#Twinterviews

In conversation with ... James Purefoy and Jamie Foreman

2011-09-20T18:34:00.005+01:00

I recently had the good fortune to interview Ironclad stars, James Purefoy and Jamie Foreman - see the main review of the Ironclad screening here - check out the photo galleries too - and follow the links for the rest of the interviews.

More 'other' interviews!

2010-09-28T14:39:00.003+01:00

Recent victims, sorry, interviewees, on Rochester People were artists Andi Bristo and Lorri Thomas.

Other Interviews!

2010-08-19T21:26:00.007+01:00

I know I haven't interviewed any Twitterers recently, I have, however, devised a simple Q&A series on the Rochester People website and decided to share them with you here!

IF things go to plan, I hope to begin twinterviewing again in the near future! In the meantime, enjoy these:

Pete Molinari

Wolf Howard

Andy Walker

Steven Keevil

Sally Quilford - the writer's writer

2009-11-03T12:37:00.035Z

Writer Sally Quilford has had her fair share of ups and downs but her positive outlook and can-do attitude means her writing career is going from strength to strength. She generously shares her passion with all aspiring writers.

@Scattyjan When did you start writing and what inspired you?

@Quillers I started writing in 1994. Before then I'd had an idea I wanted to be a Writer (which is a bit different to being a writer, if that makes any sense), but had never put pen to paper. I read voraciously, having been introduced to thrillers by my dad. I'm one of the few women who count Jack Higgins, Frederick Forsyth and Alistair McLean amongst my favourite writers. As for more literary work, I'd left school with no qualifications and a vague memory of having read The Long and the Short And the Tall in my English class. Then at the age of 31 I started an English Literature GCSE, and suddenly I was faced with all these wonderful texts, Great Expectations, Cider With Rosie, and Susan Hill's The King of the Castle, along with some very good poetry, and I so wanted to be able to write something as enthralling. Of course I didn't (and have accepted I probably never will). I was dreadful and wrote some pretty awful poetry (which was hailed as undiscovered literary genius by several vanity publishers). I also wrote a lot of fanfiction, and I'd recommend that for any writer as a way of cutting their writing teeth. There's no money in it, but it's very satisfying.

I'm glad to say that whilst my poetry was a bit grim (in more ways than one) my ideas for short stories weren't awful, even if the writing left a lot to be desired. Eleven years after I started writing, when I started taking things more seriously, I dusted off a story called Darling Stefan, that I'd written in those early days, tidied it up, and sent it to Bewrite, where it was accepted for their anthology The Creature In The Rose. Since then I've rewritten and sold a couple more that I wrote in the early days. So the moral is, never throw anything away and don't give up!

@Scattyjan That's an impressive list of awards you have - what was your very first one and which means the most to you?

@Quillers The first award I ever won was for a Derbyshire County Council writing comp. The one that means the most is probably my shortlisting in the Aeon Award. It was the first time I'd ever tried writing sci-fi consciously though I'd written several stories before then that could be construed as sci-fi. But every placing is special. It's validation that I'm on the right track.

@Scattyjan Ill-health in 2007 sparked a major upsurge in your output - if you'd carried on with the volunteer work, do you think your writing career would have progressed this far?

@Quillers Yes and no. I got quite involved in my voluntary work, to the extent that it had an emotional toll on me. That tipped over into my home life, leaving me feel a bit stressed at times. Writing was a release then, and it's a release now. Only I'm able to do more of it, because I have more time. Whether I do or not is another matter. I've actually been more prolific in the past, but haven't produced work of a very high standard. Now I tend to write less, but it's better written. I hope! But giving up voluntary work has allowed me time to say yes to other opportunities, such as writing for Writers Forum magazine.

@Scattyjan #blogtakeoverday was such a fantastic idea - what was the inspiration for it?

@Quillers A couple of reasons. Things had been getting a bit grim in blogland, due to charges of plagiarism against one writer. And I'd had a bad year in 2008, for several reasons, not least because I was 45 and that was the age my mum died. So #blogtakeover day was my way of putting all that behind me and trying to bring a bit of fun back to blogland. I was overwhelmed by how many people took part. I know I can usually rely on one or two people to rise to the occasion, but the whole thing became bigger than I ever thought. When Teresa Ashby, one of the best womens magazine writers in the country took part too I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I want to do it again someday, maybe on my next birthday, or perhaps at Christmas. What about a New Year's Day blog takeover day? I think it's probably best to keep the takeovers few and far between so that people don't get bored with them.

