John
G. Sutton
1. What
do you look like?
My name is John G. Sutton, I was born in the town of Colne, Lancashire. I am 52 years of age and this is my photograph taken with my pet bulldog Grumbles. In the recent past people have said I look like my bulldog, you may think otherwise? My pet and I have been pals for seven years now and Grumbles is always by my side as I sit at the desk and write books or feature articles for newspapers.
2. Have you always
been an author?
I have always been able
to write in a creative way, even from a young age. As a child at school I would
read out my short stories to the class and the other children loudly applauded
them. However my teachers did not approve of my chosen subject matter, which
was then and is still now, The Supernatural and The Unknown.
3. What is the best
thing about being an author?
The best thing about
being an author is the fact that I can use my gift as a writer to entertain
people and inform them of my beliefs. I suppose it is a sense of having a voice
in the world and maybe I can use it to make a positive difference, as it is my
intention to do good things not bad. I also love that wonderful feeling of
achievement I have when I first see one of my books with my name on the front
cover.
4. What is the worst
thing about being an author?
The worst thing about
being a creative author is the reading and correction of first drafts. The hard
task is the editing, cutting out none essential passages and making the whole
thing sing. The really toughest part any author has to do is to read and
examine the publisher’s first page-proofs. This task has to be completed to a
deadline and must be one hundred percent perfect. That duty is very technical
and it certainly is not my strongest attribute.
5. Where do you get
inspiration from?
I write naturally, the
words and ideas seem to flow through me and I often feel inspired. Sometimes I
am so amused by the work I create that even as I write the words I am laughing,
or even crying at the situations and emotions I have captured. As for the source of my inspiration, I do
have a very vivid imagination that seems linked to some external unconscious
supplier of original ideas. The best way to explain this is to tell you that I
feel at times as though the thoughts are being transmitted to me.
6. What was your
favourite subject at school?
Without doubt English was not only my favourite subject but also my best one. I would often read the Bible lesson to the school assembly and had a natural ability to make people listen to me. There was one teacher that encouraged me to write creatively, he was called Mr. Constam. I once wrote a strange short story about the ghost of a coal miner telling how he had died underground. I clearly recall Mr. Constam praising this as a work of great imagination and saying to me that if I really tried hard one day I might be an author.
7. What is your
favourite book written by someone else?
The first book that was a source of inspiration to me as a young boy was ‘Tales of Mystery and Imagination’ by Edgar Alan Poe. I bought this age 9 years and had to have a dictionary by my side as I read it. Poe’s work influenced me then and still influences me today. However, I love laughter and Richmal Crompton’s Just William books never fail to make me chuckle. But if I had only one book to take with me it would have to be ‘The Collected Works of William Shakespeare’ for powerful prose and poetic expression The Bard is The Boss.
8. What is your
favourite of your own books and why?
In 1998 I was asked by
the publisher Barry Cunningham, the man who discovered J.K. Rowling, to write a
book for Element/Penguin about the healing powers of animals. The book I
created ‘Animals Make You Feel Better’ is my favourite from all the books I
have written. This book tells many gentle true stories of pets and even wild
creatures that have helped human beings to heal. It is my belief that there
exists a real bond between humankind and the animal kingdom that links us
together at an emotional and spiritual level. In this book I have attempted to
explain that link and introduce the reader to the idea that animals are
wonderfully complex creatures to be treated with respect. It is my hope that
once having read this book the reader will view animals in a new more positive
light and be appalled that anyone could deliberately injure them or use them
for cruel sports.
9. Do your books have
a message?
I believe that there is a force for goodness in this world and that we can all tap into that if we desire to do so with our hearts. My books all consider the fact that we as physical human beings are but a small part of a vast, wonderful and often unknown world. Within this world there are many things that we do not fully understand and sometimes they are given labels that scare us i.e. Ghosts, Spooks, Phantoms etc. My books all deal with unexplained phenomena in a positive and entertaining way, be that the bond between humans and animals or the ghostly haunting of ancient castles. Do my books have a message? Yes, it is this: There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies, but we should all dare to dream.