I was asked by Shannon Tharp (her collection ‘The Cost of Walking’ (Skysill Press) was one of my favourite finds of last year) to answer some questions. Shannon blogs here and Skysill Press can be found here. Thanks to Shannon for asking me to participate.

What is the working title of the book?

The book is called Radio Mast Horizon though its working title was In Search of a Symphony.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I thought after several pamphlets that it was time to make the leap to a full collection, and gather some of the work together with newer poems. So, it’s kind of like a selected poems with new poems collected all together.

What genre does your book fall under?

Poetry.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Ha ha. No movie rendition!

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

With a voice fresh and responsive, these poems’ chiselled lyricism is firmly located in terms of time and space (and often place). This is by the poet Robert Sheppard and appears as a blurb on the rear of the book.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Well some of the poems are eight years old or so. But once I had had the idea accepted by the publisher (Shearsman) I spent a good six months re-reading and re-drafting the poems and then locating them into a manuscript that I liked. Then, I sat on it for six months and sent it on. So probably a year was spent in getting the manuscript ready. It was too short so I spent another few months working material into the manuscript at that stage.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Being taught at post-graduate level by the poet and critic Robert Sheppard helped! Robert also supervised my PhD and spent a long time with the poems. He made me believe in myself as a poet and that I could eventually successfully publish the work. There are also plenty of individuals who have played a role in the writing of the poems merely because they exist. Or sadly in a few cases, existed.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It has a lovely photograph of a radio mast in Tokyo on the cover. It also has a nice typeface.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It is published by Shearsman and is widely available in good bookshops and on-line.