Author Feature: Ben Starling

Helloooo lovely people of the Earth! It's been quite a while since I've updated The Book Landers, as I am still on my "Asia Tour" (aka teaching English at Lishan Elementary School in Taiwan).  Days have been busy, but enough said about me . . . the star of today's show is BEN STARLING. We're lucky to have an interview with Mr. Starling himself. (By the way, his upcoming novel will be released in January 2016). 

1. Probably a cliche question at this point--but I'm still going to ask it: What inspired you to write?

Carol Shields wrote: 'Write the book you want to read, the one you cannot find.'

My upcoming novel was inspired by the loss of my partner at forty-five years of age to ovarian cancer, just thirteen weeks after her diagnosis. In the aftermath, an old friend challenged me to turn that grief into something positive. Remembering a conversation with a charismatic Polynesian fisherman (I visited there once) about his people’s vision of death and the afterlife, I began to write.

Through the written word, I hoped to explore and capture several extraordinary events that happened around the time of my girlfriend’s death. The book kind of took off from there… Here’s the blurb for the book: What if to be with the man of your dreams… you had to give up your life? On the verge of losing her job, a side-lined journalist is forced to travel to the South Pacific to untangle a mystery where she meets a reclusive ex-boxer with a message. When a syndicate of corporate criminals invades paradise, she must either defend the island with her life or accept the plum promotion that will save her career.

Also at http://www.ben-starling.com/books/upcoming-release/

 2. What draws you to the genre you write?

 I write about love… because nothing else is as important. Because love impacts us in so many ways (which I will explore in sequels), I live to go deeper. The question I’ve asked in my forthcoming novel (title reveal coming soon) is what happens to love after death?

I was bereaved, as many people have been, and what happens after death is a question we all want answers to. My experiences just prior to and after Melisa’s passing convinced me there is a lot going on – but the answers are clouded, opaque. We don’t know for sure what happens beyond the veil. This is why the novel has some mystery running thorough it – I wanted to tread a less well-trodden path.

3. What are your top three favorite things about writing? 

I enjoy staring at a computer screen – the writer’s blank canvas - and adding shape and color...I am also an artist and see clear parallels between writing and art. Every written scene has a foreground, mid-ground and background, just as a painting or drawing does. Secondly, the discipline of adding literary shape and colour in a structured way is challenging but rewarding. Thirdly, I love magic moment when it all comes together!

4. Your three least favorite things about writing? 

Plot holes. You think everything is swimming along and then CLUMP – back to square one! Fortunately I usually find a way round the problem: it’s off for a canal walk for me and some enjoyable pondering by the water.

Next, rewarding as it is, writing is also quite draining – but after my canal walk, when I sit down to write again, the new surprise twist solution I was dreaming of always seems to reveal itself. Water is wonderful that way. Finally, writing is a lonely occupation – I spend more time with my characters than I do with real people!

5. Who is your favorite author? 

I’m a devout fan of Maeve Binchy for her masterful plot structure and rich detailed backgrounds. You don’t just gain the pleasure of a story from her, you learn craft.

6. If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be? 

Wendy in Peter Pan, Anne Elliot in Persuasion… and could I possibly add here, the larger than life, Erin Brockovich who has been captured in movie memoir? All these characters have great strength and great compassion, qualities I admire hugely.

7. Is there anything you MUST have in order to write? (ie. coffee, music) 

Silence. Frequent breaks. Occasional chocolate. Encouragement from my editor and beta readers. More chocolate…

8. Do you set writing goals for yourself? How do you stay on track? 

Only quite loosely. When it’s going well, I churn out several thousand words a day, when badly, it can be only a handful. But when taken over time, hopefully I’m hitting an acceptable average.

9. Dogs or cats? 

Both! As pets, but also as writers. The way I see it there are only two kinds of writers in the world – dog writers and cat writers. Dog writing is a spontaneous, rolling and playing in the grass, stream of consciousness writing. Cat writing is meticulous, methodical, and insists upon years of research and planning in the foundation of every book. Cats do exactly what they are going to do and that’s it.

Both have their advantages. Ideally, I’d like to be a dog writer that aspires to be a cat, galloping over the hill as I dream up new plots with my tail streaming out and the wind in my flapping ears.

10. Anything else you want readers to know? 

Right now I’m working on a series of prequel short stories to be released from September 21, 2015. They are set in the same world as my upcoming novel and introduce some of the main characters at important points in their lives. The novel itself will be released on January 21, 2016. I do appreciate hearing from readers, and very much welcome feedback.

You can find me at www.ben-starling.com and also at

 

About Ben

Ben Starling is passionate about marine conservation and boxing, both central themes in his upcoming novel. He is Oxford’s only ever Quintuple Blue (varsity champion five years running), was Captain of the university boxing team, and coached and boxed competitively. Ben graduated from Oxford University with a Master of Arts and an M Phil. He was born in the USA but has lived in the UK since childhood.