Interview and Giveaway: Postcards From Another Life by Andy Paulcroft

Lisa: We’re so pleased to welcome author Andy Paulcroft today to introduce himself and chat a bit about his debut novel, Postcards From Another Life.

Welcome, Andy! Why don’t we begin by having you tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know?

Andy: I was born with a squint and still have a lazy eye. All my family know when I’m getting tired – as the right sided eye shoots off skyward. It apparently looks very weird, but of course, I don’t notice it at all!

Lisa: What’s your favorite scene in Postcards From Another Life, and what makes it a fave?

Andy: It is the scene that occurs the second time the action takes place in 1977. Pete and Max are just beginning their relationship. Max has shared the fact that his mother died in childbirth and that he suffers a difficult relationship with his father. Pete initially won’t tell Max about his own idyllic childhood for fear of upsetting him – however, Max insists.

Lisa: Would you care to share an excerpt from the scene with us?

The Excerpt: “Pete told him then. He told him about the mother who had treated him like an adult from the moment he could talk and how they could both act like children, now he was grown. He told him about the family picnics. The times at home when his dad would bang out show tunes on the old piano and his mum and he would screech the lyrics in discordant harmonies. The nights they went en masse to the theatre. The days they would find a bridge over a river and play pooh sticks until lunchtime. The afternoons when his friends were otherwise engaged, and his mum and dad would crouch on the floor to play Subbuteo and how his mother could flick in a wicked free kick with her finger.

Finally he told him about one rainy day in springtime. His mum and he had sat on plastic sheeting in front of a roaring fire and painted the ABBA logo onto an old black trunk.”

Andy: This passage has lots of memories from my own childhood, which it makes it very personal and special for me.

Lisa: If you could spend some real-life time with one of the characters in the book, who would you choose and why?

Andy: I think it would be Sam. He is the boyfriend of the main character in the 2017 part of the story. The main character narrates the story and he is very much a younger version of me, so to pick him would be a little bit narcissistic! However, I must admit to falling a little bit in love with Sam as I was writing him. He is intelligent –  yet a little naive, funny, kind and always puts other people first. However, he is also quite naughty and has a good line in banter. He is generally on the receiving end of a lot of good natured teasing from his friends – yet there is nothing those friends wouldn’t do for him, if he was in trouble.

Lisa: On the flipside, which character would you probably least get along with? Why?

Andy: It would be a character in the 1977 part of the story called Hutch. He is described by Pete as “a loud mouthed braggart with far too high an opinion of himself. If someone had shot a hole in one on the golf course, he had done it one handed, blindfolded whilst travelling on a moving golf buggy.”

I think we’ve all met people like that at some point in our lives, and I do try to steer clear of them, if I can!

Lisa: Have you ever created a character so evil-awful that even you hated them and can’t believe you made them up? If so, who was it and what made them so awful?

Andy: Not really. Most of the flaws my characters have are quite common. Some of them might act in a way that I don’t like, and I certainly wouldn’t like them in real life, but I wouldn’t say they were hideously evil.

Lisa: Let’s take off your author cap and put on your reader cap for a moment: what do you look for in a book, what sort of protagonists do you love, and do you have a favorite genre/sub-genre?

Andy: Strong, selfless characters with a sense of humour. Being a gay man, I love the fact that through the power of the internet we have a lot more access to gay literature. We used to be limited to about one title in High Street stores, if we were lucky, or we would have to find a specialist bookstore. Now we have a lot more choice. I am also a bit of a sucker for a good mystery.

Lisa: What are your least and most favorite things about being an author?

Andy: I love the fact that your characters do exactly what you tell them to do. The downside of that is that I have discovered that I am a bit of a control freak!

Lisa: Have you ever written a line, paragraph, or passage, and thought, “Darn, that’s pretty amazing, even if I do say so myself”? What was it?

Andy: I have written phrases that still make me giggle after I’ve read them twenty or thirty times which is rather nice. I still grin at Pete’s line when he first goes to university. He is on the same corridor in the halls of residence as a group of people he has nothing in common with.

 “They also insisted on calling me the Pete-ster, which I thought made me sound like a brand name for a composting toilet.”

Lisa: What’s the one genre/sub-genre you haven’t written yet, but would love to? What’s kept you from it so far?

