Join for an #Interview / Q&A By Lou with #playwrite Tom Powell and #Director Stephen Bailey @_TPowell_ @directorsajb about #StagePlay #Surfacing by #TouringTheatre company #AsylumArts

Today I have the pleasure of publishing an interview I conducted with Stage and Screen Writer – Tom Powell and Director – Stephen Bailey about their brand new play, Surfacing.
Surfacing is Murakami meets Peep Show.
This original play is embarking on a tour. See details after the fascinating interview about their craft and working with each other, a bit about themselves, which may not be quite what you’d expect and of course the play, including some interesting, new technology and how to support theatres. You’ll also get a glimpse of the actors in rehearsal.
During the interview you will see T for Tom and S for Stephen, so you can follow who is saying what at any given time.

Cast

Luc played by Sarah Livingstone
Owen played by Jerome Yates

Synopsis

What if when you came up for air, the world you once knew was gone?

NHS therapist Luc is fine. Honest. She’s definitely not overwhelmed by meeting Owen, a new client, definitely not freaked out by what she’s started seeing, definitely doesn’t think her reality has been punctured and something else is leaking in. Luc goes for a swim and feels a hand dragging her down to the bottom of the lake… When she surfaces, her reality is different.

She’s haunted by tormented mice, shape-shifting shadows and secrets she thought she’d buried. As she hunts for Owen through this upside down world she comes closer to her past and the truth she’s desperately hidden.

Papatango Prize Winner Tom Powell’s breath-taking new thriller examines hallucinations, neurodivergence and the state of mental health care. With innovative creative captioning and haunting music, the production uses new motion sensor technology to create responsive light and sound to evoke a very real and lived experience of disassociation.
Directed by RTST Sir Peter Hall Director’s Award Winner Stephen Bailey.

All performances are presented in a relaxed environment, captioned and have integrated audio description.

Supported by Arts Council England, Pentabus, Unlimited and The Barbican Centre.

Now, without further ado, let’s welcome Tom and Stephen to my blog as we proceed with the interview.
(T – Tom S – Stephen)

In a nutshell, what can audiences expect from your play, Surfacing?

T: It follows Luc, an NHS therapist whose life is thrown out of kilter by a new client. Luc nearly drowns, and when she surfaces, her reality is entirely different…

S: It’s a fast-paced dramatic story about hidden pasts, guilt, and failing to be normal. There are some quite absurd/unusual moments and scenes with some comedy amidst the drama. And under all that is a social critique of how we look at and treat mental health now.

T: What Stephen said. If you’ve ever felt lost, alone, or overwhelmed, you’ll see echoes of your experience in Luc’s.

What inspired you to use the premise of a therapist and client for a thriller and how did you research this?

S: It’s mostly Tom’s idea, but I’m always keen to not reduce these things to therapist vs client. I made another verbatim piece years ago which really emphasised that systems of care and limited resources affected practitioners as well as service users. Luc is both therapist and client in a way – as all of us do not fit into neat boxes.

T: I’d like to think whatever people expect from a therapist client relationship, they will be surprised by Surfacing. I spoke to a lot of people during the writing of this play – and we have two consultants, Dr Jasmine Martinez on NHS Talking Therapies, and Dr Ruth Cooper on research. But the starting point was going to the European Conference of Neuropsychopharmacology years ago. The conference was at a lavish five-star hotel in Nice, near the sea. A homeless woman came in, asking for help. Psychiatrists demurred. Security ushered her out. I was told about it when I arrived the next day. It was outrageous. It was no surprise. The germ of an idea was planted.

3. You’re use new motion sensor technology to create responsive light and sound to evoke a real and lived experience of disassociation. What does this technology involve in creating the desired effect for the audience?

S: Actors move and things happen! It’s new and exciting! If you want a more psychological read, our perception is variable and there is no correct answer. If some people hear sounds others do not or perceive variations of light in their vision – does this matter? Is it something to be fixed? We wanted to give a sense of wonder at times rather than simply problematising, and suggest that there’s more around you than you might see with ‘normal’ eyes. Hallucinations etc. are hard things to stage as their personal experiences. We’re offering a way to link audience and character that’s a bit deeper than putting on weird light colours.

Tom, what inspired you to become a stage/screen writer after having a cycling accident and what makes you reckon your “off the cuff” unplanned work is better than some of your more planned?

There was a period of time when I could barely speak, or speaking was extremely painful, and in that introspective moment I found a different way for me to communicate the things that felt vital. Writing for stage. For other’s voices.

Why is writing off the cuff sometimes better than work that has been meticulously planned? Well, sometimes writing is like keeping a fire alight. For me there’s a point in a good process where your characters become real – they whisper to you and refuse to do what you tell them. That’s when it’s better to let them guide you to where they want to go, into the dark woods.

Stephen, what or whom inspired you to become a director and, being neurodivergent, what challenges do you face and what positivity do you come across?

It was the only thing that made me happy when I was doing very poorly with my health at university. The collaborative rehearsal environment is still where I’m happiest. Challenges – if you place that label out there there are people who aren’t willing to entertain that you could be neurodivergent, disabled, etc. and a good, professional artist. I’m also nervous around neurodivergent story-telling/alternate mental health models on stage. We have such a strong cultural narrative that deviations from the norm must be fixed that some might feel the way we take the story alienating. Positivity – there are people who can hold access needs and artistic respect. It’s been good to see an increase in representation uncovering some amazing artists.

Tell us a bit about the working relationship between your roles of writer, director and actors and how does this transform as the play gets closer to opening night?

