Author Interview – David Satchell

1) Do you write books as a career, or are you currently still juggling your author time with a full or part time job?
I am in the enviable position of having taken early retirement. This gives me an awful lot of free time (in theory). Realistically there is not as much time available as I would hope. Currently, I am trying to create an interest in my first book (of a potential series) to justify the investment of time in the next one. I would certainly love to be writing further stories safe in the knowledge that there is a public keen to read them.
2) Have you always wanted to be an author, or did some time or event in your life set you on the path?
My book is about a dolphin and I have always had a strong affinity for the oceans and animals in general. Watching a film called ‘The Big Blue’ was the catalyst that gave me an idea that blossomed into the story of Findol. I feel that the wisdom gained from everything life throws at you helped ground the emotional base of the story in a degree of believability.I realised that I could write an exciting ‘epic’ story where the reader is carried along on a ‘road trip’ of sorts and experience the adventure with Findol. My passion for the Oceans, Cetaceans and Ecology in general will hopefully be realised in this and future sequels.
3) Do you always write in the same genre, or do you sometimes like a change of theme? If you haven’t already, is there another genre you would like to write?
I have currently begun the official sequel to Findol but am wary of throwing all my efforts into it until I know it has a receptive market. Because of this I have decided to start a completely different story in a different genre. I hope to explore the possibility of yet more genres if time permits. Without a doubt, the creative process of writing is a bit of a drug that I want to partake of in a greater manner. My latest project is a dark take on the Paranormal but I also want to write a humorous experience based Hospital Laboratory novel.
4) As a writer, what is the best thing that has happened to you, and what is that most exciting thing that could happen to you?
The best thing for me is receiving praise from a complete stranger who has read the book. It proves the value of the novel I have produced even if it is to that one individual. The greatest compliment that can be paid is to ‘touch’ someone through the power of words.
The most exciting thing would be to have Findol enjoy a degree of success and be recognised as an icon associated with ecological issues that carries him forward to subsequent adventures.It would also be to see his story on the big screen as an animated adventure that I think it lends itself to perfectly. I have always ‘seen’ the story as I write it.

5) How do you view the promotion, book signings etc. Is it something you enjoy, or do you prefer the writing stage?
I love the opportunity of promotion. When the public engages with the idea it is brilliant. I have had radio interviews and started chatting to pupils in schools and it is great to be given a platform to present Findol to the public. I jump at the chance of any opportunity to try and get it ‘out there’.
6) Could you tell us something about your published books, and let us know what they are about?
Findol is currently the only complete book I have in print.
It concerns a world with a history of Portals that once existed. They were used for transferring from the oceans to life on land in human form and vice-versa into the sea as a Dolphin for example. Findol is born as part of a great destiny. The prophecy dictates that he will save life in The Blue as well as on land from the terrible evil of Grampus. Findol however, just wants to be a ‘teenage’ lad having fun, adventures and playing with his friends. The day unexpectedly arrives when he must face his destiny and grow up very quick. When temporarily trapped he escapes to find his world turned upside down. With friends and family gone he must find wise Cora (the Killer Whale) and seek her advice. She tells him he must find the last Portal and pass through it. He will have to learn to function as a human before he can continue his quest to fulfil his destiny. He is accompanied by Flaytus Gurning – a hermit crab who thinks he is a leprechaun. The world of the Portals is more than a gateway to land, for it is also the way to Lymbow and the other worlds beyond. Central to the story are the themes of Family,Friendship,Loyalty and Courage. Trusting in those close to you and never giving up. It is also a story that is very much about the environment and the pressures put upon it by man.

Thanks for the great answers, David. Ecology and the environment are very worthy causes that are close to my own heart too. I wish you well with them. Good luck with the other books too! Your humorous hospital lab book sounds fascinating! I work for local hospitals, so let me know if I can help in any way.