A journey to a frozen planet to find a long lost twin. An amazing crystal phone with incredible powers. A cunning old pirate wizard who must be stopped. All of these elements make up the premise of a brand new young adult fantasy novel by Herbert Howard Jones titled The Pyewiz and the Amazing Mobile Phone. I interviewed him to find out more about his exciting new book.
Q: Thank you for this interview, Herbert. Can we begin by having you tell us why you chose to write young adult fantasy?
A: I wrote it because I thought it would be good therapy, a voyage of self discovery so to speak, but I also wanted to try out some writing theories that I had accrued over a life time of analysis of story writing.
Q: Did you outline before you wrote your book or did you just go with the flow?
A: I used a classical formula, which was put forward by a media professor at Southampton University in the UK. Basically the plot hangs on the confrontation of opposites which are personified as protagonist, antagonist, helpers, mentors etc. I knew the outcome of the story before I began. I also knew that it had to have an upbeat ending, which isn’t necessarily recommended by story theorists. But the notion is pure Hollywood, so it can’t be ignored.
Q: Who was your favorite character in The Pyewiz and the Amazing Mobile Phone and why?
A: I suppose It would be too schmultzy to say that the dog was my favourite character (yes there’s a dog in it!) So I would say, Mrs McTrain, Terry’s mother. (Terry is the twin who goes searching for his brother). I like Mrs. Mctrain because she grows quite a lot during the story and becomes stronger as a result of her ordeals! She also stood up to the Pyewiz!
Q: Who was your least favorite character?
A: I wasn’t too keen on Sarengo, the robot, who kept taking over the story as I was writing it, and so I had to edit out quite a few bits which featured her!
Q: Can you tell us about the setting and why you chose it?
A: I chose Charon, one of Pluto’s Moons, because I needed a backcloth for a giant chessboard. Chess is one of the Pyewiz’s obsessions, and so I thought it would be a good idea if he was able to indulge his interest on a plantery scale.
Q: What was the hardest part to write?
A: The middle. Isn’t this always the case? Act II, must always be the toughest area of a story, because it is here that the writer really has to really be one with the characters, invent and suffer their trials and tribulations, and think of creative ways out of their predicaments. Coming up with character motivations is comparatively easy compared to this. I also had the problem of finding a way that my hero’s parents could become integrated into the action. Usually the parents are at home while their kids are out chasing the bad guys. But not in my story!! The parents are there in the thick of it, but somehow I had to get them to the bleak planet where everything was happening in the first place.
Q: What was the inspiration behind the story? Where were you when you came up with the idea?
A: I was inspired to write this story when I met a workman who came to take away some rubbish for me. He was so like a pirate, that it was amazing. He definitely had the air of the sea about him and I subsequently learned that he had his own yacht! He clearly wasn’t as wicked as my character, the Pyewiz, but he was a big man with a charismatic personality and with a twickle in his eye. When I saw him, my character was born!
