“When I was initially offered the opportunity to have Stephen guest post here at There’s A Book I had no idea how much I would love his book, The Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom. Now that I’ve read it I can’t help but be overjoyed that he agreed to talk a bit about his favorite childhood book and how it influenced his writing. So, without further chatter from me, Stephen Giles:
It started with a wardrobe. Not just any wardrobe, of course, the wardrobe. My love of reading, my love of writing – that’s where it all began. The wardrobe. Like a great many brilliant literary devices it was deceptively simple. A perfectly ordinary looking wardrobe, standing against the wall in an empty room, tucked away in an old country house. Only this wardrobe is far from ordinary. It is a portal through which another world can be reached. A magical kingdom called Narnia. By now I am certain you know what book I am referring to – C.S. Lewis’ classic tale, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the books I read as a boy (and there was hundreds I’m guessing), none had the impact of Lewis’ fantastical tale. It shaped the writer I am today. My book, The Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom, is in many ways a direct descendant of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Don’t get me wrong. The plot of my book has nothing to do with a faraway land or a wise and powerful lion. No, my tale concerns three cousins who are lured to a secluded island estate (surrounded by an alligator infested swamp) by their dying Uncle with the promise that one of them is to be selected as his heir. But the way Lewis develops the land of Narnia and the dynamics between the children – Edmund, Lucy, Peter and Susan – played a powerful role in my development as a writer. I was hooked from the moment that Lucy found herself wandering deeper and deeper into the endless recesses of the wardrobe, as fur coats gave way to prickly branches and the crunch of frost beneath her feet, and I don’t think I’ve ever been the same since.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe taught me how much fun a writer can have with their heroes. Up until then all the heroes I had read about were perfect and righteous. One of the most important lessons I learnt was that heroes don’t have to be infallible. In fact, they are far more interesting when they are flawed. The character who had the greatest impact on me was Edmund. You remember Edmund – he’s the brat who betrayed his siblings early on in the book, entering into a pact with the White Witch. While Edmund is ultimately redeemed and becomes a valiant Prince, his dark side captured my imagination and would not let go. When I began writing The Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom, I knew that my three heroes had to be flawed as well as brave. Isabella Winterbottom, the least likable of my heroes, is underhanded, scheming and hideously spoilt. She was also a tremendous amount of fun to write. I suspect that Edmund was the first time I encountered a villainous child within the context of a children’s book. There may have been others but if they were I have long since forgotten them. It was Edmund who made a lasting impression.

When I think about all the ways The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe influenced the writer I am today, one of the strangest ways concerns food. The first time Lucy enters Narnia she encounters a kind hearted (and slightly treacherous) fawn called Mr Tumnus, who takes her back to his cave and prepares a meal for her. They feast on buttered toast, honey on toast and sugar topped cake. Yum. (In the interests of accuracy I am compelled to also reveal that Mr Tumnus and Lucy also consumed sardines on toast which even as a child was a deeply revolting notion that I preferred to overlook). In another sequence (my favourite), the White Witch secures Edmund’s loyalty with a delicious (and thoroughly enchanted) batch of Turkish delight. The more Turkish delight Edmund eats the more he craves and I can vividly recall reading that passage early on in the book, my mouth watering, longing to taste the delight just as Edmund was doing. Eating, and food generally, plays an important role in my books and I guess I owe it all the C.S. Lewis. Of all my characters, Isabella from The Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom is the most obsessed with food – she regularly stuffs her face with Vanilla cake with passionfruit icing or pancakes with large dollops of fresh honey and cream and newly picked strawberries. Okay, I’m seriously hungry now.

I have a friend who re-reads her favourite childhood books once a year to keep in touch with the child within. She finds it strange that I never do. Despite the fact that The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe had such a huge impact on my reading and writing life, I have never re-read the book and I never intend to. Books savoured as children occupy a special place; they become a kind of dreaming. The memories of that book, of those characters and that magical place beyond the wardrobe, live on in the warm glow of nostalgia for me. It is part memory, part dream – a delicious concoction, blending what I read and what I imagined I read all those years ago. In short, it is a place of wonder that I treasure and never wish to test. The adult reader that I am today might irreparably damage my memories of Narnia and what happened there. I want to remember it as it was and as I was – a child, with a child’s sense of fantasy and magic.

Thank you again for stopping by Stephen! It’s incredible to see how Narnia truly influenced your new release, not that it’s similar, but it definitely adds a lot to the reading of The Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom. I can’t wait to read the next installment in the series!

Giveaway!

As I mentioned with my review of The Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom thanks to the publisher, Sourcebooks, I have one copy of the book to giveaway to my readers!

Details: One winner will be chosen at random after the contest closes. You MUST fill out the form below, comments will not count as entries. Only one entry per household. Giveaway is open to US/Canadian Residents only. The giveaway will run from August 18, 2010 until September 03, 2010 midnight EST.

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This giveaway is now closed. Take a look at our Giveaways Page for more chances to win!

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