17 December 2014

Author Q&A Session #13: With Duncan Jepson



Hello,
In another new session of Author Q&A, I present you the author who entranced our minds and souls with his skillfully-crafted novels. Duncan Jepson, the best-selling author, has opened up about his life, books, career and choices. Read below to know more about this amazing author.

Read the review of All the Flowers in Shanghai




Me: Hello and welcome to my blog, Duncan. Congratulations on your new book, Emperors Once More. Please do tell us briefly about your new book.

Duncan:
The book is set slightly in the future at a time when the European Union owes China a lot of money, which has been used to bail out huge debts, and it appears the EU will not be able to repay the amount. A man has been waiting for such an event to occur as he wants to use it to incite Chinese to rise up and reclaim their rightful place in the world order. To do this he draws upon the power of a violent murderous Chinese cult that became well known to the world at the beginning of the twentieth century for its fight against western powers, but whose existence stretches far back into China’s past.


Me: What/who is the inspiration behind your book, Emperors Once More?

Duncan: I wanted to explore the legacies of imperialism and colonialism on individuals and society but through an entertaining story and I decided to follow the motivations and actions of a serial killer. This also meant I had to create an opposing force who became the detective, Alex Soong.


Me: You're an award-winning director/producer of five feature films. So what is your one true calling- being a film-maker or being a writer?

Duncan: I think it is as a storyteller but to be honest I haven’t found out what my true calling is yet!! I like stories about people and the challenges they meet, some are fiction and others are through audio/visual media.


Me: How will you describe your journey as an "author" so far?



Duncan: First I’ve been lucky in that I have had two novels published and a graphic novel. There is a huge amount to learn and I am enjoying it. Most obviously, there is the craft of writing itself and creating characters that people want to read. From that pursuit comes developing a story – its pace, mood, values and purpose. There are also more personal elements to explore such as the reasons for writing, moving from writing privately for oneself to trying to be published and then, if possible, being read by a people in the general public who will like and dislike your work, and happily say so. I hope I have tried to remain realistic and also grateful, trying to be honest with myself about what has been successful and why, and what has been a failure.


Me: Please tell us one trait of Alex Soong, protagonist of Emperors Once More, that intrigues you the most.

Duncan:
That he is of a generation that I am not which requires me to think about perspectives of people very close to me in space and time but are still very different. A generation that shares personal space, that I can find uncomfortable, the uses and relies on technology in ways I haven’t even imagined, and pursues or ignores issues in a manner of which my own generation seems willfully blind.


Me: Are you willing to turn your stories into motion pictures?

Duncan: If this question is about me producing then at the moment the answer is no. I am still exploring documentary film-making. Also the stories require a level of production and commerciality that is beyond my independent roots and experience. I would certainly like to see someone shoot a story I had written but it’s a complicated industry with its own temperament and I am certainly not spending time thinking about it.


Me: Who inspired you to write your debut novel, All the Flowers in Shanghai?


Duncan:
All the Flowers in Shanghai was inspired by observations and experiences of growing up, knowing and working with Chinese women. At times they seem terribly affected by the legacy of Chinese culture, the requirements it puts on them and I wanted to explore how that changed during part of the twentieth century through the eyes of one woman.


Me: Your stories are extensively set in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Why do you set your novels' backdrop on your hometown, Hong Kong?


Duncan:
Hong Kong is not my hometown, I am just a guest. I don’t speak Cantonese and prefer South East Asian food to local food in Hong Kong. But Hong Kong is a unique and intense city, and has shown me much, it has people pursuing so many different lives, committing to action and dealing with the consequences. Shanghai was a place I spent some time during the early nineties working on my own, I was extremely fond of the Shanghai I came to know during that period, it is very private and personal to me and I suppose part of it was that there weren’t many foreigners in the city during that time.

If there is a next novel then currently I don’t intend it to be set in Hong Kong or China.


Me: So how do you unwind yourself after a long day's work?


Duncan:
Writing and my charity work.


Me: Thank you so much for spearing time to have this interview session with me for my blog. I can only wish you luck in all your future endeavors.


Duncan: Thank You
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Duncan's Bio:


Duncan Jepson is the award-winning director, producer and writer of five feature films. He also produced documentaries for Discovery Channel Asia and National Geographic Channel. He was the editor of the Asia-based fashion magazine West East and a founder and managing editor of Asia Literary Review. He is a social commentator on Asia and regularly writes for The New York Times, Publishing Perspectives and South China Morning Post. A lawyer by profession, he lives in Hong Kong.

His first novel, All the Flowers in Shanghai was a bestseller. He also co-storied the graphic novel, Darkness outside the Night with Xie Peng and is currently writing a crime series due to be published by Quercus. The first title, Emperors Once More will be published in March 2014.





Connect With Duncan On: Facebook | Twitter | Author Website | Goodreads | Email


 

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