Brian Christopher
Novel: The Puzzlemaker
Brian Christopher was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and worked as a radio producer and for various national broadcasting companies in Ireland and the Netherlands. He has lived in Dublin, London, Isfahan, Tehran, San Francisco, and now resides near Amsterdam.
What made you enter the Cheshire novel Prize?
Most competitions for writers are basically enclosed entities behind a stone wall with no interaction, feedback, or offering anything other than the chance to enter and pay. Then you join a waiting game to hear whether you won or not, and that’s it for another year! The wall surrounding the Cheshire novel prize is made of glass. You can see in, interact on Twitter and/or Instagram. They thrill you with snippets, first lines, feedback and summer school. Regardless of what level (of writer) you are, they help you progress, think ahead, and nourish your creativity. There is no other novel prize in the world that compares to it.
What did it feel like when you were LL and SL?
Flabbergasted. I honestly couldn’t speak when I made the Long List. Reaching the Shortlist felt unreal. I thought “Really? Seriously?” I wanted to shout it out to the world. Unfortunately, I had to keep it quiet!
What was the reaction like from those around you? Family? Friends?
Surprise and disbelief. Suddenly they all want to read my other books – ha ha!
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
It was one of those ‘what if’ moments. What if a genius crossword compiler for a national newspaper, places a code in a crossword puzzle for his only friend he met at MI6, – ends up being hunted through the streets of London because of it.
How long did it take you to write it?
Writing takes about 2 to 3 months, editing at least another six months
What advice would you have for anyone thinking of entering?
Don’t hesitate – go for it. If you’ve got a good story, or as I like to say, a ‘good yarn’, then you have nothing to lose. Even if it doesn’t make it into the Long List, you will still get feedback. You will also see the interactions of other writers on the social media platforms. It’s a joyful ride!
What’s changed for you since entering?
What’s changed is my perspective on my writing. To date, I have written seven novels and one short story. All self-published, which is like taking on the world from a small island all alone. I’ve realised I don’t want to be alone on that island anymore, but work with an agent and a publisher who will stimulate in reaching new heights.
What’s your novel about?
After 10 years’ service as a cryptographer with MI6 during the cold war, the extremely shy and reclusive George Withers becomes editor and compiler of the Sunday Times crossword. 30 years later and now in his 60s, an old MI6 colleague asks him to place a code within the Sunday Times cryptic crossword puzzle. George is totally unaware the code is a catalyst for a number of gruesome deaths around the world. The Serbian father of one victim discovers the puzzlemaker had something to do with his son’s death and goes on the hunt. Georges’ quiet world of puzzles changes into a nightmare hunt through the streets of London. While on the run, he tries to decipher that last fatal cryptic code in the puzzle he got from his friend, who has now disappeared, and hopefully save his own life and others near to him.
What’s your writing routine?
I start writing as soon as I wake up – usually starting at 8 AM. After a cup of Earl Grey tea and two cream crackers with feta cheese, I will continue until midday, then I usually have to let out my daughter’s dog while she’s working. Later in the afternoon I will either carry out a quick edit or continue working on the chapter. Although I can type fairly quickly with ten fingers, I now dictate everything into my laptop using special software. I can easily achieve 2500 words in a couple of hours. Editing directly from the screen is not for me. I print out my chapters and edit with pen in hand, then use the dictation software to change words/sentences, which also saves a lot of time.
What’s next for you?
Having just finished a fictional novel about Ireland and the Netherlands, I have another two books in the pipeline that are connected to a trilogy I wrote earlier. I’m also in the process of creating an audiobook from previous work.
Have you done any writing courses?
No, but over the years I have written scripts for television, radio plays and films.
What are your two favourite books and why?
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein – a science fiction novel about a man who is born on Mars, and comes to earth for the first time in early adulthood. Here the people try to exploit his innocence. Reading this at a young age, it was one of the few books that left an imprint on my mind about the way we treat each other.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt – the first ten pages of this book brought tears of laughter, after that, just tears! It took me a long time to read this book because many of the characters in it were too close to the bone. Having grown up in Ireland I recognised many of them, and the mentality, which has forever played on my love/hate relationship with Ireland. It shouldn’t be a “favourite book”, but because it still resurrects itself in my mind throughout the years, but it is!
What advice do you have for any aspiring writers?
If you have an idea for a story that keeps popping up in your mind and doesn’t let you go, then sit down and write a synopsis, with, if possible, the beginning, the middle and the end on one sheet of paper. Your first line will be your first chapter. Nothing is set in stone so you can always change direction. At least with a synopsis you know where you are going. Some people say writing a book is like climbing a mountain and get discouraged after the first burst of chapters. If you write only one page a day, then the next day one page, and every day another – by the end of the year you will have your book!