Things Forgotten by Daniel Maitland
For those who have not read your book, please can you tell us a little bit about it?
Its about rules and regulations of the physics of existence and whether, if we decide we aren't going to bother with them, they can be bypassed...
Where did your inspiration come for for the book?
It actually came from a dream I had, where a little girl was being led by an older boy (who was not officially there) to some sort of meaningful meeting that was very important.. It felt important, when i woke up, so I pursued it.
It is written from a child's perspective, how did you go about capturing this voice effectively?
I hope I do. I like writing from children's perspectives; they are more honest. I suppose I just try to be more honest.
The book touches upon family life, is this something that is important to you?
Yes, mine was/is fairly handsoff - in a middle class english way... Relationships are important of course, and not to be too crass, but Love...
What is your writing background?
Songwriting, 3 novels, Poetry anthology and performancestravel book, some commercial writing.. These days, I spend a lot of time helping unemployed people make Art/media CVs..perversely satisfying to order someone's life history for the purposes of sale.
Who are your favourite reads?
Cormac McCarthy, Jack Kerouac, Anne Tyler, Charles Bukowski, Greg Bear, PG Woodhouse, JP Donleavey, John Irving, Nick Hornby...
What advice can you give to aspiring writers?
I am one myself. What advice can they give to me... ' Don't be boring. You probably won't sell it anyway, however good it may be, as people can only read txt and twitter... So make sure you are writing what you want to write and what feels like it's true and honest and fun.. and isn't boring...'
When you self printed this in 2010 for your friends and family, how did they react?
A lot of them really liked it, some of them didn't. An editor friend of mine said it was some of the best writing she had ever read, published or unpublished.
What have you lined up next for the fans of this book?
I have an album of songs that I am currently finishing - which at a stretch one could say explores some of the same themes and philosophies that i was reaching for in Things Forgotten.. musically as much as lyrically - 'what happens when we discard rules' and so on..
Female First Lucy Walton