S: This is a weird one as we’ve worked on it for years, and we sort of say we co-created it. The amount of suggestions and input I’ve given is highly unusual – to the extent that in recent drafts I’m recutting scenes and even offering lines. I wouldn’t do that with a writer I didn’t know well. Working with the actors has been interesting as Sarah and Jerome are new to the process. That’s been really helpful as their exploration has brought fresh eyes which don’t have all that baggage. It’s been fun finding bits for their invention to creep into what was already a well-developed work.

T: Often the writer is the first one in the process and the first one to be superfluous. It starts with their idea and there’s a point in rehearsal where they’re no longer needed. This has been different, as Stephen says, it’s co-created. I’ve had company for the whole of the journey. Whole sequences have come from other people’s minds. And the great thing about working with collaborators is that you end up in unexpected places.

You’re play is touring in various parts of England, how important do you think that theatre plays tour?

S: The number of theatres and performances declining over the last several decades, and particularly recently, smaller towns/cities sucks. I don’t think it’s much for a wealthy country to be able to offer affordable, enjoyable and thought-provoking work in your local area. In particular, we wanted to tour to Blackpool given the high incidence of mental health treatment in the area. It felt like the right audience. As someone who also leads a company (Vital Xposure) the numbers are making it really hard right now to tour as much as we’d like to.

T: Everyone should have access to great culture, no matter where they live. It can be harder for a (mostly) live medium, but touring is part of making sure that great culture gets around.

What hints and tips do you have for budding stage/screen writers and directors?

S: I think watch as much as you can, be decisive about what you like and then proactive trying to contact the people you can learn from. Also don’t compare yourself to other people who might have the independent resource to commit more time than you now.

T: Don’t punish yourself for the industry’s failings. You’ll be doubly hurt. There are not enough opportunities or money at the moment – don’t blame yourself if things aren’t going the way you want them to, or as quickly as you’d like.

Theatres are often facing hardships, so we are told, how can people best support them and the people within them more?

S: Go? Go to smaller theatres that are platforming new artists who are really struggling at the moment. Financially, it’s just really tricky. We’re Arts Council funded and I’m investing past funds from ASYLUM, but we still need to sell over half of tickets to avoid financial risk and pay collaborators above the industry minimums (which aren’t viable in London). But you could see three shows at Clapham Omnibus (£18 a ticket) for the price of a standard seat at a lot of theatres, let alone West End!

T: Yes – go to the theatre! And tell everyone – friends to elected representatives – how much meaning and enjoyment the arts give you.

Touring Dates and Places

Surfacing opens at Blackpool Grand Studio in May 2024, touring to Mercury Colchester (May 4th), Nottingham Playhouse (May 10th), running for three weeks at Clapham Omnibus (May 14th to June 1st) and the Yvonne Arnaud Guildford (June 8th).

Blackpool Grand – https://www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk/event/surfacing

Mercury Colchester – https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/event/surfacing/
Nottingham Playhouse – https://nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/events/surfacing/

Clapham Omnibus – https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/surfacing/

Yvonne Arnaud – https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/book/92401

#Interview by Lou with Author – Tim Maleeny about his book – Hanging The Devil and much more…

Interview With Tim Maleeny by Lou

The Hanging Devil is Tim Maleeny’s latest mystery book, set in the art world and today, I welcome him to my blog for a Q&A, where you will get to know more about more about why he writes in the Mystery genre, he also discusses AI Technology, Poisons, Art, How to follow him and more…

Tim Maleeny has won the Macavity Award and the Lefty Award. This book is a fascinating look at art forgery and heists, based on actual crimes, featuring a unique third-person POV within the private investigation mystery subgenre.

Without further ado, find out about the blurb and then what Tim Maleeny has to say. His answers truly are insightful and fascinating.

Blurb

It was supposed to be a simple job: steal the paintings, leave the forgeries…

When a helicopter crashes through the skylight of the Asian Art Museum, an audacious heist turns into a tragedy. The only witness to the crash is eleven-year-old Grace, who watches in horror as her uncle is killed and a priceless statue stolen by two men and a-ghost? At least that’s how the eerie, smoke-like figure with parchment skin and floating hair appears to Grace. Scared almost to death, she flees into the night and seeks refuge in the back alleys of San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Grace is found by Sally Mei, self-appointed guardian of Chinatown. While Sally trains Grace in basic survival skills, her erstwhile partner Cape Weathers, private detective and public nuisance, searches for the mysterious crew behind the robbery before they strike the museum a second time. As the clock winds down, Cape enlists aid from some unlikely allies to lay a trap for a ghost who has no intention of being caught-nor of leaving any witnesses alive to tell the tale.It was supposed to be a simple job: steal the paintings, leave the forgeries…

Now, you know more about the plot, please proceed onto the interview.

Who or what inspired you to write novels and in the mystery genre?

Thanks to my parents I grew up surrounded by books. Dime paperbacks from the thirties, historical novels, science fiction adventures, pulp thrillers and noir mysteries, along with books about the Greek myths and a small collection of leather-bound classics. I always knew I wanted to write fiction but didn’t know where to start until I began writing short stories. At the time, the bulk of what I was reading for pleasure was crime fiction, and I found my voice in those stories. A mystery can incorporate any style of storytelling, from humor to horror, historical to romance, or all of the above. The only necessary ingredients for a mystery novel are equal parts intrigue and suspense, the rest is up to you.

Hanging the Devil is an art heist. What research did you do into art crimes?

