ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT 41
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KENT AUTHOR PROFILE :
NICK SWEENEY
A
Kent-based author of novels , short stories and pastiche Balkan tunes , Nick is also a musician and lead guitarist in Clash-covers band , Clashback . His books include Laikonik Express , The Exploding Elephant , A Blue Coast Mystery , Almost Solved , The Émigré Engineer , Cleopatra ’ s Script and The Dali Squiggle . Here , he tells us about his latest book , The Fortune Teller ’ s Factotum , and how Kent inspires his writing .
How did you get into writing and why ? I was mesmerised by stories from an early age , in children ’ s books , old black-and-white films , and also in non-fiction books , which I often felt lacked a proper story at the heart of them . Maybe I was audacious enough to want to improve on everything I ’ d read and do my own versions . The wish outlasted the childish enthusiasm all the way to my late twenties , when I realised the books weren ’ t going to write themselves .
You live in a Kentish seaside town ; in what ways does Kent inspire you when it comes to writing ? The Kent seaside was where I spent my first holidays . It ’ s lush and green and living , albeit dotted by towns that are both historical and very much in the present . Kent gives a great sense of all those stories in its past and future , sniffed out by writers like Marlowe , Dickens , Joseph Conrad , H G Wells and a host of lesser-known names . The Thames Estuary hints at the world out there , too . There is an elemental feel to Kent that is inspiring to anybody who wants to turn the page and just live creatively on their own terms .
Tell us a little about your latest book , The Fortune Teller ’ s Factotum , and what our readers can expect ? Against a background of strange disappearances and dysfunctional families , The Fortune Teller ’ s Factotum is framed by a friendship between two young women in Pennsylvania . One is from a newmoney daytime TV dynasty , the other from a family that lost its money and status when its 100-year-old arms dealing business got taken over by the CIA . Their friendship eventually turns into an alliance that will eventually expose some very dark truths about both their families , but first they have to get through the not inconsiderable hurdle of replacing a lost celebrity cat .
What was the main inspiration behind The Fortune Teller ’ s Factotum ? I wanted to write about people who go missing , and those left behind . That partly explains its settings . Missing people in the UK , thankfully , are still news , as it is just not vast enough for the scale of the problem in America . I ’ ve always liked the theatrics of sideshows and psychic investigations , ‘ real ’ or not , and wanted to feature a fortune teller in a story . The spark that really set the tone for the first part of the book is a song called ’ Crystal Clear ’ by alt-folk band The Fiery Furnaces , a frantic rant about a girl having a terrible day . Despite these elements , the book has plenty of moments of comedy .
What do you hope readers will gain from reading The Fortune Teller ’ s Factotum ? Above all , I ’ d like them to get the sense that the story leads to a kind of redemption , the certainty that lives can be rebuilt and lived after chaos , crises and setbacks like missing parents , lost fortunes and livelihoods , and malevolent presences posing as benign ones . I also hope I ’ ve done justice to the characters , the times and the story for them to make a long-lasting impression .
Where can we buy your books and keep up with you as an author ? My books are available from all the usual places , including Amazon , some bookshops and publishers ’ websites . I keep my own website up to date with all my books , photos , videos and sometimes whatever occurs to me that day . It ’ s called The Last Thing the Author Said , and can be found at www . nikone3na . co . uk .
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