Introducing… Liam Kelly
Today’s new author is Liam Kelly.
Liam is an award-winning comedy scriptwriter, with work broadcast on BBC2, BBC iPlayer and BBC Radio 4. He has worked as a writer on developing a video game with a BAFTA winning games studio, a sitcom with a BAFTA winning producer and on the University of Cambridge’s Internationally acclaimed Medieval Murder Maps. He was also shortlisted for both the Penguin Write Now and the Firefly Press New Writer award for middle grade fiction. Originally from Cardiff he is now based in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He has a BA in Scriptwriting, alongside his MA in Writing for Young People.
What is your writing routine?
Go to my attic office, cup of tea or some other drink essential. Depending on what I’m writing I will put on an appropriate background music.
Who is your favourite author and how have they inspired you?
Growing up, probably Roald Dahl. He was a Cardiff boy like me and I just loved the sense of humour running through his books. That’s what I want to do, just make people laugh until they blow snot bubbles from their nose.
What was the inspiration for your manuscript?
It was born from a daydream I had thinking about how The Lord of the Rings would look from the Ringwraith’s POV. It also stems from my love of the old Ray Harryhausen stop motion monsters and the comedy vibe of Blackadder and Monty Python.
Who is your favourite character in your book?
I love all my characters equally, but the one that’s perhaps most fun to write is Coroticus. He was once a prince but a curse transformed him into an evil talking map, made from human skin, who likes nothing more than creatively insulting people.
What inspires you first: character or plot?
Character, without great characters to care about, a plot becomes irrelevant.
Describe your perfect day.
A pancake breakfast stack shared with my wife, followed by a visit to a museum or maybe a historical battlefield with a guided tour. Dinner in a German Bierkeller, complete with steins of local ale with friends. Then watch a Wales football/rugby match in the evening, all the while making notes on my phone for the next book I’m going to write.