
Thanks so much for agreeing to be a guest on my blog Chris, I look forward to getting to know you better.
First, tell me a little about yourself:
Thanks very much Lisa I’m very glad to be here having read and enjoyed your blog for quite a long time now. A fantastic aspect of social media for me has been that it allows me to get to know other writers and readers from around the world.
What can I tell you about me?
I’m married with two sons, I live
in Gloucester in England. I was a newspaper journalist for a lot of years - a
reporter first, then a news editor and an editor. Now I work in communications
for a UK children’s charity called WellChild who, among other things, provide
nurses for very sick children so they are able to live at home with their
family rather than in hospital.
Alongside all this I’ve also always written fiction. I’ve
written short stories for years and also three novels so far, Song of the Sea
God is the first of those to find a publisher. It was published towards the end
of last year by Skylight Press and I’m very proud of it. It’s brilliant to
finally have a book in print after years of trying.
What was your inspiration for The Song of the Sea God?:

I’m not particularly religious myself and I suppose I’d
call myself an agnostic, but I just because I don’t claim to know the mysteries
of the universe that doesn’t mean I think there are no mysteries and I think
what inspired me to write the book was that I wanted to examine that
‘god-shaped hole’ people have in their lives.
I’d like to
think there’s humour in the book,
particularly in the narrative voice, but it’s quite a dark book as well, it
delves into some quite murky places.
I’m
thrilled by the reaction it’s had so far from readers - people seem to think of it in different ways, it’s dark or comic or lyrical, and so
on. That’s great because I was aiming
to write something rich and layered and hard to pin down.
I loved your twist in the end and I loved the character
you picked as your protagonist. I also enjoyed how your setting was more of a
“A” typical rundown area and the people that live there. It brought back some
memories for me living in Cleveland Ohio for a while. What made you pick this
type of setting?:
Ah - the setting for the book is a real place. Walney
Island where I grew up. It’s a tiny island off the coast of Cumbria in the
North West of England and the geography of the island and, I suppose you could
say, the general feel of the place comes from my memories of living there. What
I would say though is that the story and the characters in the book are nothing
to do with Walney - I set it there because it’s somewhere I know well and it
made it easier to have somewhere solid to anchor the book. It’s good to have
something ‘real’ as a rock to build on if your story involves flights of fancy,
as mine does.
I do love a dark book, but what will your new book be
about?:
The book I’m currently trying to find a publisher for is
very different to Sea God. It’s called the Pick Up Artist and it’s about a
young man’s inept attempts to find love. It’s lighter in tone, almost a
romantic comedy I suppose. Time will tell whether I manage to find a home for
it but I think it’s good to stretch yourself and try different things!
Your story probably would “hit home” for a lot of people.
But what was your motivation for your main character and the mysterious
stranger?:
From the start of writing the book, and even thinking
about writing it, the central John Love character was always there - he’s the
magician at the centre of the stage and it all revolves around him - his
strange obsession. I wanted the book to have one foot in reality and one
outside of it so by the end readers would ask - ‘Well, is he just a charlatan
fooling people with smoke and mirrors, or is there something more going on?’
And, you know, it’s up to them to find their own answer.
It’s harder to say where Bes, the narrator, came from.
Mute, dwarfish, an outcast. Yet intelligent, funny, very wrong sometimes but
wise and warm and human. That’s what I wanted for Bes.
People have compared Song of the Sea God to all sorts of
other books - I’m losing count! But one I like to compare it to is
Shakespeare’s The Tempest. John Love is Prospero, controlling the island with
hidden forces at his command. But Bes is Caliban - someone who is part of the
island and has its best interests at heart.
What is the one thing you love to do, or the one place
you love to go visit, or would love to go visit?:
Writing’s always been my big thing - I love music too
though. I was in bands and so on when I was younger, playing guitar, singing a
little, you know. I think as you get older though family becomes your main
thing and, in many ways, it doesn't matter where I am so long as I’m with them.
I tell you what was a little moment for me though - I still have friends and
relatives in the North where I’m from and not long after the book was published
I went up to see them and the local paper wanted to interview me about the book
and photograph me on the beach at Walney Island holding a copy of the book. So
there I was, on Walney, with the book in my hand. It was like taking it home!
The cover, incidentally, is a photo of Walney beach taken by and old friend of
mine who lives up that way - and in fact used to be in some of those bands with
me back in the day.
Thanks for answering my questions Chris. I hope your book
is successful in sales over on this side of the ocean. My sister wants to read
it and I will be telling more people to try it out. You’re a great writer and
thanks for sharing your work with us.
Thank you for having me Lisa - and I wish you and your
sister all the best with your book too! ! If people want to link up with me
they can find me here:
Twitter: @ChilledCH
Blog:
And Song of the Sea God is available on Amazon in the USA here and you can read the first few pages to get a feel for it - see if it draws you in!

A great interview, Lisa. I've been lucky to have Chris on my blog too. His book is excellent - I'm about to read it for a second time! And even better, he's a super guy as well - quite a bonus :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Val! I agree the book is a good read and Chris is a great guy! Glad you liked the interview!
ReplyDeleteHi Chris! I'm the second half of Fender & Burns (OMG, we sound like a comedy team not a writing duo!). ;^)
ReplyDeleteI've read pieces of your book care of Amazon and it sounds fascinating. I hope to read it in the next few weeks.
I think in many ways we write what we know, so it seemed natural to me that the setting of Song of the Sea God (http://www.amazon.com/Song-Sea-God-Chris-Hill/dp/1908011556) would be set in your home-town. Is your new book set in a similarly familiar location?
Lastly, I wanted to thank you for being on Lisa's blog. Keep writing! :)
Welcome to Lisa's blog Chris! Your book sounds facinating! I have very little time in my schedule unfortunatey to sit and read for pleasure, but I think that I would want to make time for yours. It sounds very different than what is out there currently. Do you plan to write any more novels?
ReplyDeleteThanks Brandie - yes, I'm always writing. I'm looking for a home for a novel which I have completed and am just at the start of another.
ReplyDeleteThank you too Val - very kind of you!
And Toni, many thanks for your comment too. I do see a great value in setting a novel somewhere you know as I think a sense of place is a great thing for a book to have. My new book is set around Gloucestershire where I currently live.