Helloooooo, my lovely folks! While I vanquish the mountain of term papers and attempt to discover new territory in Camp NaNoWriMo,I want to treat you all to a month of interviews with amazing indie authors. As April is also Poetry Month, it is only fitting to begin with the one, the only, Master Mike Steeden. x

First, Mike, why not tell us a little about yourself?

As to imparting ‘a little about myself’ it is probably for the best that such information remains left untold. Were I to continue there is a very real risk of your readers becoming consumed with the urgent desire to open a vein and end it all out of sheer tedium.All I will say is that aside from being a time-traveller…and frankly that’s not all it’s made out to be…and having shared a few beers with both Joan of Arc, a lovely gal, although lacking that certain panache on the coiffure front, and the much maligned yet a decent sort when you get to know him, Vlad the Impaler, there is little of interest to divulge.

What first inspired you to create with words?

I know many ‘words’ yet cannot spell for toffee, hence the day I discovered that Word had a ‘spellcheck’ I was inspired to have a stab at writing. To my addled mind, although irrelevant in the global plan of things, that event became my metamorphosis moment. Notwithstanding the spelling issues, possibly I should also extend my thanks to the inventers of the keyboard for I am incapable of reading my own handwriting.

You create a lush mix of poetry, prose poetry, flash fiction, and novel fiction. When does that form take shape? That is, does a story always begin a story, or does the scene you begin later transform into a poem? Your piece “The Shop that Sells Kisses” feels like it could have been a bit of flash fiction, but the rhythm of language clearly demands its rightful place among your poetry. 🙂

When fate affords me a decent ‘first line’ or a ‘title’ I’m straight on the case. Hardly ever do I know in which direction or sub-genre the words might take me. I simply leave it up to them. Some words beg to rhyme others seem to not care less what happens next. I tend to work to my disorganized version of organized and without a blind clue as to the content of what I’ve written until it feels like the finished article. Only then do I read it back.  At that stage some finished pieces face the firing squad, others live to see another day. ‘Words’ are anarchistic creatures…free roaming is their way of life. Were it the case they ended up confined within the cages of Manuscript Zoo they would commit hara-kiri. In life I cannot, as the old London saying goes, ‘Organize a piss up at a brewery’ and likewise when writing I’ve never been capable of successfully structuring a coherent plan. Quite the opposite as I live in constant fear of preordained rules. Free-thinking never submits to precedent’s ineptitude.

Something I’ve always wanted to ask a poet pertains to line breaks. “The Longest Night” has both fluid lines, long and winding, as well as stark lines of extreme brevity. How do you decide where lines should be broken?

As I alluded to previously, the words make decisions for me. I have no say in the matter. It is akin to being in a maze wearing just a blindfold and socks. I’ve never claimed to be a poet. ‘Almost poetry’ is the name I coined for my genre. The words decide the line breaks amongst themselves. Rarely do they argue with one another. A democracy of syllables? Possibly. Some words are shy and want to hold hands together, others prefer the hustle and bustle of the cityscape on a summers night. Given that rules bore me rigid I am grateful to the wantonly pliable words for making life easy. In terms of ‘The Longest Night’, albeit written in what feels like a lifetime lost I do remember being sat outside a café watching the day go by when a group of now aging Gurkha ex-soldiers strolled by. For whatever reason the chalk on the blackboard inside my head came out with the obscure first line, ‘Forgotten tribes and luminaries outwear handicaps’. It hit me smack in the face Tysonesque punch style. I suspect that the pattern the words took was due to the quantum leaps of shifting back and forth across two time zones.  Sorrowfully, the event I wrote of was concerning the stupidity of WW1. The word collective demanded the whole picture be seen even if the subject matter was in cameo; a convoluted fiction of respect.

What, according to you, is the hardest thing about writing?

By far and away the hardest thing is when, over an evening’s glass or two of something French and red I’ve welcomed in the multi-coloured immigrant words and ensured the poor things are safe and sound in the sanctuary of my laptop only to find come the morn they have mutated into a gang of shaven headed, tattooed archetypical plain white indigenous thugs. Sadly, I have to evict the unwanted and await for new arrivals.

Do you pen down revelations and ideas as you get them, right then and there?

Yes. Words are delicate things. Give them a home at the drop of a hat in the knowledge that should they not be cared for they will die young.

You’ve clearly tapped an endless vein of inspiration from WWII and the Cold War, as poems like the “The Sunshine Girl” and “She is the Ghost of Generations” show. What is it about these particular years that hold your imaginative curiosity above all others?

