Where are you from?
Paul Arnold (P): Fred and I are both from Sheffield. We were born only two miles, but thirty years apart.
Tell us your latest news?
(P) We just had a first book signing at Waterstone’s in Sheffield’s Meadowhall store which was great and we are hoping to follow that up with more of the same.
Fred (F): With 2008 being the year of Reading, we are working with the Libraries and schools in Sheffield to do some writing workshops for the kids throughout the rest of the year which we are really looking forward to.
(P) We are also determined to find the time to write at least four or five songs for the SpaceCoyote soundtrack. We have already recorded twelve original songs for the rock band (Applejuice) that appears in the book. Four of these songs were packaged as a special edition of five hundred books. That was a really exciting project and now we want to get our teeth into songs for a possible film soundtrack.
When and why did you begin writing?
(P) I’ve always written stories because I just love immersing myself in the creativity of it. Fred and I actually began writing songs together several years ago having met at a songwriting workshop he was running. The idea for SpaceCoyotes came one night during a recording trip to Nashville.
(F) It was the middle of the night, we’d had a long day and we were tired, but I couldn’t sleep because I just couldn’t get this great idea get out of my head. Now at that time, to keep our costs down, we were staying in a small apartment above our publishers office, which only had one bedroom. Being the youngest, Paul drew the short straw and actually slept on an airbed in a broom cupboard.
(P) It’s true. The next thing I know, the door crashes open and there’s Fred standing in his underwear talking like some evangelical preacher about aliens and spaceships and distant planets and people with wonderful magical properties. Obviously, I was worried – not least by the underwear – thinking that he’d had a close encounter or been abducted. When I’d recovered a little, we got up and began to thrash out the story.
(F) By the end of the night we had the basic idea’s down for all three novels of the SpaceCoyote trilogy. The very initial premise that started it all was, ‘what would happen if you came from a place that had never heard a note of music. None whatsoever. Then, suddenly they were exposed to it. What would happen to that person? How would they feel? What would they do and how far would they go to hear more? Throw in a huge secret that has the potential to pitch and entire planet into chaos and you have a great story.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
(P) I’ve always written either songs or stories so I think I’ve always considered myself to be a writer. I don’t believe that you have to wait for some kind of success to consider yourself a writer. That is just the cherry on top of the cake. So whether ten people or ten million read your words, you are still a writer, if that is what you believe you are.
What inspired you to write your first book?
(F) The idea that life might exist somewhere other than Earth is fascinating, but we had so many other good ideas that SpaceCoyotes almost was telling us that it had to be written.
The aliens in the book are much like us, but with a few added extra’s. When one of the characters who she meets on earth, Jimmy, is having trouble with the singer in his band (who has bullied his way in and can’t sing a note), JoJo uses the power of Vocalosis to help. That is, she can use the DNA of a person who can sing, which she can get through something like a strand of hair and temporarily transfer those qualities that make it a good voice to another person. Think of the possibilities. If you could get hold of the DNA, JoJo could make anyone sound like their favourite singer. I’d love that. By the way, we spent hours with a dictionary juggling words and letters to come up with the name Vocalosis. We wanted something original and catchy.
(P) JoJo also can take you picture walking. This is really exciting because she can actually transport you, using your mind, inside a photograph of picture. You can walk around like it’s a movie set, but the wonderful thing is, you don’t affect anything or anyone while you are there. It’s like you’re just a ghost, observing. Many people have said that Picture Walking is their favourite part of the book. It’s probably the most emotional part that’s for sure.
Who or what has influenced your writing?
(F) A wonderful songwriter and friend, Sheb Wooley. When I first made a trip to Nashville as a budding writer and got turned away from every door, it was Sheb who took the time to sit down and give me the advice that I needed, and the encouragement to carry on. We became wonderful friends and it was great that Paul was able to meet him just before he died a few years ago. We dedicated the book to him and hope that he’s looking down and liking what he sees.
