Today, I am happy to be bringing you an interview with the Wizard himself, author Barry. S. Brunswick. If you are wondering why I referred to him as a wizard, check out his website to find out!
Once upon a time, there was a wizard and that wizard had a dream. His dream was to spark kid’s imagination through the telling of amazing tales. So, with his pointy hat on his head and his long and slender fingers, he picked up a pen and began to write. The candle flickered as the pages turned one after the other, night after night
Barry is a fellow Aussie author, an active and supportive member of the writing community, and someone I am proud to call my mate. This author really brings everything imagination to life. Let’s find out more.
Tell me about yourself
I’m 41, married to an amazing woman and though I’m from near London in the UK, now I live near the beach just outside Sydney!! Go me!
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing songs and poetry my whole life, but novels, for around 6 years.
Did you have a favourite book as a child?
I’m torn between 'Georges Marvellous Medicine' and 'The Iron Giant'.
What do you love about writing for children?
Firstly, I would say I write child-friendly stories rather than stories for children. My books are aimed at everyone and honestly, my biggest audience are adult women to my surprise. But onto the question, this is an easy one to answer, the very best thing about writing for kids is they never say it couldn’t happen. Of course, also being able to instill strong moral lessons and making my readers dream, think, imagine and feel, is awesome.
Can you tell me about your latest release?
My latest release is my second poetry book for adults which I also write under the name B. Brunswick. It’s called The Land Behind the Eyes where we explore the inner universe. My latest release for kids was part 3 of the Dreamland Trilogy back in December. The trilogy is probably my best work to date.
How do you approach writing for a young audience?
I just dream, channel my inner child and away we go. It really is that simple.
You have lots of fun activates for kids on your website. Can you tell me more about them?
My whole brand is really about encouraging free thinking and creativity because I feel that is what we will need going into the future. But mainly, and this is the most important part, it’s fun. YAY!
What is your writing process?
I just write. Don’t plan or plot but the one thing I always say is my writing is 10% typing and 90% dreaming. I love that, being the compulsive dreamer I am!
What comes first for you, the plot or the characters?
It could be either, sometimes just a thought. I rarely know much before I begin.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
A dragonfly has always been my spirit animal. I even have one tattooed on my elbow (the rest of the arm was taken!)
Do you have a favourite book that you’ve written and why?
Definitely Dreamland. It was so much fun to create that world, those characters and that magic system. It really is a wondrous adventure and things get pretty tense, but it always has a light and fluffy Dreamlandy feel. Rolo and Dutch were such great characters to write, it was an absolute blast.
What advice would you give a new author?
This isn’t a joke, but my advice would be don’t listen to advice. The reason is one of the biggest advantages I had when I wrote my first book 'The War of the Turnips' is I didn’t know anyone in the industry, so I found my own process without having to sift through too much advice. Once I started hearing advice my process was already set. Honestly advice can be counterproductive. We are all so different, our processes are as different as our end results, I don’t think any one piece of advice is an “always” or a “never”.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I like to go to gigs, I’ve been to hundreds, sporting events, eating great food at great restaurants, playing guitar, do a little martial arts, occasionally go fishing, love being in nature and when not locked down, I’m a bit of a social butterfly.
Thanks to Barry for sharing these insights into his imagination. If you would like to check out his work, click on the links below.