A story that began as a museum heist turned into an international thriller by the time I finished writing because it turns out there is quite a bit of mischief in the art world. Auction houses and museum directors who look the other way as known forgeries are sold and displayed as original masterpieces. Specialized police units in countries around the world, like the Carabinieri Art Squad in Italy and the Cultural Heritage Division of Interpol. Thieves, smugglers and forgers on government payrolls. When I first walked into a museum to check their security and begin my research for Hanging The Devil, I never would have guessed that I’d discover an underground economy where organized crime, greedy government officials and some of the world’s biggest museums conspire to keep the art world a mystery.

Do you like art and if so, what’s your favourite piece?

I am an art lover but would never claim to be an art expert. Learning about art is like reading a book—it begins with a visceral reaction to an idea, and before you know it, you’re empathizing with the characters on the canvas, then learning all you can about the history and context of the painting. Art has inspired me to study history and learn about other cultures, but my tastes, like my interests, run the gamut from comic book art to classical paintings and everything in between. I’m as likely to fall in love with a velvet Elvis as a Rembrandt, as long as it strikes a chord and looks good on the wall. For Hanging The Devil, it was crucial to know what an art forger or thief would look for in a painting, so I spent a lot of time researching the techniques of famous painters. And since part of the story takes place in present-day China, it was essential to understand the historical significance of paintings and sculptures from the 18^th century that could be on display at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, where the robbery in the first chapter takes place.

You’re said to do excessive research into exotic poisons and other things. What fascinates you about poisons and what is the most exotic poison you’ve discovered to be in existence?

My first major short story was called “Till Death Do Us Part,” the title story in an anthology edited by Harlan Coben for the Mystery Writers of America, about an older couple who’d been trying to poison each other for over forty years, a marital game of chess between two masters. From Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie to more modern mysteries, poisons always make the puzzle more perplexing, often unseen and undetected except by the sharpest eye. I’m fascinated by any poison used as a weapon in the natural world, whether it’s secreted by a tree frog, jellyfish, or octopus. My favourite might be the venom of a blue-ringed octopus, a cute little critter that can kill you in under a minute if you get on its bad side. And you can’t go wrong with poisons from plants, like cyanide, which can be found in the pits of apricots and cherries; or arsenic, which is found in rice. So if you want to become a criminal mastermind or famous detective, crack open a book on chemistry and start taking notes.

Hanging the Devil is darkly comical as well as mysterious, how do you go about injecting some humour into what are essentially dark subject matters, such as murder?

Humor is a bridge to empathy. When reading fiction, a smile or laugh helps you connect with a character faster, and so much of the misdirection in a mystery can happen when one character deflects with humor rather than share their true feelings. And when two characters with competing agendas collide, it may not be funny to them, but we’re laughing from having been in equally frustrating situations ourselves. Consider your favorite TV show or sitcom. When Lucille Ball is working on the assembly line in the chocolate factory with Ethel it’s pure mayhem, a nightmare for them but pure comedy for those of us watching.

I wanted Hanging The Devil to be exciting and suspenseful but also fun. Some books are quiet walks in the garden, but mine are more like a drunken ride on a roller coaster.

There is a great tradition of understated humor in noir fiction, often a hard-bitten cynicism peppered with wry observations about the human condition. Those hardboiled mysteries are the books that inspired me to write crime fiction, and later I discovered writers like Elmore Leonard, Loren Estleman, and Ross Thomas, virtuosos who seamlessly blend humor into their narratives through their very real-life characters. People do stupid things, and when you’re a criminal, any misstep can have devasting—and hilarious—consequences. I’m less interested in writing about a perfect crime than a perfect plan that goes horribly wrong, because in life, as in any good mystery, you never really know what happens next.

What made you decide to have an 11-year-old witness a guard being murdered and how did you put yourself in your character’s shoes to be able to write about their perspective?

I vividly remember what it felt like to be that age, the confidence of youth coupled with a growing realization that the world is so much bigger than you are. As for 11-year-old Grace, the witness to the museum heist in Hanging The Devil, fortunately I have two amazing daughters for inspiration when writing about a clever, creative and courageous character.

People are watching AI fairly carefully and discussing it, what is your perspective on this?

Ah, this is a big topic. So-called AI has tremendous positive potential and is being successfully applied in so many ways in business, science, even medicine—but there is definitely a dystopian side to AI that is starting to show its face. We have a co-dependent relationship with our digital devices and spend every waking moment on a digital landscape that is manipulated by companies that want to sell us something and monitored by governments that want to track everything we say or do. In countries around the world it’s become incredibly Orwellian almost overnight, so although I’m a technophile at heart, I’d argue that today’s inventors are not thinking things through in their rush to build what’s next. We’re at a moment in our civilization when our tech is more advanced than we are, and our brains are not ready to handle some of the software that’s already shaping how we live. A recent study showed that the average adult attention span is now less than nine seconds, so we’re turning into a civilization of goldfish.

Hanging the Devil will be published on 14^th How will you be celebrating?

The best way to celebrate a new book release is to go on tour! I’ll be signing copies of Hanging The Devil in New York on the 15^th of November and then head to Scottsdale, San Francisco, Houston and LA on the first leg of the tour, meeting readers and reconnecting with booksellers who love mysteries as much as I do.

What is next for you?

Currently I’m procrastinating but have plenty of writing to do, most importantly the next book featuring Cape and Sally. There is also a standalone novel I’ve been thinking about for a while, a YA adventure if I can make the time, and a couple of short stories on the horizon.

Where can people follow you?

Readers can reach me through my website www.timmaleny.com or follow @timmaleeny on Instagram, where I post updates on books I’m writing and books I’m reading.

The Interviews By Lou – Questions answered by various actors, a presenter, authors

The Interviews

Conducted by Louise Cannon (Lou), featuring various guests, whom I am eternally grateful for giving the opportunity to interview them.

