Suffolk-born Terry Grimwood started his working life as an electrician
and is now a college lecturer, having travelled full-circle from doing
the job to teaching it (which he prefers). Along the way he has been a
quality assurance manager, project manager and technical author. He is
the author of numerous short stories and reviews which have appeared in
Midnight Street, Bare Bone, Murky Depths, All Hallows, FutureFire and Eibonvale Press's own Blind Swimmer anthology among others. He has written and directed three plays and
runs the Exaggerated Press which started when he published his first
collection, The Exaggerated Man. Terry's web site can be found here.
1.
Tell us three things about yourself.
I
teach electrical installation (I used to be an electrician) and GCSE
English at a further education college.
I
play harmonica and sing blues - usually at open mic sessions, mostly
at the Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues bar in London (last Sunday of
each month, between 4pm and 8pm, love to see anyone there, I’ll buy
you a beer if you come), and anywhere else where they are foolish
enough to let me onto a stage.
I
am knee-deep in amateur dramatics - currently a member of the mighty
Knebworth Amateur Theatrical Society (KATS) - as an actor (ham),
Director (drama queen) and writer (hack).
2.
What was the first thing you had published?
In
1987 it was, a bitter short story called A LAND FIT FOR HEROES, which
is about an old man having a flashback of fighting for his country in
WW1, while he is dying of hyperthermia because he lives alone and
unwanted, and is so poor he cannot afford to heat his home. It was
published in a local newspaper as part of a short story competition
they were running. I had to go to their office to have my photo
taken. I felt as if I had finally arrived, was gracious to everyone
there and struck a suitably authorish pose. It was a little bit of an
anti-climax. The picture was taken on a compact camera by a junior
office gopher, who made me squeeze into a corner by a rubber plant,
because he felt it would give the picture…something or other. But
then everyone knows the picture anyway, because, of course, it has
become so iconic.
My
first published horror story was JOHN, which appeared in the
legendary Peeping Tom magazine, back in 1998. Now that was exciting,
and something I will never forget!
3.
Which piece of writing are you proudest of?
Hard
question! I would never launch any work into the world unless I was
proud of it. My play THE BAYONET, set in the wake of the First World
War (there’s a pattern here) was performed by the Masque Players in
my native Suffolk back in 1994. It was not only a new play, it was
also directed by a bumbling fool who had never directed before (me)
and, miraculously, was a resounding success that earned a standing
ovation on its last night. It stills bring a lump to my throat, and
the hairs are up on the back of my neck just remembering it, so I
suppose that THE BAYONET is something of which I am inordinately
proud.
4.
…and which makes you cringe?
Another
bit of theatre. It was called MARITAL ARTS and was a comedy sketch,
written for a revue performed by another Suffolk group. It was (was,
all copies have been destroyed) about a married couple, caught out by
their neighbours, in the middle of a sex game that involved handcuffs
and a telephone. Good idea, or so I thought (the play, not the game!)
and it seemed funny when I wrote it, honest guv. Then it was
performed…Oh the pain, the pain. Why did you have to bring this up
again? Hang on a moment, I need a drink and a good cry…There,
that’s better.
5.
What’s a normal writing day like?
I
write most evenings, which can be a bit wearing because I’m not as
young as I was. At weekends I will, at least, write for one whole
day. I am a disciplined writer. I don’t wait for inspiration, that
comes at other times, ideas, snatches of dialogue, even a title
without a story. I write whether I feel like it or not. Even if I
manage to write one paragraph, I’ve written something. I also read
my last few drafts aloud. I find that really helps to catch any
awkward sentences or phrases. If it tangles the tongue or sounds
wrong, then it needs an edit. I have been known to read aloud in some
awful faux accent, American or upper class, for example, just to hear
the words in a different voice. Yes, eccentric I now but I am British
after all, so eccentricity is second nature to me.
I
hate writing first drafts by the way. I seldom plan a story in any
detail, unless I become
6.
Which piece of writing should someone who’s never read you before
pick up first?
Another
tough question. I’d like everyone out there to read all my work.
They haven’t? Why not? I tend to recommend my novel BLOODY WAR
(Eibonvale Press) to people who are not horror readers because it is
an angry political thriller, rather than a horror story and one that
people seem to find compelling. Even my son liked that one! For the
horror fan, AXE (Double Dragon), described by Peter Tennant in a
Black Static review as “balls to the wall horror”, it is a novel
set in the world of pub rock and seedy bedsitters (like my own, back
in 1980-82). It contains a number of themes that I find myself
revisiting often, a heroine I actually fell in love with*, and it
took twenty years to write. But, as I said, I hope all my writing is
accessible and compelling. I like people to be able to read my work,
get what I’m trying to say and above all, find themselves enjoying
a damn good story. That’s my intention anyway. Only those who read
my work will be able to tell me if I’ve succeeded.
*It
is widely believed that Dorothy L Sayers was in love with her
creation, Lord Peter Whimsy, so why shouldn’t I fall in love with
the lovely Lydia Walker?
7.
What are you working on now?
Two
things. The first is a novella for Pendragon Press, which is a
non-genre tale, based on a true, and very sad, story about an
acquaintance of mine. I’ve made a start and it is a difficult piece
to write, but he deserves some sort of epitaph for what he went
through. He was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary many years
ago. I don’t want to say more than that, but it is a grim,
heartfelt work.
The
second is a short story for the Joel Lane story notes anthology. For
anyone who doesn’t know about this, the late Joel’s notes and
scribblings for future (and, sadly, unwritten) stories have been
compiled by Peter Coleborn and are to form the basis of a new
anthology. The stories are to be inspired by these notes though not
necessarily written in Joel’s style. A challenge and a
responsibility, I have to say, but an exciting project, nonetheless.
After
that? A science fiction novella and also a novel. No space opera
though. I’ll leave that to the experts. I’ve had a trio of sf
short stories published in recent Allen Ashley anthologies and it has
reawakened my love of the genre, which was the second genre I read ad
loved when I was a youngster (the first was westerns). I am
interested in what I call social sf, the work of Ballard, Dick,
Silverberg, those people.
Other
than that…Well, I am reminded of the immortal phrase uttered by
that great thespian, Michael Caine:
“Hang
on a minute, lads. I've got a great idea…”
Books
by Terry Grimwood
THE
EXAGGERATED MAN AND OTHER STORIES - theEXAGGERATEDpress
THE
PLACES BETWEEN - Pendragon Press
BLOODY
WAR - Eibonvale
AXE
- Double Dragon
SOUL
MASQUE - Spectral Press
Plays
(those that have been performed and are available for performance -
contact Terry here)
THE
BAYONET - Drama (full length)
TATTLETALE
MARY - Horror (full length)
JAR
OF FLIES - One Act Horror (based on the short story of the same name)
THE
FRIENDS OF MIKE SANTINI - One Act Supernatural (based on the short
story of the same name)
No comments:
Post a Comment