As Seen in MSM, July 2010 Issue ISBN: 1920-4299, Published by Rain Enterprises. Printed in Canada
Featuring Author Chris Thomas
Baked beans, bad roommates and a one-night stand that tops the ‘you will never believe what happened’ list sounds like a recipe for a laugh-out-loud book to me.
‘Journo’s Dairy’ takes us through a year of Rick Hughes, a 23 year-olds life. A life of mishaps and adventures that are out of the realm of most people. Five days before Rick is due to begin his new job as a journalist at an Australian newspaper he has a sexual encounter with "Helga" who, in reality is Heidi, on the run because of armed robbery and credit card fraud!
Chris Thomas, author of Rick’s misadventures is an author based in Perth, Western Australia, with a background in journalism and performance. “My novel, Journo’s Diary,” Chris told MSM “was written with fun in mind but I also added some poignant observations into the mix. It’s a comical tale about the misadventures of a young journalist, probably inspired in some ways by The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole and Ben Elton’s style of humour. I wrote the book that I might like to read at the end of the day – if you’ve been up to your eyeballs in paperwork you want something light and easy to read in the evening. It does get a bit risqué in parts but that’s half the fun… it’s the same sort of humour that stems from the books and authors that may have influenced me and is the kind of book you can dip in and out of without having to think too much."
We are happy to have Chris in this issue of MSM, and we know you will love getting to know this Aussie author as well.
Let’s take a peek into the world of Author Chris Thomas…
MSM: Tell us about your writing experiences
CT: "My background is as a journalist, so the research for Journo's Diary was pretty much second knowledge to me already. As for the writing time, there were two distinct periods I remember writing it - I was on four weeks' leave and wrote roughly the first half then, wrote barely nothing for the next six months, and then it was another period of leave when I finished it over about three weeks. Then there was editing and so on, which would have been another couple of weeks.
"Getting past the halfway mark was difficult, when I got really stuck and wrote very little for six months. I went and wrote a rough outline for what would happen in the rest of the book and from there, whenever I got stuck, I could just refer to the outline to see what should be happening - and that gave me the trigger to write things to get the characters to that point. I always find writing outlines quite painful, as I feel it tends to suck the life out of the creative process, but it proved to be an immensely useful tool."
MSM: What lead you to your love of writing?
CT: "I have a sense of humour, I suppose, and I've always loved the Adrian Mole series of books. That's not to say I don't enjoy other styles of writing; I'm actually a science-fiction fan as well and had a Doctor Who short story published a couple of years ago. The plays I write usually have an element of comedy about them but, saying that, I have one that is a more surreal piece. I think it just stems from wanting to find material that is easy to read - I have trouble with books where the writing is dense and you really have to work at getting into the mindset and writing style before you can actually get into it. That doesn't mean the material has to be simple; it just needs to be written in a relaxed style.
"I'm usually inspired to write by situations I've observed, or things that are getting to me, rather than anything in particular I might read. I mean, I might read a story in a paper and that comes to me when I'm writing, or I read something that might make me think about something in particular and that, in turn, may crop up in my writing somewhere.
MSM: Please give the readers a brief overview of your works.
CT: "Journo's Diary is my only novel to date, my Doctor Who short story One Step Forward, Two Steps Back was published in the collection Short Trips: Defining Patterns and I have written eight plays, which I will be publishing in a collection within the next 12 months, called SMS Mess and other plays - along with SMS Mess (you can watch an extract on YouTube), it also features Reality Matters, Which One?, The Bonza Land of Oz, Who's Your Daddy?, Appetite for Destruction, Pickles and King Bling."
MSM: What other novels do you have in the works?
CT: "Essentially, I'm finishing compiling SMS Mess and other plays, rather than working on a novel at the moment. I also recently finished a one-woman monologue, where she plays five different characters, which was performed recently. The title was Pickles and I let the director and actress workshop and develop the piece through rehearsals. Three of my plays - Reality Matters, Pickles and SMS Mess will be performed in a regional Western Australian town, called Kalgoorlie at the end of May 2010."
MSM: Where can readers find your works?
CT: "For Journo's Diary, head on over to http://www.journosdiary.biz or go to http://www.amazon.com/Journos-Diary-Chris-Thomas/dp/0957952880/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229327239&sr=1-1
"To read excerpts of my plays, go to http://www.tazentertainment.com.au/Playwrights_byauthor.html
"To find my Doctor Who short story, One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, go to http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Short-Trips-Defining/dp/1844352684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272369221&sr=1-1
"It would also be remiss of me not to encourage your readers to join the Journo's Diary group on Facebook. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/journos_diary
MSM: What is your favorite part of being an author?