@Scattyjan If you had to choose just one piece of advice for aspiring writers, what would it be?

@Quillers Don't believe everyone who tells you they're an expert. Especially on internet writing forums. I wasted a lot of my writing life 'listening' to people who seemed to talk the talk. Then I learned, too late, that they'd barely walked the walk. It left me confused and lacking in direction. I felt in my head that I should be one type of writer, when in my heart I knew I was a different type of writer. I make no apologies nowadays about being populist. I want to be read by lots of people, not just a few academics. Only when I decided to take the advice that I agreed with and ignore that which didn't apply to me did I really begin to find my voice.

@Scattyjan How many websites have you built?

@Quillers Ooh, loads over the years, both for my writing, and for actors that I've liked, but for a long time I just used free web providers before first trying Bravenet, then moving to MrSite. But to say I build websites in a bit misleading. I'm afraid I'm more of a drag and drop sort of girl, and rely on others to do the clever html bits.

@Scattyjan You seem to specialize in short stories and articles - any plans for a novel?

@Quillers I've written several novels, all languishing on my hard drive. At this moment in time I'm doing NaNoWriMo for the seventh time. I'm a lot less confident about novel writing than I am about short stories and articles. I start off in a flurry of activity and enthusiasm, then by the time I've written about 20k words I start to doubt myself. Then by the time I get to 50k words, I hate every one of those 50k words. But I'm told by novelist friends that this is normal. I just need to get myself over that wall. That and the fear of taking my middle aged self to agents who probably want someone younger, slimmer, prettier. I'd love to have a novel on the shelves, with my name on the front cover. The ultimate dream is to be a BOGOF offer in Tescos... But dreams only come true if you produce the goods. So I've got to get cracking.

@Scattyjan With all the help available on your sites and your workshops, do you see tutoring, perhaps for Adult Education, as a possible career option?

@Quillers Yes, I'd really enjoy that. I've often thought I'd like to do more writing workshops (and am available to anyone who wants to hire me!) I loved the ones I did in Wigan, even though I hadn't a clue what I was doing. I've taken courses in training now, so am a little more knowledgeable about how to put together a good workshop. I did a free online workshop on character building back last year in a closed blog. Whilst it was very enjoyable, and I got great feedback, I decided I'd much prefer face to face courses that I can run over one or two days. I like to see the whites of peoples' eyes so I can see for myself if they're really enjoying it.

@Scattyjan I could get seriously hooked on your story generator - not writing - just clicking the options! Have you had much feedback from authors selling work borne from it?

@Quillers Yes, a few writers posted on womagwriter's blog, saying they'd used it and sold a story. (I think they posted there because they think Womagwriter and I are one and the same, but we're not). I got the scenarios from browsing through tons of womens' magazines, then mixing the whole lot up. The widget for the generator was created by Cally Taylor.

It's a smashing piece of kit - thanks Sally! Whether you're just starting along that lonely, rocky road as a writer, or just looking for inspiration, be sure to stop at Sally's website to fill your tank - it's the equivalent of taking a shovel, red triangle and blanket on a winter's journey!

Singer - Songwriter Nick Tann

2009-09-08T13:46:00.040+01:00

I love music (as I'm sure you know by now if a regular reader of my blogs!) but listening is where my expertise lies :-) Apart from playing the recorder at primary school, I can't read a note, I just know what I like - and the music of Nick Tann, since I discovered it a short while, has definitely grown on me. Let him tell you about DADFAD and Acoustica, I'll just interrupt occasionally!

@Scattyjan: Your latest CD, Life is a River - you seem to have produced, played, sung and written this alone - do you prefer to work that way or is it just circumstances?

@Nick_Tann: Yes, I did the whole thing myself. I have quite a nice home set up and it's very convenient for me to record at home as well as very cheap! The downside is that I have a lot to concentrate on whilst doing the actual recording. It would be great just to think about the playing, the actual performance of each songs.

@Scattyjan: Do you miss working with your band People?

@Nick_Tann: Working with "People" was a great experience and I loved it but folk move on and circumstances change. I value the experience and think that there is still plenty of that influence in my solo performance.

@Scattyjan: Were you thrilled when you when BBC Southern Counties Radio featured "That Woman" on the live demo panel and gave it a thumbs up?

