Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Persy -- Author Interview featuring Robert Paul Weston!

This Wednesday Scrolls, I am privileged to bring you all an interview with Robert Paul Weston, writer of poetry and prose, and author of novels Zorgamazoo and Dust City. Zorgamazoo is written entirely in verse, and is strongly reminiscent of Dr. Seuss. Dust City is prose, and I'll let its label say it all: "When your dad is the wolf who killed little red riding hood, life is no fairytale."

Robert Paul Weston was born in Dover, England, and after living in various places (Canada, Japan...), he now resides in London, England. For more info about him and his books, check out his cool website.

And now, please give him a warm welcome!

1. When did you first start writing?
I started writing seriously when I was nine years old. For Christmas, I gave my 4th grade teacher a "novel" about two boys at a private school, who find a portal to another dimension in their closet. No idea what happened to that story, but I hope Mrs. Urch still has it (wherever she is).

2. Do you have a special "writing place"?
When I lived in Toronto, I rented shared office space with other writers, but now I live in London and the rents are a bit too steep! These days I write at a study carrell at the library, or else on the couch at home.

3. Is it hard to switch from verse to prose when writing?
It's not hard to switch from verse to prose; it's the switching back that's a killer. It always takes me a couple days to get into the rhythm of writing in verse.

4. Which do you enjoy writing more, verse or prose?
Difficult to say. Both have their ups and downs. With prose, because it's so wide open, it's easy to steer off the path and write yourself into a corner. With verse, on the other hand, I nearly always stick to the plan. You can't afford too many detours. I like the freedom of prose and the intense fulfilment that comes from finishing a long stretch of form poetry.

5. What is your favorite book(s)?
Right now, my favourite books for young readers are Skellig by David Almond and Momo by Michael Ende. My favourite book adults is The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill.

6. What if you could go anywhere in history?
I love reading about history, but I feel like I can get a lot out of a really thorough history book, so please send me to the future—anytime after Thursday, September 13, 2063 (according to TheDeathClock.com, this is when I kick the bucket). That way, I'd get a rare peek at what becomes of the world after I'm gone.

7. Can you tell us what you're working on now?
I'm writing two new books. The first is an "upper teen" coming-of-age novel about music (and other things). The second is a middle grade fantasy novel, in prose this time. If I'm lucky both should come out in 2013, which is shaping up to be a very busy year for me.

Thank you, very much, Mr. Weston! I'll be keeping an eye out for the new titles next year!

--Persy

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