Interview Douglas Ponton
by
A. J. Mcguie
1) This is your first
published book, but I doubt it's the first book you've ever written.
How many books have you completed?
Four books on
linguistics and three chapbooks of poetry.
2) How does your
professional life impact your writing?
It stops me doing any.
3) What genre is your
book? What interests you in this
particular genre?
It’s a thriller with
an identity angle. I’m not a great thriller addict, but it seemed to suit the
story I wanted to tell.
4) Every book has a
starting point somewhere, where did this book get its inspiration?
Was it a character? Or did
you base the book off a theme?
The story concerns the
search for a missing ancestor. In my family there was such a figure, who I never
knew, and the story is the result of my fantasies about how he might have been.
5) How many drafts did
you go through before you submitted your book to Wings?
Loads!
6) To you, what makes a
book interesting?
That should be the
easiest question but I find it the hardest. I recently read ‘the Log of a
Cowboy’ by Andy North and found it gave me a vivid picture of a different
life-experience. I loved ‘Bound for Glory’ by Woody Guthrie for the same reason.
7) What book are you
currently reading?
I spend a lot of time
listening to audio books; the latest is ‘the Life of Charlotte Bronte’ by
Elizabeth Gaskell. It’s made me want to visit Howarth. As for actual book books,
‘Goddesses in Women’ by Jean Sinoda Bolen.
8) Tell us a little
about your book.
A sports’ journalist
and chess fan discovers that a missing ancestor was a figure of great substance
both in terms of his wealth and his political activity on behalf of
9) Will this book stand
alone or are you planning on running a series with it?
It’s definitely a
one-off. Or maybe not....
10) Which character in
your book do you like the most?
I had fun with the
character called ‘Ishmael’, a double-agent acting for the Palestinians.