Ever wanted to know more about what inspires authors to write? What’s behind the written page? Behind the scenes of an actor’s life as they take to the stage? Plus much more? Here, I have 22 interviews I have created and conducted with authors, actors, a presenter from both sides of the Atlantic. Also included are a couple with blog tour organisers, where you’ll learn more about what this entails and an extraordinary secretary.
Get comfy and cosy with a cuppa, sit back and see what people have divulged for you. All interview answers are exactly as people have told me. So many genres, you may be inspired for what to read or who to look out for on a stage or TV.
Check out the links. They’ll open in a new tab, making it easy for you to navigate back to this page.

Actors/Presenter/Authors

Fern Britton on The Daughter’s of Cornwall, part of her family’s life, letters and more. The review also weaves through and more… Interview Here

Robert McNamara on the play – Report to An Academy By Franz Kafka, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and more… Interview Here

Vanessa Heron on being The Secretary of the Oscar Wilde Society, how the society came into existence, her favourite play, how to join and more… Interview Here

Ronald Rand – Solo Transformation On Stage on getting into character, his acting, his book and his charitable works, and more… Interview Here

Laura Loane – The first interview I conducted. She talks about books, acting, disability and more…. Interview Here

Authors

Cecelia Ahern on PS. I Love You, Postscript, Freckles, themes around health and more… Interview Here

Matson Taylor on the Evie Epworth books. Discover more about what inspired him, his job out-with being an author and more… Interview Here

Lotte R. James on The Gentleman of Holly Street, the strong themes and advice for historical fiction authors… Interview Here

Anna Willett on The Newlywed where she talks of special crime squads, keeping writing fresh, getting into the psyche of the setting and more…. Interview Here

Val Penny on Hunter’s Chase, setting the book in Edinburgh, combining dark themes with humour and more… Interview Here

Isabella Muir on A Notable Omission, writing crime fiction, the fun of research, the 1970’s and more. Interview Here

Miriam McGuirk on Second Chances, the importance of finding new opportunities after seismic life changes occur, the importance of communities and their hubs and more… Interview Here

Jeanine Englert on Conveniently Married to A Laird, writing historical romance, the class system, marrying out of convenience and more… Interview Here

Viv Fogel on Imperfect Beginnings, writing poetry, an art installation, her birth mother, the noise and the silence within her writing and more… Interview Here

Candi Miller on Salt & Honey, Africa, Culture, Charities and more… Interview Here

Lela May Wight on Bound By A Sicilian Secret, the importance of relatable, gritty themes being included in romance, the inspiration behind the main character being Sicilian and more… Interview Here

Bobby Twidale on De-Ja-Vu, being a former teacher, engaging boys in the education system, writing complex relationships and more… Interview Here

Sarah Rodi on Claimed by the Viking Chief, writing about the Viking period, devouring books in the library, servitude and marriage and more… Interview Here

Tani Hanes on Puppily Ever After, writing a ‘coming of age’ story, values in the book relating to real life, pets and more… Interview Here

R.L Baxter on Blue Lunar and the Apex Grail, writing fantasy, building fantastical worlds, his varied career and more… Interview Here

Paul De Blassie III on Goddess of Everything, the mother/son relationship, the supernatural and his other job of Depth Psychology, the healing of the human mind Interview Here

Simon Van-Der-Velde on Backstories, his “office kimono”, the inspiration for short-stories, his ‘desert island’ books and music and more… Interview Here

Thank you for taking the time to read the interviews.

If you work in the world of stage and theatre or in the world of books and would like to be interviewed, then please do get in touch via my Contact Form

#AuthorInterview with Lou for Blue Lunar & The Apex Grail Author R.L. Baxter #RickyBaxter @ZooloosBT #BlueLunarAndTheApexGrail #Fantasy #BlogTour

Q&A with Blue Lunar & The Apex Grail Author –
R.L. Baxter

Q&A By Lou – Bookmarks and Stages

It gives me great pleasure to interview R.L. Blue Lunar about his book – Blue Lunar & The Apex Grail as part of the Zooloo blog tour. Let’s give a warm welcome to Ricky Baxter.
You’ll discover his inspiration and what he particularly likes about the fantasy genre, discover the heroes, where you can follow him and more. Ahead of the interview, let’s find out a bit about him and then check out the cover and discover the blurb.

About the Author

Ricky Baxter is a London born, fantasy author of novels and short novellas. He is an avid blogger, giving advice and thoughts to fellow creators from all walks of life. Starting out as a composer after graduating with a Ba(Hons) in music and multimedia, Ricky worked for many independent short film directors, gaining notable IMDB credits. Since then, he has embraced his earlier passion for writing fictional stories.

Blurb

In a world where the gods have long deserted mortals, a powerful sorcerer emerges from a 100-year-old prison. Releasing an army of beasts, he enters a path of destruction while searching for an ancient relic.

Tasked with challenging the darkness, a pure and naive-hearted boy named Luke embraces his destiny to defeat the wizard – for the promise of a better tomorrow.

Equipped with a divine armour, fashioned by the most powerful goddess, Luke will journey across the land in pursuit of the dark sorcerer, making unforgettable allies and bonds along the way. However, as a long-buried tragedy slowly comes to light, the boy will question everything he believes in… including his destiny.

Without further ado, let’s head to the first question.

1. Who or what inspired you to write novels?

I was actually inspired to write novels thanks to my secondary English teacher. At the time, I was heavily into gaming, films and TV shows but I couldn’t find a way to create my own stories. One day, my English teacher tasked the whole class to write their own story! I believe the assignment was named “Original writing”, and it changed my life forever. I wrote my first story ever and it was named “Rei’s great adventure”, a story about a boy who could transform into a tiger. I received an A+ for my work, which surprised both myself and teachers. Since then, I have been writing ever since and I probably will continue to keep writing forever!

