Weβve also got some questions from our mailbagβ¦
A reader who calls herself JKR wants to know if youβre free to handle a ghostwriting assignment, as she canβt face another round of working with the idiot whoβs been writing her Harry Potter books.
Sadly, that ship has sailed - and it was all going so well until I introduced a trans gender wizard. Genderus transposium!
Lee Child wants to know whether you write every scene your books, or whether you have a stunt double who sits in for you on the tricky parts?
Ha! I wish. I did try Child's stunt writer for a while - I thought it might work. It didn't. He wrote nothing. I asked him for advice on the details of the pulsarnite weapons. He didn't answer. You think a stunt writer is a good idea? It's not.
Ha! An M. Markle writes to ask whether you have any advice on marketing books and generating publicity for oneself.
I think it's a lot easier if you have the right connections. Ms Markle needs to try to meet people with influence and reputation. It's a big ask for someone as plain looking as her. You never know - miracles do happen. I hope she hasn't given up her day job just yet.
And hereβs a very personal question- Marco Ocram asks whether you have ever been tempted to edit what you write?
Wow! What an honour.
It's a bit embarrassing that, at this point, I diverge massively from his ethos. At least half of my writing time is editing. As I begin with no plot in mind, I'm constantly going back to delete storylines that don't go anywhere or amend ones that go somewhere unexpected. And that's before I start even thinking of badly grammar and sentences which are too clunky and long and of course spelling mitsakes!