Welcome back to my blog Ben! I thought it fitting we have our interview on the beach given your love for the ocean. Lol!
Tell me Ben, how is your basil plant Fawlty, is he still around?
Fawlty,
after many selfless and generous offerings (in salads, pastas…) is now enjoying
life in the great herb garden in the sky. My efforts to keep him going into a
second year proved ambitious—someone pointed out basils are annuals! That fact
probably doubled my knowledge of gardening.
How did your journey in writing begin?
I
started writing to entertain my children with a picture book and got distracted
by creating the illustrations. By the time it was finished, they’d grown up!
More
recently, I’ve been driven by the challenges, the sense of achievement when
things finally fall into place. The emotional high always trumps the writer’s
block low. And the feedback from satisfied readers (last time I looked Something in the Water was averaging 4.8
stars (out of 5) on Good Reads and 4.7 on Amazon. Yay!) Endorsements like these
make my candle bill (somewhere here there’s a metaphor about burning them at
both ends!) so worthwhile.
I
undertook the challenge as a form of catharsis. I was bereaved six months
before I began writing it and I wanted to make sense of all that was going on
in my head at the time. Melisa died aged forty-five from ovarian cancer, just
thirteen weeks after her diagnosis. Some extraordinary things happened in her
final weeks—things that made me question everything I thought I knew about
life, death and love—I wanted to capture them as a way to remember Melisa. My
hope is that Something in the Water
will help others who have lost a loved one find a degree of peace because some
of the spiritual events described in the novel are based on what happened
during Melisa’s last days.
Also,
I have always been passionate about the oceans and about what we can learn from
other cultures (I did a course on social anthropology and ethnology at Oxford
University) so I blended these themes into a sort of treble-helix plot.
Challenging? Very! But so rewarding
when it all came together.
Do you have a muse?
Yes—my
wonderful Great Dane, Edington. She really was like a person in a dog’s body.
Since she passed away years ago, she visits me in my dreams regularly—always at
the right time. I feel she’s offering me hope and encouragement when things are
difficult.
I
am currently writing short stories in the “Something…” collection. Each story explores
defining moments in the lives of the major characters in Something in the Water, the central (full-length) novel in the
collection. These short stories help the reader understand the person they’ve
become in the novel. Each short story is an adventure, a mystery, a love story
in its own right.
The
first short story, Something in the Air,
explores the defining moments in Dan Dragan’s life—he is a powerful and
important character in Something in the
Water.
The
second short story is being edited (title reveal coming soon)! It examines a
pivotal time in Perry’s life, he’s a central character in the full length
novel.
Tell
me a little about your family life, what’s it like for you being a Dad?
Being
a dad means everything to me. My children both live in London now and I get to
see them a lot more than I used to—we have so much fun together—they threw a
nine hour Father’s Day party for me this year! My son cooked while my daughter
danced up a storm to the Bee Gees and some modern bands I’d never heard of. I’m
so proud of them. My daughter is an extraordinarily talented artist and my son
is embarking on a career in the restaurant world. Judging by his appreciation
of great food, I know he’ll make a huge success of it!
What
do you do to relax or for fun?
Not
as much as I’d like to! I try to walk most days in the park, along the side of
my local canal. Being close to nature is important to me and I find plot knots
usually unravel while I’m observing herons (I snapped this grand fellow with my
phone), swans, parakeets, foxes (yes, in London!) etc.
I
am a regular gym attendee (target = 7 times a week, reality = 4 times). I used
to amateur box and I keep fit with a variety of masochistic practices that
includes pounding the punch-bag, light weights, various machines of torture. My
next goal is yoga.
I
also play scrabble (I actually got the word “vaccine” in, to win last time) and
weekly chess. I’m at the enjoy-puzzling-things-out rather than learn-moves-from-a-book level, which of course limits how far
I’ll get with the game.
What’s
a favourite movie and song of yours?
I
can’t think of a single favourite movie though a few oldies have left their
mark. Some Like it Hot, Citizen Kane, Psycho, The Birds, Alien,
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Tenant…
As
for a favourite song—I have so, so many and my answer would change depending on
the mood you found me in. Just now, I’d offer: Saint Saens The Swan, John Barry’s harmonica title theme to Midnight Cowboy, Hotel California (best guitar solo ever).
Tell
me a bit about your experience with Mills & Boon Man of the Year 2016
This
competition was to find a man to pose as the model for the cover of a
Valentine’s Day romance produced by Mills and Boon (Harlequin UK). I made it as
far as being selected as one of the final three. I had some exciting interviews
and it was a lot of fun.
You
are very passionate about marine life and conservation, how and when did you
become interested in the cause?
I’ve
always been fascinated by the ocean and sometimes sit down and draw pictures
about it. As a small child I was lucky enough to spend many holidays
(vacations) beside it, whether the Mediterranean, Caribbean or the Atlantic. I
used to fish or snorkel every single day—and occasionally scuba diving. Water
calls me and I’ve grown increasingly worried as I’ve learned more about the
plight of the oceans, and our connection to them. If the oceans die, so do we. This
is one of the key themes in Something in
the Water.
What
is next for Ben Starling?
I’m
sketching out several more short stories to complete over the coming months for
the “Something…” collection. Also, I’m putting together a lecture road show (it
starts next week) about writing in general and public speaking in particular.
Thank
you, Olivia, so much for interviewing me.
Ben Starling is passionate
about marine conservation and boxing, both central themes in his upcoming
novel. His interest in marine life has taken him across three continents over
the past three decades. He is Oxford’s only ever quintuple boxing Blue (varsity
champion five years running), was Captain of the university boxing team, and
coached and competed until a few years ago. He is 6’3”and 192 lbs. Ben
graduated with a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy.
Something in the Water - available
on Amazon http://bit.ly/SITWbtour2am
Next
story – coming soon!
Connect with Ben at www.ben-starling.com
