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Friday, 3 May 2013

"They hate me in the produce section." Author and Photographer David Cassidy Stops By.




Ladies and Gentlemen, please be upstanding for the really rather fabulous David Cassidy who has been brave enough to drop in for a visit today. Goodness! You are all rather loud and energetic for this time of day - you can sit down again now, here have a biscuit. Oh, and I brought coffee (no sugar!). That's better, now shall we have a chat with David?

Hello there! Thank you so much for coming along for a chat and a cuppa. Tea? Coffee? Orange juice? There may even be something a little stronger in that drawer over there...there are cob-webs on it? Er...no then..I have arachnid issues. Can I ask a few questions? Excellent.

Okay, let’s start with something simple…can you really juggle?
Absolutely. Balls. Time. Staplers. They hate me in the produce section.

Brilliant! I've tried but ...well, I can throw them all up in the air, it's just the catching again that I have problems with. You've had your writing compared to Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Clive Barker – which, if any, of these authors do you feel the most kinship with and why?
It’s a tie, actually, between King and Barker. King is the sublime storyteller; Barker the wordsmith. I like to say that King taught me how to lie my ass off and make them believe. Barker taught me how to imagine—and then to imagine more. I often feel like I'm a blend of these writers. I'm always pushing myself on every page and every chapter. I strive to tell a great story that is written equally well.

That's a great answer. I love King's grasp of character - he makes you feel that you know each and every one of his creations personally. Barker is the 'King' (see what I did there? Tee hee...ahem) of creating the fabulous and incredible and bringing it to life in vivid colour with beautiful descriptive language. Speaking of which .. I love your ‘Rocks and Rolling Fog’ photograph, what do you get the most pleasure from – photography or writing?
Thank you! That’s one of my favorites (and there’s an interesting story behind that particular shot on my blog at http://davidccassidy.com/2012/06/24/doh/). From a purely creative perspective, I can honestly say that the pleasure is equal. I'm very visual, whether it’s in words or images. I love to create art with camera and keyboard.

You‘re a big music fan too  – do you have music playing while you write? Or do you prefer quiet?
I prefer quiet when I'm writing, but not always. It’s amazing how inspiring Mozart and Vivaldi can be.

Have you ever imagined ‘Velvet Rain’ as a movie? Say you had carte blanche to cast whoever you wanted as Kain, Lynn and Brikker, who would you choose?
Being such a visually creative person, I write what I see. Velvet Rain—and anything that I write—always plays out in my head like a movie. So yes, Velvet Rain often feels like a movie to a lot of people who've read it.
If I could cast the characters? I've actually seen this in my head, believe it or not. For better or for worse, here’s what I see:
Kain – Hugh Jackman
Lynn – Jodie Foster
Brikker – Bob Gunton (the warden from The Shawshank Redemption)


Oooh, Hugh Jackman's fabulous and yes, I can see Bob Gunton (he IS Brikker!). I might have to have a think about Jodie Foster...not sure who I had in mind while I was reading...Are you reading any books right now? If so what are you reading and why did you choose that book?
Right now, I'm reading Gray Justice by Alan McDermott. You've got to love the premise: The justice system fails, and a man takes matters into his own hands—to the extreme.

What’s the best advice on writing that you've ever been given?
Finish that first draft.

Ha ha! That's good advice! Can I be nosy? What’s your current work in progress?
I'm working on a supernatural thriller, The Dark. It’s about a young boy who learns that everything has a price.

Oooh. I'm intrigued - will look forward to that one. If, like your character Kain, you could go back and undo something that happened in the past, what would you choose?
I'll look at this in two ways: In a global sense, and a personal sense.
If I could change something globally, I’d go back to the 1950s and tell the world how good they have it. Tell them to get off oil and make better choices—to warn them about how screwed up things are going to get if we don’t change.
From a personal perspective, I’d go back and spend more time with my parents. I lost my mother a short time ago, and I’d give anything to have that time back.

I think a lot of people would agree with those choices, David. Okay...I don't want to keep you from your writing, photography and music too much longer...final question? Why don’t you like clowns?
Because no matter who we vote for, they still run the world into the ground.
Now, for those bozos who dress up in make-up with the big hair and the big shoes … they scare the crap out of me. Am I the only one who saw It?

Nope...and Tim Curry was SUPERB!!

Thank you SO much for taking the time to call in for a chat, David. It was lovely chat about you and your wonderfully creative life. Folks, if you'd like to find out more about David and his work please click on the links below.

LINKS
Twitter (@DavidCCassidy): http://www.twitter.com/davidccassidy
Velvet Rain (AMAZON) : http://bit.ly/VR-1
Velvet Rain (SMASHWORDS): http://bit.ly/VRSW1

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