Q&A THE MANY LIVES OF JOHN STONE
Q&A
WHAT GENRE IS THE MANY LIVES OF JOHN STONE?
THE MANY LIVES OF JOHN STONE asks what might happen if inheriting a specific genetic profile could result in extreme longevity (not immortality, not vampirism, just aging far more slowly than is normal). My principal character, John Stone, had regular meetings with Louis XIV of France yet hundreds of years later also witnessed men walk on the moon and mastered the art of texting. I’d like to make it clear that, unlike The Gideon Trilogy, which I wrote for younger readers, my latest novel DOES NOT INVOLVE TIME TRAVEL. In terms of genre, it crosses a few boundaries: it’s part historical and part speculative science-fiction; half is set in the present day - mostly in England but also in New York - and half is set in Versailles in 1685, in the magnificent court of Louis XIV. I hope that it can be enjoyed by both teens and adults. There’s action and adventure but, given its subject matter and its audience, I’ve also allowed John Stone, who has reached the age of 350, to reflect on what it is to have lived a life. What is most important? What might he have changed?
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK?
Years ago, while walking through a cemetery, I wrote down an idea about a story that was “something to do with Eternal Legacies”. I knew that it would involve a person who was long-lived and who needed friends or guardians to help keep his secret over the decades and centuries. Then, some years later, I had what I can only describe as a waking dream in which I saw a boy follow an old man into cave. Neither came out – it wasn’t much to go on but I felt compelled to work out what was going on. I knew from the beginning that this scene happened hundreds of years ago. Since then I have developed the idea a lot, but it all started from there and the cave scene is at the centre of the book.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER?
I love 17-year-old Spark, who is intelligent and full of energy and longing. But my favorite character has got to be John Stone. He’s flawed – which he would be the first to admit – but there’s a goodness, a wisdom and a charm to him which, if he were real, I would find compelling. He understands that he was manipulated by Louis XIV and while he treasures the memory of his first love, he gradually comes to understand that might have played the hand he was dealt differently.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE KING AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ERA?
I’m fascinated by Louis XIV but probably my favorite century is the eighteenth. I wrote about it extensively in The Gideon Trilogy, which featured the criminals of the day: cutpurses, highwaymen and footpads. I also love the 1920s – the era of THE GREAT GATSBY.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE IN YOUR BOOK?
The final scene which takes places in the orchard at John Stone’s sanctuary, Stowney House. It brings the story to an end but hints at more to come.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING?
Professionally since 2003. But books have been my life one way or another since I was a small child.
IF YOU HAD TO BE ONE PERSON FROM YOUR NOVEL, WHO WOULD YOU BE AND WHY?
Curiously, the grizzly, curmudgeonly Jacob – because I would have been through the worst things and survived, was my own person, and there was so much more to me than people would ever imagine to look at me.
My thanks to Charity of 5 Girls Book Reviews for her questions
WHAT GENRE IS THE MANY LIVES OF JOHN STONE?
THE MANY LIVES OF JOHN STONE asks what might happen if inheriting a specific genetic profile could result in extreme longevity (not immortality, not vampirism, just aging far more slowly than is normal). My principal character, John Stone, had regular meetings with Louis XIV of France yet hundreds of years later also witnessed men walk on the moon and mastered the art of texting. I’d like to make it clear that, unlike The Gideon Trilogy, which I wrote for younger readers, my latest novel DOES NOT INVOLVE TIME TRAVEL. In terms of genre, it crosses a few boundaries: it’s part historical and part speculative science-fiction; half is set in the present day - mostly in England but also in New York - and half is set in Versailles in 1685, in the magnificent court of Louis XIV. I hope that it can be enjoyed by both teens and adults. There’s action and adventure but, given its subject matter and its audience, I’ve also allowed John Stone, who has reached the age of 350, to reflect on what it is to have lived a life. What is most important? What might he have changed?
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK?
Years ago, while walking through a cemetery, I wrote down an idea about a story that was “something to do with Eternal Legacies”. I knew that it would involve a person who was long-lived and who needed friends or guardians to help keep his secret over the decades and centuries. Then, some years later, I had what I can only describe as a waking dream in which I saw a boy follow an old man into cave. Neither came out – it wasn’t much to go on but I felt compelled to work out what was going on. I knew from the beginning that this scene happened hundreds of years ago. Since then I have developed the idea a lot, but it all started from there and the cave scene is at the centre of the book.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER?
I love 17-year-old Spark, who is intelligent and full of energy and longing. But my favorite character has got to be John Stone. He’s flawed – which he would be the first to admit – but there’s a goodness, a wisdom and a charm to him which, if he were real, I would find compelling. He understands that he was manipulated by Louis XIV and while he treasures the memory of his first love, he gradually comes to understand that might have played the hand he was dealt differently.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE KING AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ERA?
I’m fascinated by Louis XIV but probably my favorite century is the eighteenth. I wrote about it extensively in The Gideon Trilogy, which featured the criminals of the day: cutpurses, highwaymen and footpads. I also love the 1920s – the era of THE GREAT GATSBY.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE IN YOUR BOOK?
The final scene which takes places in the orchard at John Stone’s sanctuary, Stowney House. It brings the story to an end but hints at more to come.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING?
Professionally since 2003. But books have been my life one way or another since I was a small child.
IF YOU HAD TO BE ONE PERSON FROM YOUR NOVEL, WHO WOULD YOU BE AND WHY?
Curiously, the grizzly, curmudgeonly Jacob – because I would have been through the worst things and survived, was my own person, and there was so much more to me than people would ever imagine to look at me.
My thanks to Charity of 5 Girls Book Reviews for her questions
No comments have been added yet.
