This week I am delighted to welcome English writer Chris Hill to the blog – in the second of the series of writers’ interviews – to talk about his new novel Song of the Sea God, which has been described as darkly intriguing and visionary.
Tell me a little about yourself.
I work in PR for a UK children’s charity called WellChild and before that I was a regional newspaper journalist for many years, mostly in Cumbria and later Gloucestershire. It’s a job where you meet all manner of people, which I think helped me as a writer. I spent my childhood in Barrow-in-Furness, in north-west England, actually on a small island just off the coast, called Walney, which became the setting for Song of the Sea God. At home in Gloucestershire, I have a busy family life with two sons. I go out for a run sometimes, when I have the time, and I did the London Marathon a couple of years ago.
What made you start to write and how has it developed?
As a child, I remember writing on scraps of paper in the back of old school notebooks – not proper stories or poems, but attempts at fiction certainly. I can’t remember why I started but I always loved reading and I guess it grew out of that.
In my 20s, my writing began to take on proper shape and structure and eventually I started writing stories I felt were good enough to enter competitions, then I started winning some (including the Bridport Prize), which was obviously encouraging. I still write short stories now and would like to have a collection published at some point.
Later on I started writing novels. I’ve completed three so far, but this current one (Song of the Sea God) is the first to be published. One of the novels I wrote was a romantic comedy called The Pick Up Artist and I’d quite like to see it in print, if I can find a publisher to take it on. It was a light, commercial type of thing, but there’s a sense of irony in it since it’s about someone who dreams of being successful with women but isn’t really.
What is your new book about?
Song of the Sea God is a book about a man who comes to a small island off the coast of northern England and tries to convince the locals he is a kind of god. In some ways I suppose it’s a book about the nature of religion – what it means to people, how it works.
I’d like to think there’s humour in there, particularly in the narrative voice, but it’s quite a dark book as well and delves into some quite murky places. It was published by Skylight Press at the end of 2012 and I’ve been delighted by the kind and thoughtful response it’s had from readers in terms of reviews and the discussion it’s provoked on blogs and social media.
Author Chris Hill
What made you want to write a novel with such a big theme?
I decided to write about religion because I wanted to explore that ‘god-shaped hole’ that I feel many of us sense in our lives, especially these days when the old certainties of organised religion are retreating for many people and leaving only questions in their wake. I’m not particularly religious. I’d describe myself as an agnostic.
But saying that I don’t know the answers to the mysteries of the universe is definitely not the same as saying I think there are no mysteries. I did quite a lot of research and reading around ancient religious beliefs and traditions, some of the strange and alarming things which happen in the novel echo those primal beliefs.
A book about a god has been a big jump then from your earlier, lighter novel.
Well yes, you could say I’ve written a book about a god with no god in it, and a book about sex with no sex in it!
Where is Song of the Sea God set?
It’s set on Walney Island, where I was born and grew up. I wanted the action in the book to take place somewhere I knew well – I think it helps if you are writing fiction with a fantastic, almost magical, element to it if you base it somewhere which feels very real.
There’s also something special about an island, I think, as you are very connected to the community there but also a little cut off from everyone else. The geography of Walney, and the feel of the place, features heavily in the book but the people are definitely fictional and bear no relation to the lovely people I grew up with. Walney is a chilly, windswept place but full of character, which I hope I’ve managed to capture in the book, as I do love a novel with a strong sense of place.
What are you working on now?
I am currently writing a short story collection. My stories tend to deal with ordinary people at important and emotional moments in their lives. To an extent I’ve been influenced by American writer Raymond Carver, who’s a master of the short story. After that I will probably start another novel.
Where can I buy your book?
It can be ordered at all bookshops plus found at many places online including Barnes and Noble, Waterstones and of course it’s available on Amazon.
How can I find out more about you and your work?
I have a blog here, which I update every week: http://songoftheseagod.wordpress.com/ I spend a lot more time than I should on twitter @ChilledCH and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/chris.hill.3726
Thanks to Chris for this thought-provoking interview and I wish him great success with his book. Please send him a comment or question by clicking on the ‘comments’ link below.
© Text and photographs copyright of the authors 2013
