As well as writing for adults, Sam Llewellyn is the author of many fabulous children’s books. He was born in the Isles of Scilly, and currently lives with his family in a medieval house near the Welsh border. Sam has at various times also been a boatman, conservation campaigner, musician, and journalist, writing for both British and American newspapers. He is married to prize-winning children’s author Karen Wallace. His Little Darling and Death Eric book have a great anarchic humour, but his latest novel, Lyonesse: The Well Between The Worlds, is a sweeping re-imagining of the Arthurian tales.
Sam Llewellyn kindly gave me this interview for you, dear readers:
Do you have a writing Routine?
Five pages a day, everyday.
Once you get an idea, how do you develop the story?
During long solitary walks in the mountains to the west of my house, or by deep contemplation in my turret among the wheeling stars. Never by discussing it with other people.
Are any of the incidents or characters in your books based on real events or people?
If I admitted that this was the case, I would be in big trouble. Naturally, the villains are based on my hereditary enemies.
We know that sailing is a particular love – do you write when on-board?
The joy of sailing is that there is always something to do – so there is no time for writing. Plus the paper gets wet.
Have any of your books been picked up for film or TV?
Twentieth Century Fox has bought the film rights for the Darlings books.
After writing for adults too, how different do you find writing for children?
A story is a story is a story. Children pay more attention and are generally more intelligent than adults.
Where did the idea for Little Darlings originate?
I am married to Karen Wallace, author of The Amazing Spangles. She once wrote a book about Peter Pan. I got sick of the house being full of Peter Pan talk, and decided to write an anti-Peter Pan book. The family in Peter Pan was called Darling. So the children were Little Darlings. On it went from there.
What inspired your next book ‘The Return of Death Eric’ ?
Eric Thrashmettle, the somewhat dazed hero of the book, turned up in Little Darlings. It became obvious to me that like many ancient rockers with faulty memories, he was long overdue a comeback. The Return of Death Eric is the story of that comeback, its disasters, and the important part his children played in steering Eric down the rocky road back to fame. And fortune, obviously.
Lyonesse: The Well Between The Worlds re-works the story of Arthur and the Knights – who is Idris?
Idris is the earlier form of the name and he’s a mythic friend from my childhood. He’s not a Roman chieftain or medieval knight-king, he’s an ordinary boy, roaming a land made with star and stone and threatened by pure evil.
Did you have musical ambitions when young?
Played bass in a rock and roll band. Still play bass and guitar and one thing and another.
Did you have a favourite book or author as a child?
Several; but nobody had told me there was a difference between children’s books and grownup books. PG Wodehouse, of course. Tolkien. And actually Charles Dickens, particularly Bleak House.
Which authors or books do you like to read now?
PG Wodehouse. The Ashley Book of Knots, and anything else not actually nailed to the shelf.
If you could meet an author from any time, who would it be and why?
Francois Villon, the French medieval poet who was the most rock and roll literary man of all time.
How do you find living with another author?
Karen is very nice to live with. We live on a farm, and write in separate offices that I have built in opposite ends of what was once the cowshed.
Do you write together?
We don’t write together. Two hands on the pen mean a ghastly mess on the page. Try it some time.
Apart from writing, what other ambitions do you have?
To sail across the Atlantic singlehanded, to find the Lost Chord, to discover the Elixir of Perfect Beauty, and to find my spectacles.
Other books by Sam Llewellyn:
Lyonesse: The Well Between The Worlds
Little Darlings
Bad, Bad Darlings
Desperado Darlings
The Return of Death Eric
The Haunting of Death Eric
More about Sam Llewellyn can be found here:www.samllewellyn.com
Carol Dixon-Smith reviews all kinds of books for Waterstones and they can be found here
Carol also Twitters @Cidix and you can read more from her at Open To Persuasion
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