Ask the Author: Paul Butler
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Paul Butler
Thanks for the question, Bianca. I think my greatest challenge lay in the fact that Grenfell himself is still a revered character in some quarters, especially those of a conservative (with a small c) mindset, while my own theme was really the narcissism at the centre of the colonial urge. Having the confidence to foist one's own values upon a faraway place is not such an attractive or forgivable trait. I was therefore highly critical of Grenfell's approach. Yet Grenfell is still celebrated at least to an extent. So in my imagination I always had Grenfell's admirers looking over my shoulder, daring me not to go too far. And at the same time every note of caution caused a push back, a sense there was no point doing it at all if I was not going to go for it properly and tell it the way I really saw it. Hope this answers your question!
Paul Butler
I begin my writing day by editing something from a previous chapter or passage of the novel-in-progress so that I am eased into the work. Usually by the time I am properly "into" it I will have something to add, which leads to something else etc...
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