Twixt the end of one evil, namely WW1 and the commencement of another…morally far, far worse than its predecessor…a new dawn would trade peace’s bright sun-shiny new dawn for darkest storms clouds that would hurriedly mature into the tempest that was the unremitting thunder and lightning of WW2.  Within the traditional European battlefield a Lilliputian era of unrefined, unadulterated passion for passion’s sake.  A ‘passion’ initially for simply ‘living life to the full’; a thing lost in the death and destruction of what had gone before. Then, in passion’s adolescence; new artforms; adapted old artforms; polar opposite political doctrines; deliciously sullied ‘encounters’ of any and every shape and form; writers taking bold risks like never before. Nothing was taboo. At its centre was Paris, ‘The City of Love’, although Weimar Berlin ran it a close second.  How could I not be drawn into such an array of talent revealed; sometimes wasted in this Bohemian, Parisian wonderland?  Oh, to be a fly on the wall.  I have said before, even in the knowledge that by 1939 the world would once again be in conflict, I would give my right arm to, as the poet Max Jacob said when taking up residence in Montparnasse district of the city, “I have come to sin disgracefully.”

One must not overlook that during those years at various times within this small quarter was home to Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, Man Ray, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Dali, Henry Miller, Ezra Pound, Lee Miller and a whole host of others from abroad. In the case of the many young, talented American’s arriving, they came because they believed their ‘native land was a cultural sink.’ Perhaps all ‘native’ lands had earned such a dull tag when compared to Paris back then? Whatever, Ms Lee that is the reasoning behind my constant musings.

My risqué ‘romance come espionage’ book, ‘Notoriously Naked Flames’ is themed around the events of that short-lived libertine era. Writing that book was pure joy. I think I fell in love with the albino Goddess who was my lead character and a diamond gal, to boot.

Another element of poetry that fascinates me is word choice. When you write poems like “The Passing of a Myth,” do you first concentrate on creating the visuals within the poem, or are you first dedicated to building the music of the line? Both are gorgeous in this poem, but I can’t fathom trying to work on both at once, so I’m assuming there’s a process. 🙂

There’s no process, I promise.

In truth I’d forgotten I ever wrote that one. Having just read it once again I recall that at the time a dark depression had consumed me. I’m particularly good at those. In their own clinging way they have a creative spark unique to their species. The addictive perk depression offers is that it spawns words of own volition. They may have come alive in my head yet I never feel ‘ownership’ of them.  What and how I write is, as ever, at their discretion. If there is a benefit in chance visits from my old nemesis, Monsieur Chien Noir, then it is that, by way of compensation for outstaying his welcome, I often find he settles his account by way a currency born of milk and honey words that flow like there’s no tomorrow.

What advice would you like to pass on to young writers of today that is unconventional but true?

Well, this is my personal take on the subject. I’m sure many will justifiably see it differently. I would firstly advise that nothing is sacred. You can get away with murder when your only weapon is the written word. Never pull a punch. It took me an age to realize that words beg to be out of their comfort zone. Let them run feral. Also, never run ahead of yourself and believe you’re a poet or a novelist. You’re not. I’m not. Most aren’t. To me only the greats who have earned their stripes in that regard can lay claim to those tags. Mostly they never find that out, as accolades tend to chase only the great and grateful dead.

Importantly, grab hold of self-doubt and make her your new best friend. She’ll never let you down. While a smidgen of self-believe is a harmless thing, never believe you’re capable of walking on the inky waters of Lake Egocentric for you will lose all respect from your peer group as well as potential readers.

If you’re writing about a city/country/culture you haven’t physically visited, how much research do you conduct before you start writing?

Albeit a contradiction given what I’ve said vis a vis ‘words’, yes I do research. I find it chivvies the lazy words amongst the contingent along. In many ways it’s the most enjoyable aspect. I learn shed loads of things I never knew previously. Even with my ‘Jonny Catapult the Plumber the Artist’s All Trust’ lunatic skits…as per my new book, ‘Fanny, I Think of You Often’…I had to research pretty much all angles of plumbing believe it or not…not that I shall actually or actively ‘plumb’ now or at any time in the future unless there is a revolver fixed firmly at my temple. Plainly, it is essential to share my research with the tribe curious ‘words’ thus giving them an idea as to where I live in hope they will travel.

‘Notoriously Naked Flames’ demanded a whole mass of painstaking research. I had to discover exactly how life was and how it looked during those years building up to WW2 in countries and cities across Europe, from Amsterdam, Mother Russia…including the Ukraine, Istanbul and Berlin, none of which I was that familiar with, although when it came to Paris and the coastal areas of Belgium I was very much on home territory. History, architecture, politics and the ways of life of both the good and the bad became key to creating a canvas upon which words could paint their picture.

Thank you so, so much for taking time to chat, Master Steeden! Let’s wrap-up with a rundown of your latest works available now on Amazon.

