The Interview: Bookbag Talks To O H Robsson

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To O H Robsson

Summary: Sue thought that The Spark by O H Robsson was a rewarding read for those who like to get to know their characters - and that it was likely to tempt you into planning a holiday in western Norway. She had quite a few questions when the author popped in to see us.

Date: 15 May 2013

Interviewer: Sue Magee

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Sue thought that The Spark by O H Robsson was a rewarding read for those who like to get to know their characters - and that it was likely to tempt you into planning a holiday in western Norway. She had quite a few questions when the author popped in to see us.

• Bookbag: When you close your eyes and imagine your readers, who do you see?

O H Robsson: Until now, I'd never really imagined having readers, because I wrote The Spark for myself - hoping to write the book I'd always wanted to read. It's only now that it's finished and being let out into the world that I'm starting to dream that perhaps like-minded people might enjoy it too. I'm fascinated by lots of things in life, but I suppose the key things are people and their relationships, and animals and nature. I love the simple things in life, the small, everyday things, so possibly my readers might share the same sorts of interests to me. Tricky question to answer!

• BB: What inspired you to write The Spark?

OHR: For as long as I can remember, I wanted to write a novel and I actually began after university, then stopped again after a couple of months because I didn't feel ready. I hadn't lived enough, and I wasn't confident/ free enough to just write what I wanted. I would have been too influenced by what other authors do, and I didn't want that. I wanted to write it in my own way and with my own style, to produce something original, and it took until my early thirties to feel like 'now is the time'. The story itself evolved from the simple idea of, what would I like to read? What's the novel I've always been looking for? The result of that was The Spark.

• BB: I noticed several similarities between your biography and Kristoffer? Is any of the story autobiographical?

OHR: There are some elements of the story that come directly from my own life - some quite literally, others are slightly twisted versions of things that have happened - and then parts are purely fiction. Again, this comes from the desire/ need to keep it simple, so I suppose a better way of putting it is that the main character, Kristoffer, does what I would do, if I was in his world. It was very important to me that I try and create a very real world in the novel, and this approach made it easier for me to do that.

• BB: I thought that your photographs (at the back of the book) were stunning. What made you take early retirement from photography?

OHR: Hmmm. There are many, many reasons why, but I could maybe just say because I didn't enjoy it any more. I have to enjoy everything I do, and the way things had turned out with photography (the shift towards digital, the internet, the flood of images on the market, late payments from clients, etc) made it harder to keep on enjoying it. The way I saw it, I could embrace the 'new reality' and find a way to enjoy the good bits of what was happening, or I could walk away having loved my time as a photographer but try something else, and that's what I did. I didn't want to get to the age of 40 and still be a photographer, but be complaining that it wasn't like it used to be. So instead I began writing.

Ironically enough, I think that in writing my novel and beginning my website and blog, I will have found a perfect way for me to continue with photography, but without the commercial side of it that I found so difficult and frustrating. Now I have the perfect freedom to blend words, photography, and films into my blog, and it's a more relaxed way to do it, which suits me far better.

• BB: The west coast of Norway: is there any better place to live?

OHR: For me? Probably not. But like all things, it very much depends what you like I suppose. There are some very remote places, it can be very quiet, the weather can be pretty extreme...but no, to me it's an incredible place to be. Lovely people, very calm, very low crime, clean, very high standard of living, lots of space. I still love to travel, but it's a great place to come back to.

• BB: Where and how do you write? Are you a disciplined writer? How long did it take you to write The Spark?

OHR: It took me five years to write The Spark, which is two and a half years longer than I'd planned. I think it's a better book for the extra time it took, but then I'm not exactly someone who likes to rush through life, so I guess I would say that. The extra time it took was probably to do with adding layers to the book and the stories within it. I wanted something that slowly, gradually, drew the reader in, layer by layer, and that took time to write it that way. I'm not sure if I am disciplined or not. Obsessive, perhaps. I'd work on something pretty much all the time apart from when I was out training, and even then I would be running sentences through my head, thinking of little things. I'm quite easily pleased too, so if I wrote a paragraph I liked then I'd maybe have a day or two off to celebrate. I write anywhere and everywhere, mostly just depending on my mood. I found that writing in my car was great because there are no distractions and I can be more focused that way.

• BB: What are you reading at the moment? What would be your desert island book?

OHR: I'm reading Whoops! by John Lanchester (about the collapse of the financial institutions). I would read anything he writes, especially his essays, they're incredible. Because of the skill of his writing, he could get me to read about things I have no interest in, just for the pleasure of reading and seeing the way he puts words together. I thought the same some years ago with John Grisham's earlier books - he could get me reading about courtrooms and things I had no interest in, just because he had a gift for writing that flowed. Desert island book? Impossible to choose one book...I was influenced very early by Jane Austin's novels, by the idea that whatever your life and where you live, you can write about it and if you do it well enough, it can be incredible.

• BB: Your dogs make a guest appearance (well, actually, it's more 'best supporting actors') in the book. Tell us about them.

OHR: Yes, I couldn't not include them in the book, not least for the fact that they have such a profound effect on my life. I can teach them all sorts of little things like tricks and manners and to try and be polite, but they teach me far more - about life, what's important, how to get up in the morning and live that day for what it is, not be worrying about things that might or might not happen....Anyway, Anja is my oldest dog, born in the mountain town of Chamonix, France, and I got her when she was a tiny, unwanted seven-week old puppy and we've been inseperable ever since. She's of 'mixed heritage' - some border collie, some labrador, and something else. She's mentally very strong, and physically too. We've looked after and found homes for a few other dogs since I got her, but then nearly two years ago I found Milton and he came to live with us permanently. He's a former streetdog from Budapest, Hungary, and is another one-in-a-million dog. He's exceptionally clever and like no dog I've ever known. Both of them will feature in my blogs and website...

• BB: You've got one wish. What's it to be?

OHR: Personally? Probably just to be debt-free. That would feel nice. I worked too little when writing my novel and now I have to pay for that. Apart from that I'm pretty happy with how life is. Globally? I have this idea that if somehow we all were able to go into space for one day and look back at the world, then we'd realise that we are all in this together. It is quite literally one world, that we have far more in common than we have different, and we can't just do whatever we want, because we are all inter-connected - the humans, the animals, the nature, the oceans. So that's what I'd wish for - that we could see all the things we each have in common, and consequently work together more.

• BB: What's next for O H Robsson?

OHR: ? More of the same, I'd say. Life has been good so far and I'll try hard to keep it that way. I'm curious to see where The Spark takes me - writing it was exciting, and so too is this next phase. My dream/ plan is to write another novel, work hard on my website, and produce films and more photography for my blog.

• BB: Thanks for chatting to us, OH - and we wish you success with what you have planned.

You can read more about O H Robsson here.

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