TOM SAUNDERS

TOM SAUNDERS

Poet and short story writer Tom Saunders is a dashing Brit with a polished prose style.

His debut collection of short stories, Brother, What Strange Place Is This? is a richly varied tapestry full of eloquent language and stories that range from whimsical to melancholy.
In 1995 he was an award winner in the Ian St James international short story competition and his story "The Philosopher Nabel at the Kaffeehaus Eleganz" was published in the anthology Pleasure Vessels.

Tom's work can be found extensively online, including some of his poetry: Play for Me, The Acrobat, and some of his prose:
The Red Train
Sweet Mercy Leads Me On.

1) Who are some of your favorite writers, and do you think they've influenced you?

I wanted to write because of Kurt Vonnegut. His writing strikes me as being brave and true. He accepts no alibis from the human race, yet he's kind and compassionate. I don't think my writing style has been influenced by him, however. I wish! I use irony (I know everyone claims this one, but I actually use it from inception onwards) and humour in my stories, so that could be a connection. I suppose the biggest influences on my approach (I use varying styles) would be Dickens and Angela Carter. I admire prose that has flair and vigour. I'm a fan of Raymond Carver's, but low-key realism isn't for me.

2) What do you think is your greatest strength or asset in your writing? Your biggest weakness or flaw?

I'm not bad with words and I have a strong imagination, but I'm sure everyone would say that. My biggest weakness would be a tendency toward whimsy and a fondness for puns and wordplay.

3) You're also a poet. When writing Brother, were you conscious of language and word choice and cadence and structure, or do you take a more relaxed approach for prose?

There's nothing relaxed about my writing technique. I go over every sentence time and time again. I do believe there's such a thing as the perfect word choice and the perfect rhythm. Now you see why I'm not a novelist!

4) How does the inspiration for a story usually hit you – in a flash, or after much pondering?

I dreamt the first line of The Seal Man, but apart from that my stories come out of a thinking process - one that can take several days or weeks. I need to get two or more ideas working off each other, hitting sparks, complicating and deepening the main theme. That's the hope anyway.

5) You're not an avid traveler, and yet there are stories in Brother set all over the world and in different time periods that you seem to capture effortlessly. Is it more difficult for you to conjure these foreign locations?

No, I think you have to distinguish between stories that are about other places and the ones that are set in the other places. I don't think you can write the first kind without actually having lived in a place for a considerable time - even visiting isn't enough. I write the second kind and research gives me the background I need.

6) Stock question: Dinner with anyone, dead or alive. Who is it?

To be honest I'd be too frightened to meet any of my heroes. If I had too choose it probably be jazz saxophone player Charlie Parker. I love his playing, but he's a complete mystery to me as a man.

7) What's the best scent of summer in England?

Newly cut grass or the scent of honeysuckle at dusk. Something unique to the UK would be a seaside smell, vinegar on hot fish and chips.

8) One CD, one book, one DVD and a desert island. What book, CD, and DVD do you take?

The Beatles first LP - it changed everything. The Great Gatsby - a perfect novel, intellectually satisfying and beautifully written. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - what it's all about and what we must never forget.

9) You can't have both: Would you rather have respect from your peers and critical acclaim (but not be making cash from writing), or would you rather be a bestselling author with the fat coin?

I couldn't do both! It would have to be the first because there's no hope of the second. I wouldn't mind making some money rather absolutely none. A few pounds, maybe.