What do you particularly like about fantasy and what made you choose this genre to write in?

I love fantasy for the sheer fact that it isn’t the real world. As amazing as the real world is, I adore fantasy because it provides a wonderful escape/break from our lives for but a moment. To have characters, laws and history that is wildly detached from our own is wonderful. At the same time, I love who certain parallels can be found between fantasy and our reality as well. Problems such as war, love and friendship are just as vital within fantasy as it is the real world. As such, fantasy has always been my genre of choice, as I can get to tell stories that we all can somewhat relate to, yet in an amazing world of make-believe. I especially chose this for Blue Lunar & The Apex Grail for that very reason.

Who are the heroes of your book and how did they emerge to write about?

The three heroes of my story are: Luke, Aurora and Umbra. Luke is the main hero, being a boy tasked with saving the world. He is naive , kind and thoughtful. At times he can live in his own thoughts, causing him to be overly critical of himself and hesitant. He possess a divine suit of blue armour that allows him to do what no normal person can. My idea for Luke came from childhood TV shows such as power rangers, where the heroes could transform into a powerful version of themselves. Aurora is a master female swordsman. She is strong and focused. Born with a mysterious golden eye that allows her to heighten her skills, many fear her for being different. As such, she tends to not trust others easily. I thought of Aurora upon watching an anime named Claymore. Within that anime, there was a character named Teresa who was almost perfect in every way, to the point of being envied and hated by her comrades. Lastly is Umbra, a boy who claims to be a vampire, although he has no problem being out during daylight. He possesses the uncanny ability of immortality which he almost never explains. He likes to laugh, rub people the wrong way and is seen as the joker of the trio. However, his smiles belie a seriousness to him which he keeps hidden. Umbra was thought due to the need to create a mystery character that is somewhat hard to fully trust.

What’s your process of creating a fantastical world?

That’s a great question! I typically imagine just enough of the world to get started, without knowing everything about it. For example, in the case of Blue Lunar & The Apex Grail, I knew enough that it was a world with lands yet to fully be explored, and that a blue moon orbits the world. From there, I create as I go along, in many ways seeing the world through the main character’s eyes. This not only helps to get the story moving, but also keeps a level of excitement from an author perspective, for of course the last thing I would want is to grow bored of my own world. Essentially, I create the laws of the fantasy world (gods, mortals and demons etc) and then allow my imagination to do the rest. In many ways, I’d like to think that the creation of fantasy worlds take a certain kind of faith in the imagination.

In your bio it states a wide and varied career, it says you started out composing music. What genre did you compose and where can people find it?

Yes I used to compose music! In fact, I am quite the piano player. I used to compose orchestral background music to short films in my university days. I absolutely adored composing piano and string pieces. You can find music to a past short film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVrjap6n_c

Where can people follow you and find out more about your book?

You can find me on on Instagram @authorricky

I am also on Amazon and good reads at Ricky Baxter

Thank you for having me!

#AuthorInterview by Lou with Candi Miller about her book Salt & Honey, Africa, Culture, Charity and more… @Gobblesbooks

Author Interview
With Candi Miller

Interview conducted by Louise (Lou)

Let’s welcome Candi Miller to Bookmarks and Stages. Recently I interviewed her about her writing, her books, what readers will get from them, her travels to Africa, a little known group of people and a charity. Her answers are fascinating!
You will also see links to where you can find out more about her/follow her at the end of the Q&A. First, let’s find out about her book – Salt & Honey.

Blurb

Koba is a bushgirl, a hunter-gatherer from an ancient living culture.
She’s a survivor.

She escapes death from white hunters when her family are murdered; she fends for herself in a hostile land.

Now she’s in the greatest danger she’s ever faced: she’s falling for a white boy in Apartheid South Africa, where love across racial divides is brutally punished.

Book 1 of this fast-paced saga introduces a unique character into romance-writing, offering readers a fascinating glimpse into a forgotten way of life and into recent black history.

Without further ado, onto the Q&A to discover more…

Who or what inspired you to write books and to travel?

Koba, a (fictional) kick-ass orphan inspired me to write novels. She’s a unique character – an indigenous girl who’s abducted, who survives by using her hunter-gatherer skills, who breaks taboos, argues with ancestral spirits, gains healing power and who knows she risks everything if she stays with the boy she is falling in love with.

To write her I had to find her. That meant travelling to one of the most remote regions in Africa, the Kalahari desert.

In brief, what are your books about and where will they lead readers to?

My books are about loss and love, about racial discrimination and defiance, about growing up as the only one of your kind in a hostile world. Readers’ hearts will race when they find themselves in bush where grass grows high enough to hide lion, where rogue elephant crush cars, and a brutal regime punishes interracial sex.

I hope the books will lead readers to an interest in a little-known (outside of anthropology) culture, whose people are the descendants of the first people of the world. (Yes, really! Koba’s group, the San or Bushmen, have the oldest known genetic signature, according to the latest studies. It’s millennia older than even the most ancient cultures we traditionally study at school.) Imagine all the things they have to teach us!

You say you want to give something back to people. How do you personally do this and what does that phrase giving back mean to you?

My decades of research into San culture have taught me many things: – about gender-equality, conservation, storytelling and shamanism, and most of all, about generosity. The San give freely of their wisdom to any who ask. It seems right to put income earned from novels inspired by them, towards the self-stated needs (reading-writing literacy) of these remarkable people.

