Interview Stuart Ford

by

Dorothy Bodoin

1) Congratulations on your July release, Emma’s Camp. It sounds like a great story. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I now live outside of Los Angeles with my family, in an old house up in the hills. We are remodeling which takes a lot of my time. I also work in San Francisco three days a week so I commute up there. It is giving me an idea for another book, but more of that when I finalize the idea. My interests include traveling, reading, aikido and writing. All in all, my life is very full and I love it!

2) Is Emma’s Camp your first book with Wings?

No. It is the sequel to my first novel, Lost in Africa, which I am proud to say won a Golden Wings award in May. For that, I thank the work of my editor, Leslie Hodges, who turned the book into a much better finished product. Emma's Camp picks up the story where Lost in Africa left it. It could have been all one big book, but they work as stand alone works, too.

3) I’m assuming it would fall in the adventure genre. Is that right?

I think that it is how it is categorized, though I see it more as a man's romance with a very dangerous mistress, namely Africa.

4) I like the idea of a character hoping to recover from a trauma, only to find himself enveloped in more turmoil. Did any particular real life incident give you the idea for this book?

The real life experience was my travels and experiences in Africa. Africa needs so much help, and my books are my way of communicating the continent's plight in a way that more people might read about. The news stories about Somalia, Sudan, etc., get ignored. By creating a work of fiction, I hoped to communicate these issues in a more acceptable medium.

5) Africa seems like an ideal place for an adventure. How did you research your setting?

I have been to Africa many, many times. A lot of the book is based on my experience; the rest was heavily researched using Internet, books and interviews with other Africa vets.

6) What led you to choose Mozambique as a particular setting for Emma’s Camp?

The main character, James did, not me! Seriously, my characters create their own adventures. James chased the kidnappers to Mozambique and bad things happen (see Lost in Africa); therefore Emma's Camp just had to be set there. I would have been happier putting it elsewhere but the story drove the location.

7) Could you elaborate on the safari camp?

The camp is targeting tourists that are wealthy and adventurous. Mozambique is an emerging economy. Most people go more mainstream such as South Africa or Kenya. The camp was something James had to do. He was driven there by his tragedy. His partners, Andrew and Vincent, had the experience. James had the passion and need to build a memorial of some sort for his wife.

8) I notice that poaching is one of the problems in Emma’s Camp. What African animals appear in your book? (Or does the poaching involve something besides animals?)

The poaching does involve animals, mainly elephants and ivory. But really poaching serves only as an analogy. It is more about the rape and ruin of Africa by the unscrupulous. Poaching and corruption are as endemic as malaria. The book deals with these and a range of Africa's other problems.

9) Does the theme of Emma’s Camp revolve around recovering after a great personal loss, or are you saying something about fighting for your beliefs?

Passionately, yes. If we don't fight for Africa, we will lose it in war, disease and famine. AIDS is prolific, as is the dumping of the West's dangerous out-of-date and banned medications. James sees this and fights with his every fiber to protect her.

10) Do you have the plot in mind or on paper before you start writing, or do you let the plot build itself as you go along?

I create the characters only. They create the story. They act in character, and the plot emerges. I sometimes feel I am only the middle man in the process!!

11) From idea to finished draft, about how long did it take you to write Emma’s Camp?

I don't know, as strange as that sounds. I get so immersed in the story that I don't remember the timelines. I just love the creative process. The book just ends when the characters make it.

12) Was there any particular (writing) difficulty you had to overcome during the writing of your book?

Time, always finding time. That and converting my natural UK English into American English.

13) Is there one scene that stands out as being your favorite?

Yes. There is a scene that made me cry when I wrote it, and my editor Leslie said it affected her the same way. It is the scene where James finds the direction for his life. All the important people come to support him, giving him strength and the prized possessions to help him. The other scene I loved writing is James' experience of traveling out of body with the Shaman. That, I think, is very powerful.

14) Do you belong to any writers’ organizations or critique groups?

Only EPIC.

15) How do you plan to promote Emma’s Camp?

I now have a set of readers of Lost in Africa clamoring for the sequel. I will start there.

16) Is Emma’s Camp a stand alone book, or do you plan to write more about James?

I don't know, yet. I am working on a very different work now, and I have a horror novel coming out with another publisher this year. James is there nagging at me at the back of my mind. He may have more stories for me yet to come.

17) Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself or your book?

Only to thank you for the thought provoking questions and wishing you every success. Thank You!!