Interview with Robert Muchamore -Interviews with autors

        This is the first interview we have posted on our blog entirely in English.
        The first author interviewed could not be other than Robert Muchamore, creator of the 'Cherub' saga, whose rights Komixx Entertainment has bought and other great books such as 'Arctic Zoo' or his new saga 'Robin Hood', which already has two books available.

        In this short interview, we will not talk about any of his works in particular, but rather about his writing and how he sees literature.

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March 2018 (Photo: Ed Miller)

If you had to choose a three-course menu: a first, a second and a dessert, which three books (yours or by another author) would you choose and why?

I guess as a small starter I would choose one of the Asterix books I loved as a kid, probably Asterix in Britain.

The substantial main course would probably be Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.

For desert, something tart and funny so maybe The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks.

 When, how, and why did you become a writer?

I think I decided to be a writer when I was about thirteen. But for a long while I wanted to write literary fiction, which didn’t really work well.

It’s hard to say why, I just loved books and wanted to do it.

 Has your writing method changed over time?

The more books I have written, the more I have realised the importance of planning a story. I probably now spend as much time planning and outlining the structure of a book as I do writing it.

You are very prolific. Do you have a limit of words to write per day?

I tend to write in very intense bursts. So, once I start writing a book, I lock myself away in my office and maybe work 10 or 12 hours a day, often for six days per week until it is finished.

When six to eight weeks of writing is over, I will take a complete break from until it is time to start planning my next book.

Out of curiosity, do you think about the covers before publishing?

I now have a process where I send cover ideas and sometimes even a mockup made in Photoshop of what I think the cover should look like.

Tell us, are you afraid when a new book comes out?

I think there is always tension, because you hope readers will like the book and that plenty of people will buy it.

Do you think the young reader is often belittled in current works?

It depends on the author obviously. I often find that fiction orientated towards boys tends to be overly simplistic. It is one of the reasons why I like to have realistic pots and moral ambiguity in all my stories.

When will a fantasy literature saga be? With his fast-paced style, sharp dialogue, and In Spain, we have only received part of the ‘Cherub’ saga. Readers are looking forward to finishing the saga and delving into the others ... (I at least). Tell us, are you going to republish it? And the rest of your books?

It is a shame that my Spanish publisher only brought out a few books and stopped publishing them after a very short time. In many other countries, they became successful over a much longer period.

The most likely route for my books to be published in Spanish again is either that someone buys my newest Robin Hood series for translation. Or, if there were a CHERUB movie or TV show which might encourage a Spanish publisher to relaunch the series.

 How is your relationship with the readers? And with social networks?

I try and stay in touch with readers online with Twitter and Instagram and always reply to everyone who e-mails me through my website (In English only, I’m afraid!!!)

 Three pieces of information: first, in recent years, the literary world has billed around 38% less than in previous years; second, in France, ninety percent of books are not reissued after the first edition, they are discontinued; third, fifty percent of book sales are digital, Amazon using. Does the panorama scare you?

I only know the UK market where things have been doing OK. All of the big publishing groups here are very profitable. My major concern is small bookshops, which are great for spreading the word about new books and new authors, but these shops are currently having a very hard time financially.

 What recommendations would you give to someone who wants to dedicate themselves to writing?

The two things I will say are to read lots, and to try writing many different types of stories because you may be surprised by what you’re good at.

For example, I tried writing serious literary type fiction for many years without any success, but everything felt good as soon as I tried writing a book for young people.

THANKS!!!!

 

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