You met the Ju|’hoan people in a remote part of Africa, how did that come about and what was it like meeting them in the knowledge of you being amongst the last band of southern African hunter-gatherers?

Though I’d grown up in Africa and lived through the painful Apartheid years, I was resident in the UK when Koba’s story tapped me on the shoulder whispering: ‘Tell people; it’s important.’ Using the family savings (bless my long-suffering spouse) I set off on a sometimes-scary research trip into the semi-desert dodging raging veld fires and charging bull elephant.

The semi-nomadic San were difficult to find in a vast wilderness area with no roads, let alone signposts. (Actually there was one; warning of elephant. Should have heeded it.) One hot day, under a baobab tree, there a small band of Bushmen sat. I didn’t want to intrude so heart thumping I drove on and made camp elsewhere. Eventually they came over. They wore a mix of western and traditional clothes but still lived in grass huts and carried bows and arrows. In time, they mooted the idea of me being their guinea pig for an eco-tourism idea they had. I leapt at the chance. They took me tracking, showed me how to harvest bushfood and how to use fire sticks. Best of all, they let me sit in on their folktale telling sessions around the camp fire at night. And so, I met people who were to become central to my life.

You are known for helping the Nyae Naye Village School(s) with a Feeding Scheme. How was this set up and how does it help the school community?

While doing fieldwork in the Kalahari desert, I realised that getting to school is very difficult:- no transport; long, long walks; elephants, snakes and occasional lion. Parents prefer their children to stay over in hostels. But the hostels have insufficient food.

I started the Village Schools Feeding scheme in 2017, raising money by organising various events in the UK. With my co-founder, I then delivered the food to the remote schools. Today the scheme is incorporated into a development fund that is replacing the tented schools with brick buildings and providing food and toiletries for boarders. Progress has been made, but consequently, school attendance is up, so more money is needed.

What [How] do you personally help the charity [now]?

I am self-publishing my novels (production costs for the ebook and audiobook coming from the beleaguered family savings again!) so maximum profit goes towards helping these children become reading-writing literate. What their elders call “paper people”. I hope to see the day one of these Village school children writes a novel.

How and where can people assist the charity, if they would like to?

That would be greatly appreciated. First option, please pre-order the ebook here https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CBHG8ZWH or the buy the audiobook here….(link tbc)

I will donate my royalties to the Ju|’hoansi Development Fund to be used in their school food supplementation programme. By my calculation, (a guess – Amazon is not transparent) every book sold will give a child 2 meals for two days. So please consider gifting a book to a friend too, if you think they’ll enjoy reading it.

Secondly, readers can make a direct donation via this link: https://kbfus.networkforgood.com/projects/54313-j-kbfus-funds-ju-hoansi-development-fund-na You can read about the good work of this fund here: https://www.villageschoolsnamibia.com/news/

Finally, if any readers of this blog can help with marketing opportunities, please let me know. I want to build a buzz for these books so I can sell more and feed those Kalahari kids.

What will you be doing next?

Aha! That’s up to the readers of these books. If there is enough interest in what happens to Koba next, I’ll write book 3. (This was always meant to be a series, but when my traditional publisher went under, just months after the launch of Book 2, Kalahari Passage, all marketing effort ceased and the books slid into obscurity. I never got to finish the trilogy. I’d love to.) Koba and her family have been in my head and my heart all this while.

9. Where can people find, follow you and buy your novels?

Salt & Honey for Kindle is available for pre-order now at a special launch price. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CBHG8ZWH

The audiobook launches soon on Spotify, Audible and other platforms.

My free newsletter with updates about the launch of book 2, how the feeding fund is progressing, and interviews, news and reviews can be accessed here: https://substack.com/@candimiller?utm_source=user-menu

I’m Candi Miller @Gobblesbooks on Twitter and @candimillerauthor on Insta.

Visit my Facebook author page here https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092417402759

And my website here: https://www.candimiller.co.uk

#Interview By Lou with Robert McNamara @SCENATHEATRE presents a #play based on #ReportToAnAcademy by #FranzKafka @WhatsOnTheatre @EdFringe #FillYerBoots

Interview with Robert McNamara Actor and Artistic Director
Interview conducted by Louise Cannon at Bookmarks and Stages

Recently, I interviewed actor and artistic director – Robert Mcnamara at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the biggest of its kind in the world, where many people arrive with their shows or arrive with as visitors to watch them, from all around the world.
SCENA Theatre presents Report to an Academy by Franz Kafka, part of the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, showing August 4-13, 15-20, 22-27 (20:10 BST).
Robert McNamara returns to the stage in a riveting one-man show.

Robert Mcnamara and I met in a small bar at the venue – The Zoo Southside, where he is currently performing his play ‘Report to an Academy’, based on a story by Franz Kafka, where the main theme is survival. Discover what the play is about and then I will commence with the interview. I asked 7 questions and the answers are fascinating about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, how his career in acting and directing began, Franz Kafka and his current play – Report to an Academy and what it’s like to play an ape evolving to be more human-like, the universally important themes and more… After the interview, you can find a link to where to purchase tickets.
Please note, I am not affiliated in any way.

Synopsis

Discover the missing link
An ape evolves to behave like a human and presents his story of survival and the vile details of his captivity to a scientific Academy in this wild tale by the existential master, Kafka.
Based on the classic short story by the master of existential and absurdist storytelling, Franz Kafka (author of The Metamorphosis). Acclaimed German theatre director Gabriele Jakobi has adapted the classic short story, Report to an Academy, into a powerful, provocative drama featuring actor/director Robert McNamara.
The play centres on an intelligent ape named “Red Peter” who was captured in a West Africa hunting expedition and sent to Europe on a ship. To effect his survival, Peter learns to mimic and imitate the ship’s crew from his cage. By evolving to behave like a human, he devises an escape. Ultimately, Peter presents his fascinating tale of transformation—and the horrid details of his former ape life—to a scientific Academy. McNamara’s performance brings a shocking parable to life and
compels patrons to ponder the issues of free will, animal rights, and vegetarianism. Report was first presented to sold-out houses in DC’s 2014 Capital Fringe Festival and was later staged in Europe at the Prague Fringe Festival and at the English Theatre Berlin.

