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Justin Somper

Posted by: Justin Somper

On: 04 July 07

Justin's tales of blood-thirty adventure on the high seas have won acclaim (and awards) all over the world. Check out the website www.vampirates.co.uk for the latest news and highlights.

JUSTIN SOMPER
Hi guys! I hope you're having fun with the Big Wild Read. Have you worked out which books you're going to read over the summer yet? Knowing you lot, you've probably already got stuck in! I've just finished writing my third VAMPIRATES novel, BLOOD CAPTAIN. I find it quite hard to read other books when I'm writing one so I'm looking forward to making up for lost time over the summer. In fact, I've been building up a pile of possible reads on my bookcase. I'm going off to Australia for four weeks over the summer (their winter!) so I should get some good reading opportunities. It's mostly a holiday but I'm also going to be doing my first foreign author events (in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth), which I'm very excited about!

If I have one piece of advice for you in terms of choosing your reading, it's to take a risk. I think it's really important - and fun - to vary what kind of books you read. Even if you have a favourite author or genre (as most of us do), it's well worth trying new writers and mixing up the genres too. Best of all, if you borrow the books from the library, it's no-risk because if they're really not your cup of tea, you can just take them back and start over. If any of you are budding writers, I reckon it's even more valuable to read as widely as you can - and then to experiment with your own writing style too. Remember, the long summer vacation is not just a great time to read lots but it's an excellent opportunity to try writing your very own short novel, or script or collection of poetry. If you're travelling to exciting new places, then make sure you take at least a small “ideas book” with you because you never know when inspiration will strike. Going to new places always get my imaginative juices going.

I'm looking forward to receiving your comments and queries, but please be quick as I've already started my packing for Down Under! However, if you do have more questions for me, you can always check out vampirates.co.uk and send me an e-mail there. And, when I'm back in the UK this August, I'll be starting my own blog linked to the site. This should be a fun place to talk about reading and writing as well as pirates, vampires and the like.

Trust the tide!
Justin Somper