Interview with Kevin Brooks
By Cameron & Rob / Spinebreakers Crew
Cameron:
How long was the process of getting iBoy to the shelves, from the first time the idea came to you?
Kevin Brooks:
Funnily enough, I can answer this quite precisely – I first had the idea for iBoy on January 22, 2009 (at approximately 10pm) and the book was published on 1 July 2010.
Cameron:
Where did the insight into Tom's and Lucy's relationship – (which I found amazingly compelling) - come from?
Kevin Brooks:
Thank you! I suppose the insight came mainly from a mixture of my imagination and my experiences, as most of my writing does. It's really just a matter of trying to see and feel everything through the eyes of Tom and Lucy – once you've got that far, you just have to stay true to them both.
Cameron:
Do you have any plans for another science fiction book of this kind (even a follow-up to iBoy)?
Kevin Brooks:
I don't usually write sequels, but with iBoy I definitely have a follow-up story in mind. Whether I actually write it or not depends on whether anyone wants it or not.
Cameron:
Who is the single person you most admire?
Kevin Brooks:
Chief Wiggum.
Cameron:
How much of a threat do you think that hacking, of the kind Tom is able to perform, is, given our current reliance on technology?
Kevin Brooks:
That's a BIG question ... and I'm probably not really techno-knowledgeable enough to answer it. I would imagine, though, that while hacking is definitely a huge threat to such things as banking, business, communications, utilities, the military, etc – all of which are undoubtedly of vital importance – I doubt if it would ever lead to a Terminator-style apocalyptic situation. But, like I said, what do I know?
Rob:
What inspired you to write iBoy?
Kevin Brooks:
The idea inspired me – the idea of a young, contemporary, British superhero ... and everything that would mean in the real world.
Rob:
How many attempts did it take to get your first book published?
Kevin Brooks:
About 28 million.
Rob:
What genre of books do you read in your spare time?
Kevin Brooks:
I read pretty much anything and everything (except Fantasy), but my favourite genre has always been crime fiction.
Rob:
Do you base any of your characters on people that you know?
Kevin Brooks:
I like my characters to be individuals in their own right, so I try to avoid basing them directly on people I know or have known, but I often use my memories and experiences of people's characteristics and how they behave to help make my characters as real as possible.
Rob:
What advice would you give to a young writer wanting to become an author.
Kevin Brooks:
Just write ... that's all. Write, write, write. But don't forget to live a life too. Books are about life, so if you want to write them, you have to know something about life.
THANKS!!!