Please join me in welcoming, all the way from the USA – Robert McNamara on to Bookmarks and Stages.

We spoke about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival . He has an illustrious career. I, however wanted to know what his experience was so far at the festival. He said this:

“We had a show years ago called Sister Mary Explains It All For You, performed in a technical college. I was there for 4 weeks and SOLD OUT and had a great experience. We’ve done Kafka in all kinds of places, last year was The Old Red Lion in Islington, London, Finland and then the National Theatre of Nairobi before that in Berlin, Prague and Washington.

Speaking of the festival he says:

“I think it is a wonderful worldwide address to showcase your work in and is also going to give us a lot of energy for the show. It’s The cultural event and probably globally in the month of August and you can’t really say you’ve hit all the festivals without really coming to – as they say in Iraq – “The Mother of Them All”. The Edinburgh Festival, which I believe was established in 1949 as the first beacon of hope after World War 2, culturally speaking. It has always been on my radar – London and Edinburgh.

I used to have a theatre company in Dublin called Dublin Stage One Theatre, so I’m offay with the theatre system in the UK. I was educated in Dublin in Trinity College, so it was always very close to some of my origins.”

It turns out Dublin Stage One Theatre played a vital role in Dublin and was set up by Douglas Kennedy and Robert Mcnamara. Its purpose was setting up new and eclectic shows Ireland had not seen before.

How His Career Began in the Acting and Directing Role:

“Basically I was an actor in Washington DC in student productions in Georgetown University. Then when I graduated, I ran away to France to become a writer and lived in a monastery for 5 months, L’Abbie Sénanque. I had a job there as assistant director and I had no intention to act or direct or do any of that, then I was in Trinity in Dublin and I always loved the theatre first and foremost, so I was walking through the front gates at TCD and I saw them doing some plays by William Butler Yeats called the Cuhulain Cycle, which on one ever does except for me, I did them just recently in America. I said I’d read for that. So I went in and read for it and that changed the course of my life.

I was just acting in Dublin pursuing a couple of degrees and then found that I was acting all the time, but they were running out of directors.”

He kept asking actors if they could direct this and that and they said no, so he ended up directing himself.

“I did a lot of things like ‘The Caveman Cometh’ by John Henry Jones, a play by Henry Fielding – a satire called ‘Tom Thumb the Great’, which is really funny, very rarely done and dates back to the 18th century. Then I did ‘Agamenon’ by Aeschylus, translated by Louis Mcniece. Then I performed in a company called Dublin Stage One Theatre and the rest is history.

Favourite Theatre Shows:

“At the end of your life, the middle and beginning, you’re only going to see 10 performances that you really cared for. I was fortunate enough to see A Midsummer’s Night Dream at Peterbrooke in the 70’s when I was a kid in Georgetown, Washington.

The second – a production by Samual Beckett of Waiting For Godot, which he saw in the Abbey Theatre on a Sunday night.

The third is anything directed by anything directed by his wife, Gabriele Jakobi- Berlin based German director one being – Cigarettes and Chocolate by Anthony Minghella.
Gabriele Jakobi won Best Director of the Year for “Theater Heute” Magazine for her direction of “Penthesilea” by Heinrich von Kleist,

The fourth is Rick Cluchey in Krapp’s Last Tape directed by Samuel Beckett.

Live theatre comes and goes and the things that really resonate, there aren’t that many.

Report to an Academy and the Interest in Franz Kafka’s Works

“He’s (Kafka) always writing about outsiders trying to integrate into society and being presented with insurmountable obstacles and after that, all that heaviness Kafka has, certainly, I like his humour and it appeals to me, very, very much. His humour is really off the scope. He throws adjectives and he throws around obscure outsider, alienation and existentialism. He likes people, believe it or not. The humour in his voice is shocking and his accuracy in portraying people in an existentialist crisis is shockingly accurate, absurd and funny and there’s a kind of macabre humour that you find in any Stanley Kubrick film for instance.
He has done a lot of Kafka, including in The Trial, by Kafka directed by Berkhoff. I heard him do a bit of this and it sounds fantastic! The acting ability and to perform off the cuff is outstanding!

Robert Mcnamara then went off to do workshops all the time at the Czech Embassy (the Czech-Slovak Embassy) on Spring and Freedom Street in Washington DC. He also imparted to me: “That’s what he called it after The Velvet Revolution. He went onto say: “We did an evening of Czech literature and we worked on the small pieces, the really obscure parables that are almost like Jewish religious paradigms. Then we did The Castle Das Schloss, which is really funny and I did a version of his play ‘American’.

“We did The Metamorphosis and certainly the Metamorphosis which everyone claims to have read is just like No Exit, you’ve either read it in high school or college for your leaving certs. People say I’ve read it, but of course they’ve never seen it. The thing is with The Metamorphosis is the the tale of Gregor Samsa waking up one morning and finding out he’s a dung beetle or a cockroach and this is of course the inhumanity that comes from his family. This is a paradigm for the holocaust that Kafka foresaw because of wisdom and insight and vision.