I’ve have already made mention of the new book, full title, ‘Fanny, I Think of You Often & Other Tales of Abject Lunacy’.  It is the first of two books both of which are a deranged collection of skits, such as ‘Audrey Hepburn’s Bout of Gout’; ‘Marilyn Monroe’s Distressing Flatulence’; ‘The fate of the old grannie from Lowestoft who once upon a time inadvertently stepped upon Elvis’s blue suede shoes’ and much, much more.  The sister to this tome, ‘The Elastic Snapped,’ is also available.

Another addition to the shelves at Amazon/Kindle is co-authored with Shirley Blamey. It’s name is ‘Whatever Happened To Eve?’ Eighteen months previous I commenced collecting ever willing words for this story. A third of the book complete, the new words arriving were a motley crew who failed abysmally to direct my tale toward a conclusion.

Then a stroke of good fortune. It was in September last year, having suffered an irksome eye injury some months previous that had slowed my progress when coaxing words, that Shirl and I took a short break in France and it was there a story imagined over cold bière blonde in a clandestine darkest corner of a once voguish bar in ‘Paris par la mer’ took on a new shape. Twixt the pair of us, in concert we found ourselves acting and reacting to the seductive pulse of mutual, sometimes deliciously wicked thoughts.  No ‘what if’s’, ‘but’s’ or ‘maybe’s’ when a dark fantasy drops out the night sky for it must, for rationalities’ sake, be put to the written word before it is lost forever to the merciless ether. An excited cluster of unshackled ‘words’ agreed. We were on a roll.

I have to say, come breakfast, I questioned Shirl on a number of potentially controversial topics and storylines we had come up with that night in France. “Can we really get away with that? Seriously?” I asked. “Molly Parkin got away with it time and time again. Why not?,” her pokerfaced riposte. Soon after wily ‘words’ found they had two craniums to take up residence in. I tend to think mine was just their holiday home.

130,000 or so words later we have a book we shall shortly make known to others.  Having said that…and you are the first to know, the lovely Ms. Lee… ‘Whatever Happened To Eve?’ is, in truth, already available in both paperback and Kindle at Amazon sites far and wide.

Lastly Ms Lee, my thanks for the invitation, your time and patience.

I tip my hat to you, Great Master Steeden!

Many thanks, folks, for reading my interview with Mike. Please check out his website, The Drivellings of Twattersley Fromage, and his wonderful books on Amazon.

Gentlemen Prefer a Pulse: Poetry with a Hint of Lunacy:
Gentlemen Prefer a Pulse is Mike Steeden’s first published collection of poetry and features over a hundred poems that are sometimes humourous, serious, satirical, surreal, thought provoking and brilliant! Mike says his inspiration is drawn from his self proclaimed love of the fairer sex, his passion for ‘people watching’ (a trait born of his time as a private investigator), social justice and compassion.

The Shop That Sells Kisses: Poetry with a Hint of Magic:
Mike Steeden writes his poetry always with ‘a touch’ of something or other. Often that ‘touch’ is a surreal one, occasionally one of lunacy of being, and with this tome he had added a hint of ‘magic’.

Notoriously Naked Flames:
Part espionage thriller, part romance, part fantasy, part adventure, ‘Notoriously Naked Flames’ is Mike Steeden’s first novel. Spanning the lead up to World War II, the war itself, and into the early 1950s, the unnamed heroine of the piece, a bewitching albino of Bohemian bent, masquerades in all manner of risqué guises dishing out her own version of clandestine justice to those evil souls spawned of conflict’s disregard for compassion, law, and order. 

Fanny, I Think of You Often…
Nothing is sacred. If permitted, the mind wanders free in the knowledge that anything and everything is possible. Season such a mind with a pinch of satire plus a hint of Pythonesque surrealism and the dish of ‘fusion lunacy’ is ready to be served. Within the pages of this deranged collection of skits you will discover how Audrey Hepburn dealt with a bout of gout; similarly what became of Marilyn Monroe’s false teeth; the fate of the old grannie from Lowestoft who once upon a time inadvertently stepped upon Elvis’s blue suede shoes and much, much more.

The Elastic Snapped:
WARNING: This book may contain traces of nuts (not of the edible kind) and may also cause drowsiness amongst those unfamiliar with the English language. Bibliophobia sufferers may experience severe panic attacks. Additionally, it is strongly recommended that you do not drive whilst reading.INGREDIENTS: Lunacy, stupidity, silliness, idiocy, absurdity, aberration, eccentricity and fragments of appallingly bad taste.

Whatever Happened to Eve?
No writer can help what he or she writes. Whether they be scandalous or sweet, dull or bright, words arrive as and when the fancy takes and evolve into whatever fable suits. With that in mind this collective of untamed words, of their own volition, chose not to be pitched at the easily offended or fainthearted, instead they opted for a captivating darkness.

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I’ve got some kickin’ stories, m’self. Check out my free short stories as well as my debut fantasy novel, Fallen Princeborn: Stolen, which you can read for free with Kindle Unlimited.

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Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!