Jay Mandal 2008 on Precipice and The Dandelion clock

Jay Mandal came to us through reading an interview from another author on our website. The two books we reviewed are Pecipice and The Dandelion Clock which impressed us immensly. In this interview Jay tells a little about himself and his influences in life.

BFK: Have you always liked writing?

JM: Yes. I can remember writing when I was a child. Then, when I was in my teens, I wrote 300 pages of a science fiction story. In the eighties, I wrote two novels, but it was only in 1992 that I started on the short stories which eventually became the collections Slubberdegullion, A Different Kind of Love, and The Loss of Innocence.

BFK: You write very much about the emotional side of a relationship?

JM: I suppose it comes naturally to me, and it's what I like writing.

BFK: In Precipice your story line is very powerful with one partner having cancer - are you writing from experience here?

Both my parents had cancer, so I would have drawn on that. I'm writing from my own experience of depression.

BFK: All your stories are very much dialogue based as opposed to action. Is this your favourite way of writing?

JM: Yes. I start off with good intentions - to write a reasonable amount of narrative - but I've sometimes ended up with just dialogue. Atlantic Drift (from the collection A Different Kind of Love) was my response to this issue. It's a short work told in e-mails and telephone conversations with scarcely any narrative. Perhaps I should learn how to write stage directions! Susannah York said of a short story of mine: "I found [The Loss of Innocence] very engaging. You characterise your people well through their speech and sympathetically. I'd guess this would adapt well for radio, too." Although some authors find it useful, I don't read my work aloud.

BFK: The Dandelion Clock is also emotion based, so does the psychology of relationships drive your story line?

JM: Possibly, although I've never really thought about it. The Dandelion Clock was written in the eighties when my depression was less severe. I was probably better able to express people's emotions. All About Sex is more light-hearted. I suppose I like writing about people and their interaction rather than action adventures.

BFK: Who are your greatest influences in your writing?

JM: It was reading one of Armistead Maupin's books that encouraged me to begin writing again.

BFK: Who are your favourite authors and real life heroes?

JM: John Steinbeck and Douglas Adams - and, of course, Armistead Maupin. Then there are the books To Kill a Mockingbird, Il Gattopardo and Wuthering Heights. I'm having trouble thinking of any real-life heroes. Obviously people who help others.

BFK: Have you ever thought of optioning Precipice and The Dandelion Clock for filming?

JM: If anyone can find me a producer, then I'm sure something could be arranged! A reader did say he thought The Dandelion Clock would make a good TV film or play. All About Sex might be more suited to film treatment as it has more characters, scenes and locations, and less introspection.

BFK: It feels like you are very much into the psychology of the human mind and how it reacts in certain situations.

JM: It's good that people think my writing is deep. I don't consciously plan it that way - it's just the way it sometimes turns out. It's also something I enjoy doing.

BFK: Basing your stories in the same sex genre is not easy, why did you choose it?

JM: I find it easy - and fun. It gives me scope for humour and pathos. Not all my characters are gay - or even all my stories.

BFK: You have been writing a lot of short stories and only two full length ones, will you be doing another full length one soon?

JM: All About Sex is my third published novel, although it is fairly short at only 40,000 words. I've a work-in-progress which has been at 6,000 words for a considerable time. And my publisher would like me to write another novel soon!

BFK: When you are thinking of a story what comes first - the emotional side that you wish to convey or the actual storyline?

JM: The Dandelion Clock was written over twenty years ago, so I'm not really sure - I think the storyline. All About Sex was written as the ‘scenes' occurred to me, although I suppose I knew roughly what was going to happen. As for short stories, I may start with just a word and hope for the best. Or with a famous quotation or something I've heard.

BFK: Your stories are very uplifting however they end. Is this why you write, to help other people?

JM: If readers are helped by my stories, then I'm delighted. But I have to admit that's not consciously in my mind when I'm writing.

BFK: What is it about short stories that you do so many of them quite brilliantly?

JM: It's kind of you to say so! It's probably a style of writing that suits me. And the short story writer may be less likely to run out of steam before he or she finishes.