| Interview with Jeff Dunn |
First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My
name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out
of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
A long, long time ago (I’m old enough to have watched Neil Armstrong take one small step for a man on live
TV!) My parents taught me to read and write when I was about three and a half. I can’t remember a time
when I wasn’t writing stories, but it became a regular pastime when I was about eleven.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
Most new writers will tell you about the indifference of the publishing world to new writers. I received so
many rejection slips that I began to doubt my own abilities. So I submitted the manuscript for Hecate’s Child
to Golgonooza and they immediately awarded it a gold medal – something, I am reliably informed, that
happens for less than twenty percent of submissions even after revisions have been made. Fortified by this
boost to my ego, I tried again... and again… and again…
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
How far would you go for a friend in trouble? Another town? Another country? Another world?
Hecate’s Child is a medal-winning science fiction adventure, set in a world where wonders that can only be
imagined now are part of everyday life. Joey is a lonely, neglected boy who meets a girl who cannot
remember who she is, only that her name is Diana and she is running away from somebody who terrifies
her. As they retrace her steps to try and unravel the mystery, they meet Kim, a champion virtual reality pilot,
and Tycho, a boy genius. When Diana is recaptured by her pursuers, Joey, Kim and Tycho must confront
the dark side of their age of wonders to save her from the evil experiment she thought she had escaped.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I grew up reading the classic sci-fi authors like Clarke and Asimov, but also Roald Dahl, C S Lewis and of
course Tolkien. My current favorite author is Terry Pratchett. It’s the characters that make a good novel and
I love the rich and diverse characters in his Discworld books. I also like the works of Philip Pullman (His Dark
Materials) and Philip Reeve (Mortal Engines) among many, many others.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
My parents were civil servants and my sister is training to be a social worker. I don’t have any children, but I
do have a niece and two nephews, one of whom is autistic. He might be trapped in his own little world, but it
seems to be a happy place and he’s usually smiling and laughing – especially when he’s making a mess!
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Dark chocolate ginger. Hotel Chocolat make an especially scrumptious confection of ginger pieces in syrup
enrobed in rich dark chocolate and my sister buys me three tubs every Christmas. I try to make them last as
long as possible, but they rarely survive into the New Year!
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Yawn, stretch and scratch my belly – usually but not necessarily in that order!
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
The clock on my office wall usually gets a double-take. It goes backwards!
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
The silver sheen of moonlight on the shingles of a mysterious old house, drawing the curiosity of passers-
by and luring them to the adventure that lies within.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Favorite cartoon characters: Tom and Jerry, specially the early classics. Character most like me: h’mmm,
tricky. Possibly Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas, because of the way he gets
wrapped up in his fascination with other worlds (like Christmas World)
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
Oh, dear, I’m really spoilt for choice here. I have a lifelong fascination with dinosaurs and prehistoric life, so
first I would probably don my pith helmet and one of those vests with lots of pockets in it, whiz back to the
Cretaceous Period and try very hard not to get eaten by a T-rex!
Then I’d whiz into the future to see if the world really is as I have imagined it in my writing.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
If one day Hecate’s Child was made into a movie and the producer asked me who I’d like to do the musical
score, my answer, without hesitation, would be Mike Oldfield. I’ve been a fan of Mike’s music since the first
Tubular Bells album was released in 1972 and one of his best works, The Songs of Distant Earth, is actually
an Arthur C Clarke novel set to music.
I like all kinds of music from classical to quite heavy rock, anything from Beethoven or Dvorak to Pink Floyd
or Meatloaf. I love Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of War of the Worlds.
I don’t normally listen to music while writing, but I often do while reading, usually Mike Oldfield, Jean Michel
Jarre or something classical.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you
saw at the theater?
My favorite TV show is Doctor Who. I was three years old when the first ever episode was aired, so I
suppose you could say I grew up with the Doctor! The new series is fabulous, taking full advantage of
modern CGI effects, but also giving more depth to the characters, including the Doctor himself, than ever
before. I also like the CSI shows, Vegas, Miami and New York.
I love movies, especially those with plenty of spectacular mayhem and special effects. The last one I went to
see was Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. I can’t wait for the DVD!
There are lots of movies I watch over and again: Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jurassic Park,
Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Déjà vu, Alien, Gladiator to name but a few!
