An Interview with A.J. Graham
A fanatic for all things sci-fi and fantasy, A.J. Graham was originally born in Glasgow, Scotland but moved to the North-East of England as a child. He still lives there, in a small market town. He enjoys spending time getting lost in the worlds of other people’s stories, as well as getting lost in the real world on walkies with his beagle Dexter.
Heather Burning is his first published work, but he is currently working on a second novel. He also enjoys writing short stories in various genres, which he is releasing for free through Kindle Unlimited with the hopes of releasing them as a physical anthology in the near future.
A.J. Graham has worked many jobs, from mechanic’s apprentice to care worker to pizza delivery. He still works full-time as a duty manager in a hardware store but is finally pursuing his dream of writing professionally.
What inspired you to start writing this book?
In all honesty, existential dread. But to be less macabre and more realistic, turning thirty. I was by no means unhappy with my life, but reflecting back, I realised I had never really pushed myself to do something special, or had at least given up before I had the chance to fail. I decided to confide in my partner about I dream I had always had of being able to write a book. She encouraged me to give it a try (pushed, prodded, and forced me through my procrastination as well) and gave me the confidence to try to turn it from a simple mental exercise into an actual project.
Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
I wanted to keep some ties to my Scottish heritage with the world I created in the book. I had an image of the hills covered in rolling fields of heather, which was how I came up with the name of the town in which the story is set, Heather Fields. I wanted a title that hinted at the danger in the story and that led me to the controlled burning that heather can be subject to. The original title had been Muirburn, after the tradition Scottish word for it, but it gave me feelings of more of a fantasy story than sci-fi. I did spend a while thinking of the title, with a lot of back and forth, but realised the title had been staring me in the face all along. Heather Burning. Short, foreboding of the danger in the story, and a subtle hint to the ill fate of the town of Heather Fields.
Describe your dream book cover.
It’s hard to say what makes one book cover iconic and another dull, but I love something that manages to capture the theme of the book. I love sci-fi covers that capture the enormity of space and that can draw you in with the use of simple colours to burst through the darkness.
If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?
If I could, it wouldn’t have songs, it would have a soundtrack of musical scores. Something like Howard Shore’s work on the Lord of the Rings films, or John Williams’ work on Star Wars. Those pieces of music that don’t just provide a background, they hone in on an emotion of a scene and use it to pull you in deeper.
What books are you reading (for research or comfort) as you continue the writing process?
I’m not reading anything as research, but I always have a book on the go. I like to chop and change genres as I feel like reading too much of the same style can sometimes influence what I am writing myself. I am currently reading Withered Hill by David Barnett, but have recently finished The Mercy of God, the first instalment in James S.A. Corey’s latest series (cannot wait for The Faith of Beasts to be released).
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
I had a few different types of jobs in my youth, although I have been working at my current employer for almost a decade now. I started pizza delivering on weekends while at college. I worked as a home carer for several years after I graduated. I have done first aid for the Red Cross, as well as spending a year working in a garage as a mechanic’s apprentice. Currently, I work in a DIY store. Perhaps I am the chaser of unrealised dreams. Fifteen-year-old me was going to be a musician (bassist in a terrible emo band no less). Nineteen-year-old me was going to be a paramedic. Twenty-four-year-old me was going to be a mechanical engineer. When those all failed, late-twenties me was happy just to be employed and be able to pay my bills. Here’s hoping that thirty-year-old me’s dream of being an author is the one that sticks!
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
I wouldn’t say there was one thing in particular that influenced me to start writing. I have always been a lover of stories and books. I remember as a child borrowing C.S. Lewis books from my school library and later spending more hours at my local library on the way home from school. I remember being gifted Terry Pratchett books for birthdays and trying my hand at more grown-up books as a child (God love J.R.R. Tolkien but I had to come back and tackle that as an adult). I used to take many long car journeys to visit family in Scotland and loved nothing more than four undisturbed hours in the back of a car and a book. Even branching away from books, I love cinema, TV, and video games as well, but my favourite ones were never the ones with the cool-looking explosions, they were the ones that told a story which stuck with you. The ones that created a world that you got lost in, or a character that became just as meaningful to you as if they were real.
Where is your favorite place to write?
I like the creature comforts of home, to be honest. There’s always a toilet nearby and the coffee is free. But my favourite place is wherever I can sit with my beagle. Anyone with that particular breed can attest that personal space is a thing of the past, but you grow to love it. Besides, there’s nothing that breaks you out of a negative spiral quite like giving your dog a fuss.
What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?
Don’t worry about the end of the project. I don’t mean the ending of the story (that is kinda important) but what comes afterwards. I think when I was first writing, I was so bogged down in whether anyone would want to publish this or if I was wasting months of my time on something that would never go anywhere (a strong theme in my past) that I could easily become disheartened. It’s more important to focus on the writing itself. Make something you love and that you enjoy writing. I find I always write better when I am enjoying doing it.
What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?
I just hope that people enjoyed it if they read it. I want someone to have that odd feeling you get after finishing a good book. That strange mix of sadness that something is over, but joy that you experienced it in the first place. If I can make just one person feel that way with my writing, I think it will all have been worth it. Oh, and don’t be scared to try a new author! All the greats started as nobody at some point.
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