Influences

A question, as an author, I regularly receive is who are my influences? Whose work do I enjoy. It is surprising the variety of work I do enjoy. As a child my favourite authors were the likes of Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton, however I strangely also liked the works of people like Catherine Cookson; that influence has been from my mum who is an avid fan. 

Within my teen years, I loved JK Rowling, Stephen King and Thomas Harris. These days I have turned towards more crime thrillers and mysteries; authors such as Kerry Wilkinson (who happens to be a friend of mine), Ian Rankin and Lynwood Barclay. I am also very fond of a good comical and topical book such as Ben Elton’s collection whose work always manages to capture the hysteria of the time (i.e. Big Brother/XFactor) and naturally I also enjoy Christopher Brooymyre who is a similar writer. I sadly also like the mushy lovey dovey books such as PS I Love You, but hey, it is fantastic work.

What do I look for in a book? I like something which is different. I like it to make me laugh, even when it is a scary thriller or a sad book. Humour is important to me. I love it to be groundbreaking and new and to take me places I have never been before.

But my influences go far beyond literature. Comedians such as Ricky Gervais and Whoopi Goldberg have large influences on all my art whether it is comedy or writing. Whoopi Goldberg very kindly sent me a signed photo of herself recently which meant a lot. The singer Michael Jackson who I have loved and admired my entire life is also a massive influence on everything I do. Michael Jackson became the forefront of my dissertation, which has since been passed on to his family. 

Will I see these influences in my work? Possibly. Possibly not. I try to keep it original, but I do spot where I’ve grabbed ideas and twist them to make them my own. I always quote other people’s work if I’m using them…. University has taught me well not to plagiarise! I also enjoy referencing my heroes too, as I like to show my passion for their work and have others share with it. To be able to have that common adoration for a particular artist no matter of which art form it has taken.