The play Report to an Academy or in German is Bericht en eine Akademie, is the companion piece to The Metamorphasis, where Gregor Samsa becomes a non-human, a bug. In Report to An Academy, the ape becomes a human-being to survive.”

Playing the Central Character in Report To An Academy

The central character, as you say, is an ape called Red Peter becomes human like to survive. He is a survivor and philosopher. I asked him about his research and experience to convey the emotions and what did he bring of himself to do this. Interestingly he imparted that he doesn’t usually talk too much about himself, but would be honest about his answer, so it was an honour to hear what he had to say. He said this:

“Usually when I’m acting and directing at the same time… This isn’t my direction, this is my wife’s direction – Gabriele Jakobi.” – Award winning director mentioned previously.

Basically it’s a short story, so when we sat down at a table in the early readings (much like how we were sitting at a table). He discussed playing this guy like a broken down vaudevillian and felt how it could be played differently, instead in a tuxedo or tails and waistcoat to reach the truth of the piece.

“Red Peter is performing in a circus or a shabby vaudeville, so is taking a leaf from the page of the entertainer John Osbourne. Basically the point of view is turning off what I know in my mind and trying to be almost like a child, like an ape, a person comes from another environment and being tossed into another environment, where it’s life and death and if he gets it right or wrong or he could stop eating or stop willing to live. I had to explore this whole range of emotions about what’s not – what’s not possible, also when you have to accommodate yourself in a situation where you have no power to control things. Normally in rehearsals I want to be solving the problems and to have to open up as an actor to be vulnerable again, to also be conscious of very small things, almost like a child. You have to go back in time, when you were unformed and it was your parents fighting or your mum yelling at you or something that blew your mind. The ape is walking on dynamite sometimes because he’s doing a balancing act. If he shows he understands the whole thing is rigged, they’re going to put him in a cage in a zoo, but if he gets out…

Originally it wasn’t a play, so the adaptation was by Gabriele Jakobi , who made it into a play, with music with underscores, voyage… it is a voyage. The ape is kidnapped in the west coast of Africa, he’s shot twice. So, in the movement category he took a leaf out of midnight cowboy by Dustin Hoffman, who plays Ratso Rizzo (at which point he imitates him to show he’s quite in your face.) ” The ape has an attitude, but he’s also king of the jungle.

Themes

Going into themes of survival, animal rights, free will, the ape has a choice between going between going to the Zoological Garden or the Music Hall and of course he goes to the music hall, I wondered what was thought of the ape’s choices and decisions made.

Matter-of-factly, Robert said: “Survival! Survival because he figures he would die inside the cage, because your heart would be broken you know. They always have these ASPCA ads (equivalent to RSPCA and SSPCA in the UK) with poor dogs or cats in a cage, can you imagine an ape in a cage? It was a small cage. His face is turned towards the locker. The locker and made up the fourth side and the whole construction was too small for me to stand up in and to narrow to sit down in, so I had to squat, with my knees bent and trembling All…The…Time!
He’s being tortured all along the way and he’s smart and he’s “playing the system”, but he also makes the decision, and this is the crux of the piece, not to be free. He’s not “Borne Free”, He’s Borne Free on his terms and he doesn’t want human freedom. Again, it is Kafka being sharp, saying this is freedom in society, and you get to run around in some sub-standard job until the day you die and when you’re dead you pay for it and they bury you and that’s it.

He had a PHD in law, has a legal mind and is a German speaking Jewish, Czech and a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and basically he had different identities; so the ape, following in his master’s footsteps has different identities, so I’m a shape-changer in the play, while I’m trying to communicate his story. There’s a moment of self-realisation passes about the emotions, where he realises he’s living a lie, he’s a ‘freak’. He’s not human, he’s not an ape anymore. He’s taken away to a place called No Way Out! He’s in No Man’s Land and he’s trapped! He got out of one trap and into another trap. That’s like people in life, they think: I’ll do this job for a while and they end up staying for 40 or 50 years, or I’ll just stay in this relationship for a while because I won’t bluff for anything better because I don’t want it. I’m comforted by the level of misery that I’m operating in. So, the ape is a thinker. He’s like your primeval philosopher King of the Jungle, but he’s also a lot of fun.

Franz Kafka is relevant for today’s audiences, so I gave space to allow Robert to say what he hoped people would take away from the play. Instantly, he answered – Pathos, Understanding, A Love of Kafka and hopefully A Love of The Play.
To Think of Other People. To realise in the times we live in, close to post-apoloyptic, with Covid, shut down theatres for two years, people dying, but hope they would take away a Sense of Compassion, To Think of Other People. To realise in the times we live in, close to post-apoloyptic, with Covid, shut down theatres for two years, people dying, but hope they would take away a Sense of Compassion and FUN!

The problem is, you’re also laughing whilst disapproving, so if I’ve done my job, it’s to make you think about things. People are loving the show and says there are generous audiences in Scotland. I used to live in Scotland in Prestwick”.

He then injected even more humour by saying “my family was here (in Scotland), my brother got put back a grade in America for having a Scottish accent award, they couldn’t understand a damn word he was saying. Robert then went onto live in Ireland for 8 years and says “Your rain here in Scotland doesn’t fool me. I’m used to it.”

He divulged that by the time he’s finished at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he would have performed this play close to 100 times.

After Edinburgh, he is taking the play to Ukraine.

He would like to return to Scotland with a bigger show.

SCENA Theatre – Washington DC’s International Theatre over 35 years producing 100’s of plays around the world and we’d love to make Edinburgh one of our temporary homes, having performed in Denmark, Poland, Germany, Bahrain, Vienna, Former Yugoslavia, Zahrib and many, many other places in Europe and he would love to be here in Scotland again.