Good morning! Welcome to Exile on Peachtree
Street. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Irish author Jonathan Dunne. His
debut novel, Balloon Animals, is so amazing. It is great to have him join me today
in exile.
Jonathan, please introduce yourself in 50
words or less.
I’m Jonathan Dunne (Jon to friends and
beautiful strangers). Balloon Animals is my book. A tragic-comedy with
larger-than-life characters that make up for my own average being.
Didn't we meet in Amsterdam a few years ago?
Didn't we meet in Amsterdam a few years ago?
I once worked in Holland, sorting tulips
(the flowered and human kind). I stayed 3 months in an old ramshackle hotel on
the freezing coast with a bunch of drug-addicts. I was the only alcoholic so I
kind’ve felt proud of that. Everybody else went around with saucer-eyes, just
like owls they were, but I wise the wise old toad. I visited the Red Light
district one night but I’m sure that I didn’t meet you there. Then again, it is
Amsterdam...
Okay, it must’ve been another good looking Irishman. At least we have both been in Amsterdam at different times. So, tell me Jonathan, what books are you currently reading? Who are your favorite authors?
Dickens by Michael Slater and Confederacy
of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.
What inspires you?
On my FB page I’ve got one inspiration: Sofia
Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family)
What are your writing habits?
I repeat an age-old mantra, thus inducing
myself into a mind-bending stupor. I insist on writing sitting down. I
occasionally listen to film soundtracks to heighten the atmosphere but no
lyrics as they tend to jar the written word. I don’t know why that is.
Having two sets of words going on at the same time jams the signal. I write in
a cabin next to my house. I lock myself in until I have cabin fever.
What lead to the creation of Balloon Animals?
My daughter and I were going for a walk in
our adopted town here in Toledo (Spain). She happened to have a red helium
balloon that day. She accidentally let go and it sailed upwards over town. She
bawled her eyes out and I was completely useless but to just watch as it
ascended until it became nothing but a passing bird. I compensated by telling
her “Granny caught the balloon and that she was happy to receive such a
thoughtful present”. My mom died in 2009 – so that was the seed: that image of
the red balloon against a blue sky, going somewhere from somewhere. The rest is
fiction. I see writing as a series of dot-to-dots on a child’s activity book.
Eventually you have enough seeds to join and get the bigger picture.
Why did you write it?
It had to be on paper.
Is it your first book?
Yes but I’ve been writing since I was a kid
and publishing the occasional short story. I’ve written a few more novels that
will remain hidden for now. I realized I was a writer when I joined the items
on mom’s shopping list to create a narrative plot: the carrots were soon
blaming the turnips for the murder.
Do you have more books planned?
Yes, my next book should be out sometime in
late Spring 2013, at the rate I’m going. It’s called Living Dead Lovers – My
Sick Romance. In a nutshell, it’s about a hell-raisin’ fiery-tongued gypsy
psychic medium who falls in love with one of her dead clients – a philandering
racing-driver. That’s all I can say for now. Let’s just say that she finds
herself in a predicament.
What message do you want readers to take from Balloon Animals?
Whatever they pick up from it...
Any plans to be in Atlanta soon?
Thought you’d never ask, Hunter...
Thanks for joining today Jonathan. Continued success to you. Cheers~
Here is my 5 Star Review of Jonathan’s
novel book:
This book is so well done I thought it was
an autobiography when I first started reading it. Mr. Dunne takes the reader on
a flight of fantasy in many ways. You will be captivated by the humanness of Johnny
Rowe, from the first chapter. Congrats to Mr. Dunne for being one of the brave
new wave of fiction writers that demands we, as readers, take a look--this is
where an imagination can take you.
Fun interview! Love his humor. Best of luck!
ReplyDelete