@Nick_Tann: I don't know if I'd use the term "thrilled". I was flattered and interested in what they would make of it. I'm naturally suspicious of "industry types" (they made up the panel) and although they liked the song, one guy couldn't understand what it was about. It was obvious he hadn't heard all of it otherwise he would have done.

@Scattyjan: A tad annoying - and a bit rude too, actually. Talking of the radio - the Russell Brand jingle - what's all that about?

@Nick_Tann: A while ago, Russell Brand had a part of his radio show where listeners could send in their own jingles for his show. I just re-jigged one of my tunes "How Can It Be Wrong?" to fit. Unfortunately, thanks to a certain Spanish waiter, he never got to play it!

@Scattyjan: Perhaps he can use it on russellbrandtv! You've been likened to Sting in one review, which can't hurt, can it - I do happen to agree with the reviewer - are you happy/sad/indifferent to that? He's one of your influences isn't he?

@Nick_Tann: That's a comparison that is made a lot and I'm perfectly happy with it although I would say that the Sting aspect of my voice is influenced more by Bob Marley.

@Scattyjan: I hadn't picked up on the reggae influence, but now you mention it ... *nods* Would it be fair to say you're a guitar specialist? I love the description of the slide guitar: Tanglewood Odyssey Roundback Martin Strings with DADFAD tuning. Eh? Please explain exactly what that is, plus what a 12 string slide player (ie you!) is also!

@Nick_Tann: I think that's a fair description! The description of the guitar, Tanglewood Odyssey, was for any guitar geeks (like myself!) who are interested in such detail. DADFAD is what the strings are tuned to, EADGBE being the norm. My main guitar is my Aria 12string that I've had since I was 18. It's travelled the world with me and has been my main instrument since then.

DADFAD enables one to play amazing sounding chords that, using the usual EADGBE tuning, would be imposible to play. Many guitarists vary their tuning, there are many variations, DADFAD being nothing that unusual. Most slide players use alternate tunings. This song uses a DADFAD tuning AND it alternates between normal play and play with a slide.

Any of my tunes on my youtube site are in usual EADGBE tuning including this one.

@Scattyjan: Ok, I get that, I think. So who is Jaco Pastorius and how much of an influence is he on you?

@Nick_Tann: Jaco Pastorius is probably the most influential and innovative bass player of modern times. As well as being one of the driving forces behind Weather Report he also played on some of Joni Mitchell's best albums. He has been a massive influence on my bass playing for most of my life.

@Scattyjan: Hm - remind me to write 'jazz band' alongside Weather Report, if I ever Google them again, won't you! I love the bass line of Bernard Edwards and it sounds to me like John Taylor from Duran Duran was very influenced by it too, in Planet Earth - are there any songs you love purely because of the bass line or other individual instrument or vocal in it?

@Nick_Tann: The "Rappers Delight" bass line had a great impact on me at the time but as far as bass lines I've often found that subtle, more background bass lines have excited me more.
Bruce Thomas from The Attractions (Elvis Costello's band), Tina Weymouth from Talking Heads and Norman Watt-Roy from the Blockheads are all phenomenal and are too often overlooked.

@Scattyjan: That could've been filmed at my school disco ...*moves on quickly* The Vinyl Project is your latest venture, aimed at fans of good music and also vinyl junkies (like myself, only I've got nothing later than 198....something) what was the inspiration behind this idea?

@Nick_Tann: I was midway through a massive project of recording all the songs I had ever written; I've just finished. I had tried various methods; playing to a click track, a drum beat, adding bass and guitar solos and found I was making slow progress. I decided to record with just a single mic, no headphones and with no effects, not even any reverb. It felt fantastic and very natural, just like at a gig. I got thinking how great it would be to repeat the same thing but in a studio with a few more microphones and an engineer pressing the buttons. It just seemed a natural progression to press it to vinyl. That great bottom end and the overall beauty of vinyl was just too tempting to resist. I'm so excited about it, I just can't wait to get going!

@Scattyjan: Thanks for taking time out to talk to me Nick, I'm looking forward to receiving my special copy of the album!

And it's easy for fans to be involved in the project too - see The Vinyl Project blog for full details of how YOU can play your part in the production of this musical venture, a snip at just a tenner! You can also listen to Nick's songs at his Reverbnation site and download from I-Tunes, as well as listening to his podcasts at Is This Thing On? For further info on all Nick's ventures, plus live gigs, this is Nick's website.

