Nick Wood – Jan/Feb 2013 – The Next Big Thing

A post concerning my book Azanian Bridges as (I hope!) ‘The Next Big Thing’

Thanks to Gary Budgen linking to me on this topic from: http://garybudgen.wordpress.com/next-big-thing-interview/

The Next Big Thing:

1)    What is the title of your next book?

  • Azanian Bridges

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

  • Memories of working in a legally designated ‘black’ psychiatric hospital in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, during the State of Emergency in the mid to late 1980’s… and wondering what might things look like now, if apartheid had survived.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

  • Alternative History & (Post) Colonial Science Fiction

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

  • Sharlto Copley as Martin van Deventer and Anelisa Phewa as Sibusiso Mchunu (although primarily isiXhosa speaking I believe, I anticipate Anelisa is more than flexible enough to play an umZulu character as well.)

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

  • A struggle emerges to control a crucial mind reading device in a current, revolutionary but still apartheid South Africa.

6) When will the book be published?

  • If/when picked up by a suitable publisher.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

  • 3 months in essence for the first draft, as demanded on the ‘Long Form’ module of the MA in Creative Writing I have just successfully completed.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

  • PK Dick’s ‘The Man in the High Castle’ (I wish!)

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

  • Abner…and the current state of South Africa.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

  • It’s written from the alternating (and contrasting) perspectives of white therapist and black patient; I had an umZulu reader try and help ensure this was a respectful cultural portrayal.

 To move on to other possible ‘The Next Big Thing(s)’, try the SF critic/editor/writer Paul Graham Raven: http://www.velcro-city.co.uk/

Or a writer who already has a promising book out there; Adrian Faulkner and his ‘The Four Realms’: http://adrianfaulkner.com/novels/