Interview with John Liebe
Published 2014-11-14.
What's the story behind your latest book?
This book is about coming to terms with the real world, and learning that sometimes we have to put ourselves in situations that may compromise our integrity to move to the next step.
A young woman, one year out of school, discovers that her life is at a turning point. Unable to hold down a regular job, she must take action and become a model. She thought it would be easy, roses and wine, but she discovers that being a model is a lot harder than she imagined.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Getting up in the morning and knowing what I am going to do for the next hour. It's part of my routine. The rest of my life is chaos.
What do your fans mean to you?
I write to entertain people, I want my fans to feel something when they read my book. We can have a connection this way, because we felt the same thing.
When a fan contacts me and tells my they loved (or didn't love!) something I wrote, it means the world to me. Writing is a long, solitary process, and connecting with fans puts it back into the real world.
What are you working on next?
Blood Games is a tale about two girls who discover they are both cutters. They both like cutting themselves, as many young people do. But for them it's not a phase, it becomes an obsession, and they start cutting each other, and then other people. Soon they are terorrising the town they live in.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
Bacon and Eggs and fresh toast.
Oh man, that just gets me going.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
I am a fine art photographer and tinker with robots and things. I paint the occasional thing, but it's not the passion that writing is.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes. It was a sci fi epic about two kids who found a spaceship and went around the galaxy exploring the planets.
What is your writing process?
I play music until I can imagine a scene. Once I can feel the scene I examine it from all sides, try to find the best way to explore it. At some point I start to forget it and that is when I write in a panic, to stop myself forgetting it.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
The first big book I read was Doctor Who and the Daleks. Before then I never knew these amazing worlds existed in books, and I really wanted to make my own worlds.
What do you read for pleasure?
Comedy, like P.G. Wodehouse. Oh man, he could just make you laugh with his writing style. His books make terrible TV though, because all the comedy is in how he writes. I don't think there will ever be another Wodehouse.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
I love my Samsung Galaxy Note III. I write on it at cafes and read on it.
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