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.
