Lucky 13 Interview With Chris Limb

1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your current book?

My current – debut! – novel came out just over a week ago and it's called Comeback. Genre wise it's an urban fantasy and the elevator pitch is "What if Orpheus was a 21st century woman instead of an ancient Greek man?" The central character Genie does indeed travel into the underworld in search of her lover but there is of course a lot more to it than that – for a start, which lover? She is unlucky enough to have two dead exes...

It took almost exactly ten years between completing the novel and publication – and took three years to write the first draft so the present day of the novel is 2007 although it also goes back as far as 1999 in flashbacks. So the main thing I had to watch out for while writing and editing was making sure I didn't refer to anything that came after that as it's surprising how quickly we get used to things and think they've been around for ever.

2 – Are you a plotter or a panster?

Definitely a pantser. I do often have a vague idea of the direction something is going when I start, but rarely know what the exact ending is or the path that leads there. If I plotted too much I wouldn't enjoy it as half the enjoyment of writing for me is finding out what happens. With my second novel (Ghostdance, the sequel to Comeback) I just started with a premise and a few mental images and it took me on an incredible journey.

It's different for short stories though as they often come into my head fully formed or at least with the punch line fully formed. I then just have to get there.

3 – Savoury or sweet?

Depends on the time of day. In the morning I crave savoury things but then immediately followed by sweet for some reason – maybe as a palate cleanser. But they both have their places and I crave each of them equally in different situations.

4 – Three books to a desert Island. Go!

I would have to be very long books that I haven't read yet. I believe Alan Moore's Jerusalem is a particularly weighty tome and I have always enjoyed his writing in the past so I would take that.

Robert Shearman's We All Hear Stories in the Dark is another – I have it but haven't read it yet. The interesting thing about it is that it's an anthology of over a hundred short stories which are loosely linked but the order in which you read them is determined by questions you answer at the end of each story so in theory there are many thousands of different paths through the book you could take. That would probably keep me occupied.

And if there was some kind of collected edition of some of Ursula le Guin's novels I would probably take that, as I haven't read enough of her work.

5 – Star Wars or Star Trek?

Probably Star Trek as there’s more of it and I have consistently enjoyed it more whereas there are large parts of the Star Wars canon that have gone through my brain without touching the sides. It's only really the original Star Wars trilogy that had a deep impact. On the other hand I have enjoyed parts of all the Star Trek iterations (with perhaps the exception of the "reboot" alternate timeline films) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is one of a few TV series that looms large in my subconscious as an influence on my present day mind-set.

But that is not to criticise or slag off Star Wars. I know people can take these things to heart and make them part of their identity. That's the thing about art of any kind – if someone enjoys it then that's good, if someone doesn't, well there's plenty of other stuff for them to try instead rather than wasting their energy disliking something.

Doctor Who is the SFF franchise that I am really into and would want to write for in any medium (I have already written a couple of unpublished short stories set in that universe).

6 – If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I would like to be able to travel in time, particularly travelling back along my own timeline (mentally) in order to correct mistakes. In a "If I could be 20 again but with all the knowledge I have now" way. Of course narratively this would have to go wrong as Curtis in the Misfits TV series always seemed to find out. Although I would like to try my hand at writing something that subverted that "lesson learned" trope.

7 – Music or Silence when writing?

I need silence when writing the first draft but music helps when editing and redrafting. Music is particularly important for the novels, as the characters in them are musicians so I listen to the sort of things that they like or that influence them.

8 – If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose?

I can’t say for certain. For a long time when I lived in London I had the hankering to move to Brighton, which is where I now live. I do sometimes miss London but don’t regret the move. I have often thought I would like to live in New York. And in a total fantasy world I would like to move to Luxor in Egypt. Certainly impractical and probably very uncomfortable in the long run but I do love the atmosphere there.

9 - Your favourite karaoke song?

I can’t say that I have one as I’ve never done karaoke in earnest although may have given it a try a couple of times.

I don’t mind the singing itself. I have been in bands where I have contributed backing vocals, so it’s not about shyness or worrying that my voice isn’t good enough (although it’s nothing special).

10 – One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?

The most important thing I have discovered was this simple one, which I’ve heard quite a few times from various sources: Just Keep Going. Keep writing whether or not you feel you are inspired that day. You can always edit it later. And following on from that: Make Sure You Finish It.

Yes, it is sometimes like wading through treacle and is 99% perspiration as the old saying goes.

11 – You win £1 million, but you must give half to charity. Which charity do you choose, and what do you do with the rest of the money?

I would say that currently the charity would have to be any one that is helping to feed people in the UK. Under the last few parliaments poverty has increased shockingly – just compare food bank use in 2010 to now.

That would leave me half a million, which would probably be enough to buy a reasonably sized house somewhere relatively near to where I currently live.

12 – Horror films, yes or no? If so, any favourites?

Definitely, yes. I am not so much into the gore for gore’s sake ones or the graphically sadistic ones that make you think the director probably has some serious psychological issues. However, suspense and visceral horror really works for me. One of my favourite films of all time is Alien, which is a horror film just as much as it is an SF one. Of the more traditional horror films I enjoyed the first two Hellraiser films.

I was surprised to find that I wrote horror as well; but the first few short stories I had published were all in that genre,

13 – What are you currently working on?

I am working on the third novel in the sequence that began with Comeback. No official title yet, although it has a working title of Worldsend. I would guess that I am about a third of the way through. The interesting thing is how much I’ve changed from when I started writing Comeback in 2007. Not just in my writing style but how I see the world.

I think I have a much clearer idea of who I am now and hopefully that will be reflected in this book.