(P) My dad because he never told me to stop. I think when you are creative, you become a difficult person for none creative people to understand. They keep insisting that you must get a degree in accountancy or some such subject that will lead to a ‘proper’ job. My father never once said that. Speaking now as a new dad myself, I believe that allowing and encouraging a child’s creativity to flourish is the greatest gift you can give them.
How did you come up with the title……?
(F) SpaceCoyotes and the Secert of the Blue Planet was a real last minute change. We always had the SpaceCoyotes, but the working title was always just SpaceCoyotes and the Blue Planet. The ‘secret’ part was added after a very late re-write to the front end of the book. We think its much better for it.
What books have most influenced your life most?
(F) Huckleberry Finn. After reading that at school, I dreamed of visiting the Mississippi and seeing the places Twain brought to life. Many years later when I did, I wasn’t disappointed.
(P) As far as my reading habits went when I was growing up, I was a very typical boy. I loved factual books. Books about space, books about natural history and books about unexplained mysteries. When I did read novels, they were generally the famous five, secret seven or Hardy boy mysteries. I just can’t get enough of well kept secrets and whodunnits.
What book are you reading now?
(P) I’ve just finished reading Derek Landy’s latest Skulduggery Pleasant novel and I’m about to begin reading Deeper, the Tunnels sequel.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
(P) I’ve really enjoyed Skulduggery Pleasant, the Derek Landy books. I love the dialogue. It harps back to the old style private eye shows on TV. Very witty
What are your current projects?
(P) The main one is getting SpaceCoyotes book two finished. There are a lot of questions that need answering from book one. Questions that having read the first book, you may not even realise need answering, but trust me, they do. The story will carry on directly from where the Blue Planet left off and I’m so excited about the ending that I’ve already written it because I just couldn’t wait. I love twists and turns and the sequel is going to have even more than the first one. JoJo’s world is going to be thrown into turmoil with all sorts of changes happening on Anilar. It means she is going to have to rely on some pretty good friends to get out of it.
(F) In between all that we are writing the songs to go with a potential movie. That should be very exciting, picking out parts of the book and basing a song on it. We can’t wait to get started.
Who is your favourite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
(P) I love Harlen Coben. His writing is intelligent, witty and most importantly he knows exactly where to leave the story in order to keep you turning the page. No one I have read does that so consistently well.
Do you have to travel much concerning your books?
(P) As the SpaceCoyote trilogy is based around a planet that lies one hundred million lights years away from earth, then no, travelling there would prove a little difficult at the moment. If someone happens to find a Star Seeker lying around though, then who knows…
(F) Even when the action in the book switches to Earth (the Blue Planet), we decided to create a completely fictional area for the action to take place in. We wanted Apple Valley, where Jimmy Green and his band live, to be this humungous apple orchard full of giant, genetically modified trees. It’s run by a megalomaniac called Seigfried Dirt who will quite happily crush anybody that tries to stop him in his aim of supplying the entire world with his apples.
Who designed the covers?
(P) I did. I had a definite idea of how it should be from the very beginning. As with everything in the SpaceCoyotes, there are secrets and themes even on the cover. That was something we very definitely wanted to do. In fact, when you get inside the book, thirty six out of the fifty five chapter titles are song titles. Some people have spotted that but not everyone. It’s a good game to see how many you can find. Some are pretty obvious, while some are a little more challenging.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
(P) Getting the science right. When we started writing the story, we were really desperate not to have anything in there that couldn’t be explained by stretching the truth of what we know now, or making assumptions about where science could go in the future. On the other hand, we didn’t want this to be a ‘heavy’ book full of complex sci-fi stuff. It’s certainly not that. I think we got it just about right for what we wanted.
(F) When we discussed JoJo’s powers we threw lots of ideas about and discarded a huge amount because they just sounded too magical. We wanted to get away from the whole sorcerer’s thing.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
(F) Keep going. If you want to write, just do it. Read as much as you can and don’t be afraid to put your work out there and get some constructive comments.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Read it and ask yourself this… What do you believe?
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