Bright Eyes Long Lashes

2009-06-25T17:00:00.025+01:00

Leah Hather, choreographer and vlogger extraordinaire chats about her plans for B.E.L.L. and the inspiration behind video ‘Pirates at Wits End’.

@scattyjan: Your video title hooked me right away - who first thought of 'Pirates at WITS End?'

@Brighteyes08: Me. There is a track on the soundtrack called At Wit's End. I thought it would be fun to play on the words of the movie title At World's End.

@scattyjan: and did you choreograph all of it, including Cap'n Jack - he was fab, spot on!

@Brighteyes08: I choreographed most of the dance numbers but, for instance, the Crabs section was by the creativity of my team. Sharn Daniels, who played Captain Jack knew exactly what I was after, therefore we were able to experiment together ... @Brighteyes08 ... but I like to let my performers "play" as I put it, in other words, let them find their own creativity or voice, improvisation, until I find what I am looking for.

@scattyjan: The fun element shows through in the vids and vlogs. How long have you been doing them?

@Brighteyes08: Bright Eyes Long Lashes company was created in November 2008. The first video we made was Here It Goes Again: The Dance Without Treadmills, and ... @Brighteyes08 ... then we decided it would be fun to start doing the blogs to keep the youtube channel active whilst we don't have any dance videos to upload.... @Brightyeyes08 ... Plus I thought it would be good practise for me seeing as I'm interesting in getting into presenting.

@scattyjan: You're very confident and engaging in front of the camera, how do you break into that area?

@Brighteyes08: I believe the confidence just comes from practise, just like anything really. You have to keep trying at things, and learn from your mistakes. @Brighteyes08 It does take time, I have been performing for over 10 years now; I’m finally getting comfortable & more confident with myself.

@scattyjan: that leads me nicely onto: How long have you been dancing?

@Brighteyes08: Well I have been dancing since I was a child; Michael Jackson's Thriller dance inspired me. I’ve been dancing Ballroom and Latin for over 6years now.

@scattyjan: and how many pairs of shoes have you gone through?

@Brighteyes08: Oh gosh, I couldn't say how many I've been through, quite a lot. I've just had to throw away my latest pair of Ballroom shoes. I must say I was rather distraught. I do like my shoes. Especially dance ones. :-)

@scattyjan: are they those bronze coloured efforts they wear on SCD? Big fan of SCD btw - you'll have to interrupt!

@Brighteyes08: Mine were black :-) SCD is very good, I'm waiting for a season when they get rid of celebrities and let the public enter!

@scattyjan: Do you have a partner or enter competitions?

@Brighteyes08: I don't have a partner no, I decided to go to university instead of entering competitions. I just dance with my dance tutor but would love a partner.

@scattyjan: So here's a quickie for you: Your choice of partner: Gerard Butler or Brendan Cole. Toughie, eh?

@Brighteyes08: Ah that is a tough one! Brendan Cole is one of my favourites along with Darren Bennett (I've met him and he's lovely) Eeek - GERRY!

@scattyjan: The Butler did it! Best stop there with the SCD talk, I'm addicted! How did choreographing the kids go? Is that a regular thing, do you run classes?

@Brighteyes08: I haven't choreographed them yet, still waiting on confirmation. Should be 20th July. I am very excited; I would like to start my own classes.

@scattyjan: and did I read something about you wanting to contact likeminded people in and around Doncaster?

@Brighteyes08: Yes I am interested in meeting anyone around Doncaster, Scunthorpe or Gainsborough way that is interested in the arts to make videos with me. As now that I have left Uni and my friends back in Manchester I am currently making videos by myself.

@scattyjan: Once they’ve seen ‘Pirates’ I’m sure they’ll be plenty of dancers keen to get involved, good luck with you next video and thanks for being ‘Twinterviewed’!

@Brighteyes08: Thank you for taking your time to interview me. :-)

For more informaton or to contact Bright Eyes Long Lashes, visit their Facebook site here. And view all the videos via the video bar or here on Youtube.

Jeremy C Shipp

2009-06-06T19:17:00.009+01:00

Jeremy C Shipp is an author whose written creations inhabit various bookshelves, magazines, anthologies and drawers and cover all aspects of dark fantasy, horror and bizarro. Jeremy has been writing since an early age and lives in Southern California in a “moderately haunted Victorian farmhouse with his wife, Lisa, and their legion of yard gnomes.” He’s currently working on many stories and novels, the latest of which is ‘Cursed’ and says: “When writing this novel, I cut up my heart and fed a portion to each of the characters.”