Andy: Having only written one book – loads. However, the book I’m writing next is completely different to the first, and lots of the idea I have for subsequent books are different again. I think I would struggle with a novel that involved Police procedure. There are too many things that you could get completely wrong!

Lisa: Let’s talk tropes: do you have a few favorites that you enjoy both writing and reading? If so, what are they and what makes them your faves?

Andy: Again it’s narrator led mysteries and stories that involve a mystery from the past – which was the inspiration behind “Postcards.”

Lisa: If you could choose one of your books to be adapted for the silver screen, which would you choose? Why do you think it would translate well to film?

Andy: I think “Postcards” would translate well to film, or certainly a TV mini series. Stories spanning different eras always seem to come out quite well on the small screen – as do mysteries and love stories, so why not?!

Lisa: What’s the one book you’ve read in your lifetime that you wish you’d written? Why did this particular book leave such a lasting impact on you?

Andy: A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale is a wonderful book. It deals with a man in the nineteenth century who, after a scandal in England, buys a patch of land in Canada and travels there to build a farm. It is wonderfully atmospheric. It is heartbreakingly sad and yet curiously uplifting at the same time.

Lisa: What authors would you say influenced you to become a writer yourself?

Andy: Patrick Gale, Jonathan Harvey, Robert Goddard, Peter Robinson, Terry Ronald, Agatha Christie

Lisa: How long did it take to write your book, and what was the most difficult part of the writing process (i.e., dialogue, plot or character development, pacing, etc.)?

Andy: It took about a year, but I had a full time job whilst I was writing it. The most difficult part was afterwards, trying to proofread it – punctuation is not my friend! Also working out the rules about brand names, song titles, song lyrics etc., etc. – then hoping that the information you have read is correct!

Lisa: What would you say was the most intimidating thing about publishing your first novel?

Andy: Pretty much everything. I knew absolutely nothing! Luckily my partner, Ian, is very tech savvy, so he helped me with that side of it. Without his knowledge my book would not have been self published and there would have been loads of broken windows in my house with computers lying outside on the pavement…

Also, I was told that the book fraternity is incredibly friendly and helpful. That is certainly what I have found. People like Charlie Cochrane, Amanda Prowse and the wonderful people who do blogs like this- have all given me advice and help whenever I’ve asked for it.

Lisa: What’s the best piece of writing/author advice you’ve received that you’d pass on to someone else just getting started in the business?

Andy: It IS possible!

Lisa: Was there a particular part of the process—from writing to editing to cover design to publishing—that was easier or harder than you thought it would be? What was it?

Andy: I was very lucky to have my friend Emily Pithon who is a professional cartoonist and drew the picture for the cover. Ian then turned that design into a front and back cover – apart from nodding in a slightly awe-inspired fashion, I had to do nothing!

Lisa: If you won the lottery, what’s the first completely self-indulgent thing you’d do?

Andy: I saw a programme a couple of days ago about a luxury hotel/ spa in the Swiss Alps that cost £10,000 a night for a suite. A few nights for me and everyone who’s helped with “Postcards” would be a good way to see the back of a bit of it!

Lisa: Let’s pretend you’re taking a road trip, and you can choose any three of your characters to go with you. First, who would you want on the ride-along, and why them? Second, who would be most likely to:

Andy: I think the university crowd that the narrator eventually becomes house-mates with. However, there are four of them, so if possible could I request a bigger car?

*Have to hit every rest stop bathroom

Andy: That would be me/the narrator – to use a well worn joke that my father loved. “Weak bladders run in our family…”

*Whine about how long it’s taking to get where you’re going

Andy: Chloe, the Anglo/Chinese law student. She is a live wire and I think would be terribly impatient.

*Break wind with the windows rolled up

Andy: Dan, the gym bunny. He eats for England and would probably need to release some of the by-products!

*Flip incessantly through songs on their music app

Andy: Definitely Sam, the indecisive side of his character I knicked from my partner, Ian.

Lisa: If you could sit down to dinner with any author, past or present, who would you choose, and why? What are some things you’d want to chat about?

