Interview with Eric Brown

Hi here is what you have been waiting for the interview!

1.      What do you write?

I write mainly science fiction and crime novels. I like writing about aliens and spaceships and faraway planets – and action adventure. My crime novels are set in London in 1955. I also write children’s books; some are about Mouse and Millie and their alien friend Umba-Wumba, who takes them travelling in space and time.

2.      Do you get fan mail?

From time to time I get letters from readers saying how much they enjoyed a book or story. Sometimes I get letters from children who have read the Mouse and Millie books.

3.      Can we contact you?

Certainly. My email address is: eric.meridian@tiscali.co.uk

4.      What is your latest book?

Jani and the Greater Game is just out. It’s an adventure novel set in India in 1925, but an India that never really existed. Jani is the central character, who has lots of adventures. The cover art (by Dominic Harman) show Jani riding a mechanical elephant. Other books out this year are: Murder at the Chase, a crime novel; Rites of Passage, and Strange Visitors – both collections of SF stories.

5.      Do you write children’s  books?

Yes, the Mouse and Millie books (three so far) mentioned above, and also books for older readers, Twocking, Crazy Love, and Firebug, etc.

6.      What is it like being a writer?

I like it a lot. I’m my own boss. I can work when I want to, and go for long

walks with my dog, Uther. The bad thing is that sometimes publishers

don’t pay me straight away!

7.      What tips would you give to want-to-be writers?

It’s very important for beginning writers to read a lot. Read every day!

Read many different types of books. Then start writing, and don’t stop.

Write as often as you can. Also, when you start sending your stories out, don’t be sad when they are rejected. I received loads of rejections before I sold my first story. Keep writing and keep sending your stories out!

8.      How did you get into writing?

I started reading when I was 15 (late, I know!), and I was so excited by books that I began writing straight away. I didn’t stop. I wrote every day. Twelve years later I sold my first story.

9.      Who is your inspiration?

Loads of writers give me inspiration. The main ones are Rupert Croft-Cooke, my favourite writer. He wrote one hundred and twenty books, on all kinds of subjects. He was never a best-seller, but kept writing away. Another writer who inspired me is Robert Silverberg, a science fiction writer. He wrote hundreds of books of many kinds, and some of his best are SF. I am inspired by people who work hard at their craft, and who don’t let setbacks get in their way.

10.   Who would you like to thank for giving you ideas, their thoughts, etc.

The above two writers, of course. And many friends who are writers – Keith Brooke, Ian Whates, Ian Watson, Phillip Vine, Chris Beckett, Una McCormack, Becky Payne, Tony Ballantyne, Josh Lacey, and many more. I’ve chatted with them about writing and ideas for years and years, and they often give me a lot of food for thought!

Thank you for interviewing me, Freya.

My pleasure, anyway I will soon be putting other things on.