In conversation about angry ballerinas, finger puppets and The Yard Gnome Liberation Army, this will quite probably be the most bizarre – ist Twitter conversation you’ll ever eavesdrop on!

@scattyjan Hello and welcome Jeremy – or can I call you Jerbear? And how or why did that start?

@JeremyCShipp I try to convince myself that the nickname Jerbear stems from my natural grace and power. @JeremyCShipp But in truth, I’m just very hairy, and there’s also the fact that bear rhymes with Jer.

@scattyjan does it? It's a good job I asked, cos I was pronouncing it wrong! Did you model the coconut monkeys on yourself then?

@JeremyCShipp I actually prefer to think of myself a giant yard gnome, with the coconut monkey being distant cousins

@scattyjan Are these characters/species from your latest creation, Bizarro Bytes? Can you sum it up in one tweet?

@JeremyCShipp For quite a while now, I've been rather obsessed with those creatures. There's a lot of yard gnome art on the Bizarro Bytes page.

@scattyjan In two tweets then ...

@JeremyCShipp Bizarro Bytes is a subscription service, where readers receive 12 new Shipp stories for $12, delivered to their email, one story a month.

@scattyjan It’s going to take a third tweet isn’t it?

@JeremyCShipp Readers can also purchase higher level subscriptions, where they get their name in one of my future stories, and other bonuses.

@scattyjan That'll keep you busy! Your next book 'Cursed' is scheduled for Halloween, a fair way off. Why the delay, it doesn't feature witches, does it?

@JeremyCShipp Halloween is when my book fits in my publisher's release schedule. Plus, it's a good release date for a dark fiction book. :)

@scattyjan So not because there are witches then?

@JeremyCShipp I don't want to give away too much about the plot at this point.

@scattyjan fair enough – just a little bitty smidgen?

@JeremyCShipp I will say the novel's about a group of characters who band together, trying to cope with very strange problems.

@scattyjan Dark Fiction and Bizarro are similar/same genres are they? Would you say they slot in between Fantasy and Horror? Or are a combination?

@JeremyCShipp Bizarro is the genre of the weird--literature's equivalent to the cult section at the video store.

@JeremyCShipp Most of my work is some combination of Bizarro/horror/dark fantasy/magic realism.

@scattyjan Moving on to my fave bits on your site - there's surreal and surreally surreal - from where does the inspiration come for 'Slices of Weirdo Pie'?

@JeremyCShipp The stranger aspects of our reality often inspires me, as well as the horde of anthropomorphic root vegetables living in my basement.

@scattyjanI've got one of those living in the second bedroom ... I'll scrap that in case he reads this!! Hang on ... nah, he won’t. Moving on ... @scattyjan The finger puppets - are they ready made or do you secretly long to fill the void left by our Tony Hart?

@JeremyCShipp I've always loved puppets. I made a hand puppet myself a few years ago. Maybe someday I'll fulfill my dream to create a puppet musical.

@scattyjan Now that I'd love to see! So, have gnomes got chips on their shoulders and is that the gardening world's fault?

@JeremyCShipp Yard Gnomes actually like being around humans, because they tend to learn from our mistakes. @JeremyCShipp Unlike humans, they don't let their own history repeat itself over and over.

@scattyjan are they gonna take over the world?

@JeremyCShipp The Yard Gnome Liberation Army is busy creating hunter-gatherer-based eco-villages, in preparation for the fall of civilization.

@scattyjan Green is good, we’ll vote for them! Now then - insane grocery bags, what's with that? You're unpacking the shopping and inspiration hits?

@JeremyCShipp Grocery bags have always been a big part of my life. So one day I thought, "I should write about them." @JeremyCShipp And after I decided that, all the grocery bags in my home performed a jig.

@scattyjan Like they do. How's the angry ballerina - did you get her/him/it down from the roof Ok? And have the azaleas recovered?

@JeremyCShipp The ballerina's actually living up there now. We all chipped in to help her build a yurt, and she's not so angry anymore. :) @JeremyCShippThe azaleas died, and reincarnated as a murder of crowbars.

@scattyjan I’ve heard that happens a lot. Ok, I’m lying – your imagination is limitless! This has been a lot of fun Jerbear, thank you.

@JeremyCShipp Awesome, thanks!

For all the lastest info on Cursed, Bizarro Bytes and Jeremy’s other work, visit his website at http://www.jeremycshipp.com/ ... let someone know where you’re going though and when to expect you back!