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Never give up! It took me twenty years of trying to finally get a story into print. Not because there was
anything wrong with the stories but because the publishing industry is unbelievably indifferent to new
writers. Whatever your dreams, they can be achieved, but it takes patience, hard work and above all
perseverance.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
Hecate’s Child is the first of six planned novels. The next is entitled Hecate Rising – no publication date yet
though. I’m working on other projects too.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out
of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
A long, long time ago (I’m old enough to have watched Neil Armstrong take one small step for a man on live
TV!) My parents taught me to read and write when I was about three and a half. I can’t remember a time
when I wasn’t writing stories, but it became a regular pastime when I was about eleven.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
Most new writers will tell you about the indifference of the publishing world to new writers. I received so
many rejection slips that I began to doubt my own abilities. So I submitted the manuscript for Hecate’s Child
to Golgonooza and they immediately awarded it a gold medal – something, I am reliably informed, that
happens for less than twenty percent of submissions even after revisions have been made. Fortified by this
boost to my ego, I tried again... and again… and again…
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
How far would you go for a friend in trouble? Another town? Another country? Another world?
Hecate’s Child is a medal-winning science fiction adventure, set in a world where wonders that can only be
imagined now are part of everyday life. Joey is a lonely, neglected boy who meets a girl who cannot
remember who she is, only that her name is Diana and she is running away from somebody who terrifies
her. As they retrace her steps to try and unravel the mystery, they meet Kim, a champion virtual reality pilot,
and Tycho, a boy genius. When Diana is recaptured by her pursuers, Joey, Kim and Tycho must confront
the dark side of their age of wonders to save her from the evil experiment she thought she had escaped.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I grew up reading the classic sci-fi authors like Clarke and Asimov, but also Roald Dahl, C S Lewis and of
course Tolkien. My current favorite author is Terry Pratchett. It’s the characters that make a good novel and
I love the rich and diverse characters in his Discworld books. I also like the works of Philip Pullman (His Dark
Materials) and Philip Reeve (Mortal Engines) among many, many others.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
My parents were civil servants and my sister is training to be a social worker. I don’t have any children, but I
do have a niece and two nephews, one of whom is autistic. He might be trapped in his own little world, but it
seems to be a happy place and he’s usually smiling and laughing – especially when he’s making a mess!
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Dark chocolate ginger. Hotel Chocolat make an especially scrumptious confection of ginger pieces in syrup
enrobed in rich dark chocolate and my sister buys me three tubs every Christmas. I try to make them last as
long as possible, but they rarely survive into the New Year!
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Yawn, stretch and scratch my belly – usually but not necessarily in that order!
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
The clock on my office wall usually gets a double-take. It goes backwards!
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
The silver sheen of moonlight on the shingles of a mysterious old house, drawing the curiosity of passers-
by and luring them to the adventure that lies within.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Favorite cartoon characters: Tom and Jerry, specially the early classics. Character most like me: h’mmm,
tricky. Possibly Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas, because of the way he gets
wrapped up in his fascination with other worlds (like Christmas World)
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
Oh, dear, I’m really spoilt for choice here. I have a lifelong fascination with dinosaurs and prehistoric life, so
first I would probably don my pith helmet and one of those vests with lots of pockets in it, whiz back to the
Cretaceous Period and try very hard not to get eaten by a T-rex!
Then I’d whiz into the future to see if the world really is as I have imagined it in my writing.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
If one day Hecate’s Child was made into a movie and the producer asked me who I’d like to do the musical
score, my answer, without hesitation, would be Mike Oldfield. I’ve been a fan of Mike’s music since the first
Tubular Bells album was released in 1972 and one of his best works, The Songs of Distant Earth, is actually
an Arthur C Clarke novel set to music.
I like all kinds of music from classical to quite heavy rock, anything from Beethoven or Dvorak to Pink Floyd
or Meatloaf. I love Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of War of the Worlds.
I don’t normally listen to music while writing, but I often do while reading, usually Mike Oldfield, Jean Michel
Jarre or something classical.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you
saw at the theater?
My favorite TV show is Doctor Who. I was three years old when the first ever episode was aired, so I
suppose you could say I grew up with the Doctor! The new series is fabulous, taking full advantage of
modern CGI effects, but also giving more depth to the characters, including the Doctor himself, than ever
before. I also like the CSI shows, Vegas, Miami and New York.
I love movies, especially those with plenty of spectacular mayhem and special effects. The last one I went to
see was Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. I can’t wait for the DVD!
There are lots of movies I watch over and again: Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jurassic Park,
Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Déjà vu, Alien, Gladiator to name but a few!
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Never give up! It took me twenty years of trying to finally get a story into print. Not because there was
anything wrong with the stories but because the publishing industry is unbelievably indifferent to new
writers. Whatever your dreams, they can be achieved, but it takes patience, hard work and above all
perseverance.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
Hecate’s Child is the first of six planned novels. The next is entitled Hecate Rising – no publication date yet
though. I’m working on other projects too.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!