Saturday 13 July 2013

Author Interview: Siobhan Curham



Give a rousing round of applause for the lovely Siobhan Curham! She’s the author of Dear Dylan, Finding Cherokee Brown and Shiprecked, released at the beginning of June and the first in a brilliant new series.


1. Shipwrecked is quite a departure from Dylan and Cherokee. What inspired the change?
I was actually asked to write Shipwrecked as part of a project between my publisher and a TV company. They wanted to develop a book and TV series alongside one another and I was thrilled and honoured when they asked me to write the books. I was given the brief that it had to involve a cast of young adult characters who became shipwrecked on a desert island but the rest of it was up to me. it was a wonderful challenge and a really interesting experience having to develop storylines that would work well on page and screen. Sometimes it presented interesting problems. For example, I wanted to kill off one of the main characters but the TV people advised against it as they said that a big name actor wouldn’t be interested in playing the part if their role was cut short. That was certainly not a problem I’d ever encountered as a novelist before!

2. Did you find it difficult to write in the voices of American characters? (I thought it sounded effortless myself!)
Thank you – I’m so relieved you say that as I was very concerned it would sound like a Londoner trying to ‘do’ American! I did have a bit of a head start in that my grandma was from America so I have loads of family over there and visit there a lot. This helped massively as I think I’ve absorbed a lot of the dialect from spending so much time with Americans.

3. I have to ask: what five items would you take with you to a desert island?
A pad and pen as I’d go nuts pretty quickly if I couldn’t write. A book of Rumi poems to keep me smiling. A picture of my son. And Bruce Springsteen to serenade me by the fire haha.

Quick fire round!

1. Sweet or savoury?
Sweet!

2. Your TV show of the moment?
Nashville.

3. Current read?
The Right Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee – a great book for creative people starting their own business and it's really helped me setting up my own coaching practise – www.daretodreamcoaching.blogspot.co.uk

Thank you so much, Siobhan! I strongly recommend you go out and grab one (or all!) or Siobhan’s books and lose a few hours on a tropical island to escape this miserable English summer!

Sophie


3 comments:

  1. Great interview Sophie and Siobhan! That's really interesting about the book and TV show, I had no idea that's how it came about!

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  2. I have this on my TBR pile and am so excited to start it! Such an interesting concept - I can't wait to see how they b oth fit together!

    -Sophie

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