Interview Peter Cosentino

by

Kev Richardson

1) What inspired such an intriguing genre as Walk Back?

We have two Yorkshire Terriers, and one of them really thinks he is at least part human rather than a mere dog. He was partly responsible for the germ of the idea for the story. I have always enjoyed ‘easy’ science fiction/fantasy myself, particularly very visual stories and the fact is that with this kind of novel, the only limit is personal imagination. A good part of Walk Back was thought up during mind numbing, boring management meetings where the only way of getting through them was to ‘drift off’ a little, no-one seemed to notice!

2) Did your writing style develop automatically, or was it manoeuvred?

I’m definitely an instinctive writer rather than one that writes to formulas. I have never taken a writing course and I do not actively try and write like anyone else. Whatever writing style comes across, good or bad, is one that has developed accidentally perhaps rather than automatically.

3) Which authors most influence you? Why?

I can’t say that I am consciously influenced by any particular authors. I enjoy reading a very wide range of material which varies from autobiographies to classics and much in between. I pick what I fancy at the time--or often something recommended to me by my wife.

4) Do you plot your tales beginning to end or vice versa?

I do rough out a very general plan which tends to be ‘beginning to end’ but my characters and the plot always change significantly as the story itself develops.

5) Do you always have a particular finish in mind?

I have been known to start with an ending--only to change it totally by the time the story is written. Walk Back has had several endings. Ideally, I would have liked to have written Walk Back and provided at least three different final chapter options for my readers!

6) How much of your own personality do you lend to characters?

None consciously. I base my characters on the huge number of interesting people I have met, or simply observed, all far more interesting than me.

7) Have you a website where your readers can contact you?

My website is www.petercosentino.co.uk I am a potter and the site is mainly set up to promote the pottery I make, but I also have details of my other writing there, and of course contact details too.

8) Do you work on more than one book at a time?

Yes. I usually have two or three books on the go at once, and short stories as well. All are at various stages of completion. I currently have a horror/science fiction tale, an adult comedy--and a non-fiction pottery book that I am working on.

9) How do you juggle your writing time with work and other commitments?

I only need about 5-6 hours sleep and find that my best writing time is between the hours of 10 pm and 1.00 am. I love the discipline of writing and prefer to write ‘little and regularly’ rather than spend lengthy periods at it. This was a pattern I developed while I had quite a pressurised ‘day job’, but since taking early retirement and returning to being a full time potter a couple of years ago, things are far less fraught, but I still keep to my writing schedule which seems to work fine for me.

10) What promotion do you create or follow?