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The Mating Call of the Racket-Tailed Drongo Mating Call: a device for attracting the female. Racket-Tailed Drongo: a devious bird – not always what it seems.
Interview with Michael Tobert
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When did your writing career begin? I always wanted to be a writer, but never had the belief that I could be one. I didn’t come from a family where being a writer was on the horizon of possible careers. My father, though he wrote poetry and was creative himself, believed that real men made things. Writing was not something a career should be made from. I went to the London Business School for my sins, and then took a year off trying to write. It didn’t bring much financial reward, or any sign of it anyway. I didn’t start writing seriously until eight years ago, when I found myself in a position to give it a good shot.
What was your inspiration for this unusual story? My first book was a humorous non-fiction account of golf and the history of St Andrews. I then travelled to India and started writing a ‘Bill Bryson in India’ type story. But a friend of mine, whose wife was a writer who sadly died of cancer, said I should write novels. In desperation he gave me a couple of pages of notes that he found on his wife’s computer. I didn’t do anything with them for a while, but eventually I thought ‘I can do this’ and got started. I am sure that she would be shocked at the story that has emerged from her notes. She would have written an entirely different book. Once you are into writing it, it will go whatever way it will go. I just needed to be pushed down the ski run.
Were there any obstacles you had to overcome when writing this book? There are always obstacles. In a book like this, there are so many different strands that you have to knit together. It’s like a puzzle: the pieces all have to fit. But it is a challenge that is always fun to do. What a bore it would be to write a book straight through from start to finish.
Is St Magnus, St Andrews? I couldn’t confirm that it is or is not. I know many people that have read it and are certain it is St Andrews. It would be hard to disagree. Strange are the workings of the subconscious.
Are any of the characters based on real people? Not really, no. Every character is a composite of many real people.
Who are your favourite authors and did they influence your writing? Salman Rushdie, Flann O’Brien… I suppose there is homage to Flann O’Brien in this novel. At Swim-Two-Birds is the funniest, most unreadable book ever written.
Who will enjoy this novel? It’s mostly been read by young women so far, I’m not sure why actually. But they could give it to their fathers for Christmas, and they’d enjoy it just as much.
How would you sum the novel up in one sentence? If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.
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