When did you start to write? I'm a late starter. Unlike most writers that seem to have been writing since they were in their teens, I only started to write in my thirties. The good thing about this is that you are fresh. You're not encumbered with a particular style, and you can just write for the sheer hell of it. What was your childhood like? I was born and raised on a council-estate in Hertfordshire, UK. At the time I hated living there, but in retrospect, I think that it gave me a good grounding in life that I may not have experienced if I had had a more privileged upbringing. There is something to be said about growing up in a tough environment. I went to a truly awful secondary school, that has thankfully now been closed down, knocked down and built over with community housing. I learned very little there except how to fight, drink and chat girls up (none of which I was particularly good at). Looking back, I think I was quite an unhappy kid, particualrly in my teenage years. I never felt that I truly 'fit', and on an estate where it was important to align yourself with one gang/group or another, I became a bit of a loner. Then again, I think most teenagers feel like that. Who are your literary influences? I love 'story tellers'. I like writers that know that the story is the boss, and everything else is just window dressing. Charles Dickens, Stephen King, Elmore Leonard (and Shakespeare of course) are all great examples of writers that are unashamedly, first-and-foremost great story tellers. How did you come to write Changeling? I was watching a documentary about the history of the adventure-book. Modern-day authors were talking about how books aimed at male teens had, for a long time, disappeared, and how they were emerging again in various forms and guises. I'd always loved the escapism that reading had provided me in my youth, and wondered if I could create a character that teenagers could really engage with. The idea of a reluctant hero that was begrudgingly dragged into a world of demons, vampires and sorcery because he himself was a werewolf hit me, and I had the image of Trey standing in front of Lucien in his werewolf form for the first time. I jumped up and immediately started to put some notes together for the book. Luckily, my wonderful wife, Zoe, supported me through the writing of the book, or else Trey, Lucien, Alexa and co. would never have seen the light of day (then again, if Lucien sees too much of the light of day, there really wouldn't be very much left of him). What recommendations do you have for anyone wanting to become a writer? Start writing. Just find some time in every day, sit down, and do it. If you don't, that amazing book that is rattling around inside you will never become ink, and will never be read. If your first attempt isn't any good, don't worry. Just keep writing. Also read. Lots. When you are not writing, read. And read everything. Don't restrict yourself to one genre. Explore new writers and new works.
Steve Feasey