Ask the Author: Chris West
Answered Questions (10)
Chris West
I can beat that. One word. Brexit.
Chris West
Rather boringly, I'd happily stay in this world. It's full of strangeness and beauty.
Chris West
Hi - I'm so sorry it's taken so long to reply; I haven't been on Goodreads for ages! When my dad passed away, I had to clear out the old family home, and I found my childhood stamp collection in the attic, where it had sat untouched for nearly 40 years. I decided to try and fill some of the holes in it, and as I did so, became more and more interested in the history behind the stamps - as individual items (someone stuck this on a letter in 1906) or as more general indicators of how nations saw themselves at a given time. I had no plans to turn these into a book at first, but the more information I gathered about the stamps, the more I thought that a book would be fun. Having decided, it was then time to work out which stamps told the best stories, which took a while. Actually writing the book was a great labour of love!
thank you so much for your question and for putting up with my slow reply
Best wishes
Chris
thank you so much for your question and for putting up with my slow reply
Best wishes
Chris
Chris West
Hi Franklin - thanks for your question. To be honest, I'm not sure. I fear Canada and Australia are both too small a market to make it work financially. Maybe the British empire? Or Europe? Right now, I'm writing a book on European history since 1956 as seen through the Eurovision Song Contest (which, if you're not familiar with it, is a rather wonderful but bizarre annual TV competition that takes place every May in Europe).
Best wishes
Chris
Best wishes
Chris
Chris West
Sit down at the keyboard and get on with what needs to be done. The unconscious is lazy, and needs to be told 'time for work, old pal'. After which, it gets going and is usually marvellous. Some days the words just don't flow. That's usually because the unconscious hasn't been told clearly enough what it's supposed to do. The best cure for that is a good walk or a night's sleep - then back to work.
Chris West
Difficult one. Not the money! It's partially the simple act of writing, of pulling words out of the subconscious and realizing what powerful and elegant things they can be. It's also having written, the pleasure of having made something beautiful and original. It's also the learning and personal change that goes with writing a book.
Chris West
Keep going, believe in yourself - the usual stuff. If I could change one thing about my career, I'd have found some other writers and worked more closely with them, sharing ideas, passion (and so on). It's still ultimately a solitary business (unless you are half of a team), but having a support network helps.
Chris West
It's my job, so I just sit down and get on with it. Reading a favourite author helps, too - but usually in between books, as I do worry about their voice getting tangled up in mine.
Chris West
Just off to do a tour of the USA to promote the book. Maybe see you there!
Chris West
I had written about British History through stamps, so it was a logical leap to do the same for the USA. I had a very small US collection, so expanded it a bit, and as I did so, got reading. I found there were as many gaps in my knowledge as there were in the stamp collection, but have greatly enjoyed filling both.
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