Andy: Christopher Isherwood to chat about his experiences in Germany between the wars. Agatha Christie to ask her what she really did do in Harrogate when she staged her own disappearance. Enid Blyton to ask her how she could create so many young characters whilst allegedly not really liking children. I’m afraid I’ve made it a slightly bigger dinner party than you asked for!!!

Lisa: What book that you’ve read and loved would you most like to be a character in? Who would you be, and why?

Andy: The Swish Of The Curtain by Pamela Brown was always a childhood favourite – and I’ve read the whole series of books again recently. I always wanted to be Nigel, the eldest and self-styled leader of the group of children who find and run their own theatre. When I was a teenager, the thought of owning a theatre with a load of mates was just like magic to me. The only problem was that I couldn’t act or sing and I was rubbish at set design and DIY!

Lisa: If you were stranded on a desert island, what are three things you’d absolutely have to have?

Andy: A state of the art phone that could store all my music and audiobooks on it. Ian. Cheese.

Lisa: If you had to choose between becoming a superhero or supervillain, which would you choose and why?

Andy: Definitely superhero – there’s enough rubbish going on in the world at the moment without adding to it.

Lisa: What would your superpower be?

Andy: To bring the best out in people, simply by touching them.

Lisa: If James Corden invited you to Carpool Karaoke, what song(s) would you sing with him?

Andy: The Winner Takes It All. It is simply the best song ever written…! Down In Tube Station At Midnight, a very close second.

Lisa: If you could be any animal in the world, what would you choose? Why?

Andy: I used to have a friend who would associate every person she knew with an animal. She would say things like, “Oh Roddy, he is a beautiful palomino, isn’t he?” Apparently I was a King Charles Spaniel, so I’ll stick with that!

Lisa: If you could travel back in time, with all your years of experience and wisdom intact, what advice would you give to your teenage self?

Andy: You’re gay – when you tell your dad he will say that he thinks it’s absolutely marvellous. Be true to yourself and don’t worry about what your peers think.

Lisa: If you were to sit down and write your autobiography today, what would the title be?

Andy: Never Let the Truth Get in the Way of a Good Story

Lisa: Star Trek, Star Wars, both or neither? Explain.

Andy: Ian is a Trekkie, so I guess I am by default!

Lisa: If you could be any fictional character in the history of literature, who would you like to be and why?

Andy: Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities has always been the literary character I most admired. A rather weak and pathetic man who performs the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the happiness of the woman he loves – it’s just rather wonderful. I’m not sure I’d want to be him, though, as he has this rather nasty accident with a guillotine.

Lisa: It’s the zombie apocalypse. It’s up to you and 5 other uninfected humans to save what’s left of humanity. Which fictional characters would you want on your team, and why?

Andy: Miss Marple would keep everyone calm in a crisis. Harry Potter did ok with Voldemort, so I’m hoping he’d be as good against zombies. Mary Poppins – there must be something in that bag of hers to fight zombies with. The Time Traveller from The Time Machine by HG Wells – A time machine might prove to be useful if all else fails. If it could be treated as a character – The Fog by James Herbert turned sane people mad – I’m hoping that it might turn mad zombies sane? If not, it might confuse them for long enough for the rest of us to find that Time Machine.

Lisa: Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today, Andy. It’s been such a pleasure getting to know you!

About the Book

Have you ever had a dream where it seems like you are watching a movie?

When Peter Abrahams first goes to university he feels alienated from his fellow students.

Then he meets Sam Morris and his life changes dramatically.

When Peter spends his summer at the Morris family hotel, he starts experiencing dreams – strange dreams – about a man who worked in the same hotel forty years before.

Peter discovers that the man existed, the events he is witnessing really happened, and is drawn deeper into the mystery of what occurred in 1977.

[zilla_button url=”http://authl.it/B078HMC2L5?d” style=”blue” size=”large” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Available Now at Amazon/Kindle Unlimited [/zilla_button]

About the Author

Andy Paulcroft grew up in Weston-super-Mare, and his love of books started when he borrowed his sister’s copy of Five Run Away Together and exaggerated a minor illness in order to finish reading it. He has since worked as a chef in France, Switzerland, Corsica and the North Highlands of Scotland before settling as a catering manager at a boarding school in Dorset. Plotting Postcards From Another Life eased the boredom of many a commute from his home in Salisbury. He is currently working on his second novel.

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The Giveaway

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