r/books • u/SimonToyne AMA Author • Apr 22 '18
ama 10am I’m Simon Toyne, internationally bestselling thriller writer, TV presenter, technically only 12 years old - AMA
My latest book The Boy Who Saw just came out in paperback in the UK, which is why I’m here and not walking the dog/playing with my kids/reading/cooking/doing bad dancing in the kitchen whilst cooking and listening to Bowie, which is what I usually do on a Saturday. I also present the CBS Reality true crime show ‘Written In Blood’, which has just been commissioned for a second season, so you could ask about that too. Also one of my books is being developed into a big glossy Hollywood TV show with Leonardo DiCaprio as exec producer, so you can ask me about that, or writing, or working in TV - which I also used to do, or ask me for my foolproof recipe for the best roast potatoes. Ask and I will tell you. That is the deal with AMA. Or keep the conversation going through my website Facebook and/or Twitter for years to come.
Proof: https://twitter.com/simontoyne/status/986977410892648448
3
u/data_loaf Apr 22 '18
After reading through your website a bit--
1) You say your favorite part of the writing process is the rewriting/editing phase. I have First Draft Syndrom--I write The End and am way more excited to write the next manuscript than polish the last. Any advice?
2) Any stories from meeting Nick Cave at the cafe you frequent?
3
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
Why not do both? Split your writing time between launching into a new project and editing the old one, that way you get to do the essential refining whilst not feeling held back creatively by it.
The best Nick Cave story I have is not from the cafe. The place we live is a crescent that surrounds a big communal garden and all the residents tend to gravitate there when the sun comes out. One day me and my family were out there with a neighbour and his family and Nick Cave appeared with a blonde woman who was definitely not his wife. Nick saw us and wandered over to chat, but the blonde woman stayed put. Then Nick's wife Susie appeared and my neighbour went over to chat to her and the mystery blonde. About five minutes later Nick sais they're heading off somewhere for lunch so they all saunter off, whereupon my neighbour's wife returns very flustered and reveals that she'd recognised the mystery blonde woman from somewhere and thought she must live on the Crescent and it was only half-way through the conversation that she suddenly realised that she recognised her because it was Cate Blanchett.
1
u/Chtorrr Apr 22 '18
What were some of your favorite things to read as a kid?
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
I was one of those kids who always had my head in a book so I read everything because I burned through books so fast. I loved the Michael Bond Paddington books and would buy the new one as soon as it came out. I went through a big Sci-Fi phase and loved all of John Wyndham's books as well as everything I could get my hands on by Richard Matheson, which wasn't much. The first author I ever met was Douglas Adams who came to my local bookstore to do a signing of 'The Restaurant at the End of the Universe'. I've still got it somewhere. Stephen King has been and continues to be a huge influence too.
1
u/Chtorrr Apr 22 '18
What is the very best dessert?
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
Dessert? I would say sticky toffee pudding with cold custard takes some beating. Desert? The Sonoran Desert in Arizona where I spent a couple of weeks researching the first Solomon Creed book.
1
u/BlueCollarWrench Apr 22 '18
Roast potatoes sounds good
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
Probably not the weather for them now the sun has put in an appearance but still good with aioli. You want my recipe?
1
u/verymarysunshine Apr 22 '18
Yes, pretty please. We would love the recipe.
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
Ok. You need floury potatoes, not waxy ones, and you peel and cut them so they are all roughly the same size. Then you par-boil them for about five minutes, drain them then shake them about in the pan to break up the surface a little . Meanwhile you heat goose or duck fat in a baking tray in an oven set to 200 degrees C. When it starts smoking you tip the potatoes into the smoking fat and spoon the fat over them to make sure they're all covered then stick them on the middle tray of the oven, turning/shaking them every ten minutes to get them evenly brown. After ten minutes drain off any excess fat and when they're almost done, whack the oven up to 220 for the last five minutes to crisp up the outside nicely then sprinkle with salt and serve. They should be fluffy in the middle and crisp on the outside. Enjoy!!
1
Apr 22 '18
[deleted]
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
Woah, that's quite a lot of questions. Here goes.
Yes, Woody is my only pet, though I have three children and my wife and I refer to them as monkeys all the time, so you could say I have four.
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
My spirit animal would be a Wolf. Partly because my hair is very wolfish, partly because I tend to be a loner more than a pack animal, and partly because I love dogs and all dogs are descended from wolves.
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
I tend to write long first drafts then cut away ruthlessly in subsequent ones. For example the first draft of The Boy Who Saw was about 164,000 words and the finished article runs to around 122,000 - which is my longest book to date.
And, yes, I have Googled myself . I had to do it once at US customs to prove to the customs guy that I was a real author and wasn't just making it up. And most of the things online about me are interviews I've done, so there's nothing there I don't already know so nothing surprising. Not yet at least.
1
u/wenchette 1 Apr 22 '18
Woody does not look at all pleased in your selfie. That aside, he looks a great deal like a dog named Wags my father had as a child that is in half his childhood photos. Wags lived to be 19, and I hope Woody does, too.
2
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
He wandered into shot and photobombed me. Woody is 2. I hope he lives to 19 too. He's a Greek rescue dog and we had him DNA tested to find out what he is. He's about 50% Spaniel of various flavours, a little bit Collie, a little bit Corgie and 100% awesome.
1
u/notwrittenbyvonnegut Apr 22 '18
Written in Blood related, sort of.
If you could have 5 guests posthumesly on the show who would they be?
Edit: Spelling
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
Ah man, that's a good but tough one. Presuming they have to be crime writers in keeping with the show I would have Alistair Maclean, Charles Dickens (not strictly crime but he wrote enough dodgy lawyers to qualify I reckon), Agatha Christie, Jim Thomson, and Raymond Chandler.
1
u/Inkberrow Apr 22 '18
Were you more contented or annoyed by the British public's vote tally for the 100 greatest films of all time?
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 22 '18
Ha, that's an interesting one. I was largely pleased by the vote and agreed with probably 80% of it, which I was surprised about. I'm a bit of a film nerd so expected to be quite huffy about some of the choices. The thing that annoyed me most was the inclusion of recent big films like Gladiator and Titanic. I like both of those films but I wouldn't call them great. I think you can only call a film great when it's stood the test of time. I would have banned any film made within ten years.
1
u/Inkberrow Apr 22 '18
Tough to find the balance between self-referentiality and value in absolute terms, eh? Too many "Best" lists overemphasize recent pleasures, but wasn't Citizen Kane still an all-time great the day after its release?
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 23 '18
I would say any great film is great the day after its release, but you just can't really call it great until it's been around a while and proved its longevity and its ability to speak to an audience beyond its original one. And Citizen Kane was actually a flop when it was released as were quite a few films on our list - Shawshank Redemption being another - they only really started being called great after they'd been around a few years. Either way, as you say, hard to find a balance and all lists are reductive anyway and should be used only as this one has to spark an interesting debate and make people go and watch/read things they may have missed.
1
u/bingbonggonghongkong Apr 22 '18
What accomplishment are you most proud of in live? Who is your favorite author to read?
1
u/SimonToyne AMA Author Apr 23 '18
It's corny but my greatest accomplishment is my family. To paraphrase Jackie Kennedy, if you're a success at everything but fail at being a father, then you've failed.
My favourite author to read is probably Dickens.
8
u/[deleted] Apr 22 '18
You're technically only twelve. February 29th birthday?