Interviewed
You might remember that I said a few days ago I'd been interviewed by Ana Catris for the Sprout? Well that interview has now been posted and you can read it here.
This was the third time that I've been interviewed since the publication of my first book, and the first time that interview has been written down. The first time was a one hour guest slot on Radio Tircoed back in September. Unfortunately I lost my old blog posts when I updated the site design a few weeks later so I can't link to it. In essence I was invited by Debbie Evans on her Friday morning art and culture show. I read samples from Magic Beans and a few extracts from Twictions then dealt with questions about why I post short stories to Twitter and not Facebook (it's a copyright issue) and my background as a writer.
The other interview I performed was for Geek Syndicate at Thoughtbubble unfortunately my section was cut from the final video which only features Deadstar Publishing's David discussing their first graphic novel, Rising Stars vol 1. You can see me throughout on the lefthand side of the shot where I was talking to a passing cos-player. They loaded the interview here for anyone who wants to see it.
Hopefully I'll be allowed to repost the Sprout's interview on here, but first I need to check that with their editors.
QUICK EDIT: Yep, it is allowed so here's the interview:
Jaque Thay is the author of Jaque's Magic Beans and Twictions and is here alongside David Heyman of Dead Star Publishing at Cardiff Comic Expo on Saturday 26th February 2011 in the Mercure Hotel. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about Dead Star Publishing?
Dead Star Publishing is a small publishing house which specialises in science fiction, horror and fantasy. So far we've had some short stories, a collection of graphic novel ideas, some posters and we're looking to take on at least one of the comics [at the convention today].
And what books have you published through Dead Star?
Jaque's Magic Beans is a book of twenty short stories, detailing journeys and ideas and appearances and it's told through a variety of different genres of story. So there's a bit of sci-fi, a bit of fantasy, a bit of horror with some general fiction thrown in. Then Twictions, which is the one I am better known for: I write a short story every day on Twitter that is exactly 140 characters long and Twictions is a collection of the best of those.
How did you get involved in Dead Star Publishing?
I've known David who owns the company for a long time and we got talking one night and the rest is history.
What would you say is the most difficult part of making your own books?
The money. Finding it.
What is the most rewarding part?
People coming back to you and saying "I like this!"
Do you have any tips and advice for people who want to get involved in writing or indeed in comic books?
If you want to write I have only one tip for you: Start writing!
Before I move on to speak to David, where can people expect to buy a copy of Twictions or Jaque's Magic Beans?
You can buy all of Dead Stars books on Amazon, Waterstone's, WH Smith… you can also get them from the Dead Star website.
As I said at the top, if you'd like to read the rest of the interview (which includes the bit with David) you can see it here.