by Claire Main #122, 2 June 2008

So, as I was saying, Philip Caveney, creator of the Sebastian Darke series definitely doesn't hibernate in the winter. In fact, I am on my way to interview him, but I've checked my bag and my chocolate supplies are running dangerously low. How will I tell whether I'm suffering from chocolate withdrawal symptoms or I've entered Philip's world of migrating Buffalope and holidays on the Senova coast? I ring the doorbell and I can hear someone coming to the door. Reality or fantasy, I'm soon to find out.

BOOKTHINK: So where are you from Philip?

CAVENEY: I was born in North Wales, but my parents were in the RAF and I spent much of my childhood trolling around the length and breadth of Britain, with a few years spent in Singapore and Malaysia.

BOOKTHINK: Tell us your latest news.

CAVENEY: The thing that I'm most excited about at present is that we have serious film interest from Hollywood. I can't name any names, but a major player has read Sebastian Darke and wants to make a movie of it! Of course, it might all come to nothing, but it's caused some sleepless nights.

BOOKTHINK: When and why did you begin writing?

CAVENEY: When I was around thirteen, I read a Ray Bradbury novel called Something Wicked This Way Comes. It absolutely blew me away and I quite clearly remember thinking, "This is what I want to do with my life." From then on, I began to write stories. I think I drove my English teachers half mad with my desperate attempts to create fiction from the most inane topics.

BOOKTHINK: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

CAVENEY: In 1976, when I sold my first novel, The Sins Of Rachel Ellis. I don't care what anyone says, the day somebody likes your work enough to pay money for it, is the day you feel different about your abilities.

BOOKTHINK: What inspired you to write your first book?

CAVENEY: I'd been reading a lot of Arthurian books, with particular regard to Merlin and I thought, "I wonder if I could do a contemporary version of it."

BOOKTHINK: Who or what has influenced your writing?

CAVENEY: Funnily enough, cinema is a much bigger influence on me than other writers. I see my books as "head movies" which play on a big silver screen in my cranium.

BOOKTHINK: How did you come up with the title Sebastian Darke?

CAVENEY: I created the character and he needed a name. He was always going to be Darke, and somehow, no other Christian name seemed right for him. I recently received an email from the real Sebastian Darke, telling me he had been given the book and was enjoying it.

BOOKTHINK: What books have most influenced your life?

CAVENEY: Umm... I'm not sure they have influenced my life, but the following titles have been a big influence on my career as a writer: Lord of the Flies, Catcher In The Rye, Something Wicked This Way Comes and the complete works of Elmore Leonard.

BOOKTHINK: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

CAVENEY: Well, originally it was definitely Ray Bradbury. These days I'd have to go for Elmore Leonard. I appreciate he's writing for a totally different market to me, but I've always admired his ear for dialogue and the fact that at seventy-odd his writing is still so cool!