Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing journey?I’m Nathan, 38 years old and from Manchester. As well as a writer, I work during the day in digital content and also I am a guest blogger, writing about everything from 80s nostalgia to national level motorsport.
I started writing in 1995, when I was still a teenager. I’ve always loved writing stories and reading but it wasn’t something that was encouraged when I was at school, so I just did it in my spare time.
I studied Writing For Publication for four years when I was in my early 20s. This was in the early 2000s, there wasn’t much help or support for indie publishing and the general advice was that being published was a distant dream. I didn’t try to publish anything as there was no chance of ever getting into print. I worked in telecoms, insurance, and as a PA before settling on my current career.
Two years ago I reunited with an old friend that I used to study with, he challenged me to write 2500 words, that became You’ll Be Back. The most surreal part was getting my first author copies, seeing my own words in print took some getting used to.
I planned on having a year off writing, but was advised that wasn’t the best idea, so a week after releasing the first book, the second book was started.
If you had to give an elevator pitch for You’ll Be Back, what would it be?
Nick moved to London from Manchester so his girlfriend, Nat, could pursue a dream career on national radio in London. He finds out she has been cheating on him, so he returns to his hometown, Manchester. He wants to write his latest book and possibly find someone new, but life has other ideas.
When he finds out she has been cheating on him, he moves to Manchester to start again.
All he wants is to release his next novel, find someone new and avoid both embarrassing situations and his ex.
He is about to find out, life isn't as simple as just walking away.
You’ll Be Back is a break-up comedy. What inspired it?
It was actually my love of radio. I wanted to set up my own internet radio station a few years ago, it turned out to be an impossible dream but I learned so much about the industry and turned that into the radio element of the book.
How did you research radio?
Well, I knew a fair bit about radio and needed to run it by someone that knew. I contacted my childhood hero, former radio DJ and station owner, Steve Penk. I didn’t expect him to respond but he arranged a time to contact me and helped so much with my research, filling in gaps and giving me all kinds of extra knowledge. If anyone says not to meet your hero, I disagree.
There is a strong 80s music theme in You’ll Be Back, is this deliberate?
Partly, yes. There are two similarities between myself and Nick, firstly sarcasm and secondly a love of 80s music. I have an insanely large music collection, so I had to inflict the same love of music on him.
If there was a film of ‘You’ll Be Back’, who would you cast?
Nick- Daniel Radcliffe
Nat- Emily Atack
Cal- James Corden
Kirsty- Michelle Keegan
Mia- Alexa Davies
Chris- Nicholas Hoult
Jenna- Hannah Tointon
Karen- Rebekah Staton
Mark- Hugh Dennis
Lucy- Karen Taylor
Which comes first for you, characters or plot?
The main character first, then I find a situation to throw them into, then everyone else is built around that.
Is comedy difficult to write?
Less difficult than I thought it would be. I am a little bit obsessed with comedy, and when I studied Writing For Publication, I focused on writing comedy. It was a natural progression of sorts.
Why do you love comedy so much?
Put simply, escapism. It allows us to switch our brains off and just laugh at someone else’s misfortune for a while. Plus I believe laughing and smiling is good for us.
Amazon: Youll-Be-Back-relationship-comedy-ebook/dp/B07Y7M6W45
Facebook: Nathan Snow author
Twitter: @Nathansnowbooks
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