Ask the Author: S.P. Oldham
Answered Questions (6)
S.P. Oldham
Currently working on a more mainstream fictional book inspired by some characters I have observed throughout my life.
S.P. Oldham
Many ways! Dreams have been particularly inspiring (Sleep, Think, Die was the result of a dream, as was Dark and Moving Things, and others.) Snippets of conversation, idle observations, random phrases, all kinds of things and all kinds of ways.
S.P. Oldham
A close relative (who passed away a long time ago) was accused of a horrific crime many, many years ago. I was a child at the time and had no idea what was going on. It was only later in life that I learned anything about it. Long story short he was cleared of all suspicion, because he was completely and totally innocent, but apparently the experience really shook him up, understandably. Goes to show that sometimes you only have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The mystery part is, who really was the guilty party? I don't know if anyone was ever arrested or not. Did they get away with it? How? And why did they do it in the first place? Hmm, interesting...
S.P. Oldham
Discworld, but I would go with a guide - someone who knows everyone, who is respected and even feared, because the Disc is no place for innocents abroad! I would be a sightseer, much like Twoflower, though I hope not quite as bumbling. I would see the dragons and perhaps have tea with the Patrician, if he is able to spare the time. I would hate for him to detain me...
S.P. Oldham
The chance to let your imagination go! That, plus the indescribable thrill you get when someone goes to the trouble not only to read your work, but to tell you they enjoyed it and, if you are really lucky, to ask for more!
S.P. Oldham
The most recent book is actually the last in a trilogy. The idea for the first book - which prompted the series - came from a particularly vivid dream. I dreamed a man had to escape a room high up in a building. In the room there was a very large, menacing and unmoving zombie-like figure which possessed the power to think, albeit it in a very limited fashion. This made the zombie so much harder to evade. The man's only option was to squeeze out of a small window, high up in the wall, onto a fire escape. When he gets out there, he realises that the fire escape is damaged and part of it has fallen away. He has two choices: hang on, with the hot sun beating down on him, a great way up from the pavement below, in the hopes the zombie loses interest and goes away. Or go back inside and take his chances against a formidable adversary. This dream was so vivid it was like watching a film. It played on my subconscious for a while, until in the end I thought I'd write it down and 'get it out' so to speak. Turned out to be the most fun I have had so far writing a story! I love writing zombie fiction, the opportunity for imagination is huge!
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