CT: "When someone tells me they enjoyed my book - or play - especially when they highlight a specific part they thought was amusing. Then I know the comedy there worked. Good reviews are just the icing on the cake - it's far more personable when you hear the words 'I really liked your book' and they buy another copy to give to someone.
"I also enjoy the writing process and conjuring up characters and situations and bringing them to life, whether it's in book form or on stage."
MSM: What would you like to tell your readers?
CT: "If you have aspirations to be a writer, get it down on paper. Don't ponder every single word or you'll never get anything done. You can always go back and fix it later and iron out anything you don't like. Don't let your projects gather dust, either. Get them out, swallow your pride and do something with them! Be bold and show them to someone, re-work if necessary. Why do all that work for nought? No writing project is abandoned for me - it's sitting there waiting for me to go back and finish one day."
MSM: Tell us what Journo's Diary is all about
CT: A one-night stand...A new career as a journalist...
Constant paranoia....Endless lustful thoughts...A perverted flatmate... Baked beans...
As cadet journalist Rick Hughes stumbles through his new job, he has a few problems. Well, more than a few. A seemingly forgettable New Year's fling preys on his mind as he soon discovers the woman he slept with is a wanted criminal.
Featuring Author Chris Thomas
Baked beans, bad roommates and a one-night stand that tops the ‘you will never believe what happened’ list sounds like a recipe for a laugh-out-loud book to me.
‘Journo’s Dairy’ takes us through a year of Rick Hughes, a 23 year-olds life. A life of mishaps and adventures that are out of the realm of most people. Five days before Rick is due to begin his new job as a journalist at an Australian newspaper he has a sexual encounter with "Helga" who, in reality is Heidi, on the run because of armed robbery and credit card fraud!
Chris Thomas, author of Rick’s misadventures is an author based in Perth, Western Australia, with a background in journalism and performance. “My novel, Journo’s Diary,” Chris told MSM “was written with fun in mind but I also added some poignant observations into the mix. It’s a comical tale about the misadventures of a young journalist, probably inspired in some ways by The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole and Ben Elton’s style of humour. I wrote the book that I might like to read at the end of the day – if you’ve been up to your eyeballs in paperwork you want something light and easy to read in the evening. It does get a bit risqué in parts but that’s half the fun… it’s the same sort of humour that stems from the books and authors that may have influenced me and is the kind of book you can dip in and out of without having to think too much."
We are happy to have Chris in this issue of MSM, and we know you will love getting to know this Aussie author as well.
Let’s take a peek into the world of Author Chris Thomas…
MSM: Tell us about your writing experiences
CT: "My background is as a journalist, so the research for Journo's Diary was pretty much second knowledge to me already. As for the writing time, there were two distinct periods I remember writing it - I was on four weeks' leave and wrote roughly the first half then, wrote barely nothing for the next six months, and then it was another period of leave when I finished it over about three weeks. Then there was editing and so on, which would have been another couple of weeks.
"Getting past the halfway mark was difficult, when I got really stuck and wrote very little for six months. I went and wrote a rough outline for what would happen in the rest of the book and from there, whenever I got stuck, I could just refer to the outline to see what should be happening - and that gave me the trigger to write things to get the characters to that point. I always find writing outlines quite painful, as I feel it tends to suck the life out of the creative process, but it proved to be an immensely useful tool."
MSM: What lead you to your love of writing?
CT: "I have a sense of humour, I suppose, and I've always loved the Adrian Mole series of books. That's not to say I don't enjoy other styles of writing; I'm actually a science-fiction fan as well and had a Doctor Who short story published a couple of years ago. The plays I write usually have an element of comedy about them but, saying that, I have one that is a more surreal piece. I think it just stems from wanting to find material that is easy to read - I have trouble with books where the writing is dense and you really have to work at getting into the mindset and writing style before you can actually get into it. That doesn't mean the material has to be simple; it just needs to be written in a relaxed style.
"I'm usually inspired to write by situations I've observed, or things that are getting to me, rather than anything in particular I might read. I mean, I might read a story in a paper and that comes to me when I'm writing, or I read something that might make me think about something in particular and that, in turn, may crop up in my writing somewhere.
MSM: Please give the readers a brief overview of your works.
CT: "Journo's Diary is my only novel to date, my Doctor Who short story One Step Forward, Two Steps Back was published in the collection Short Trips: Defining Patterns and I have written eight plays, which I will be publishing in a collection within the next 12 months, called SMS Mess and other plays - along with SMS Mess (you can watch an extract on YouTube), it also features Reality Matters, Which One?, The Bonza Land of Oz, Who's Your Daddy?, Appetite for Destruction, Pickles and King Bling."
MSM: What other novels do you have in the works?
CT: "Essentially, I'm finishing compiling SMS Mess and other plays, rather than working on a novel at the moment. I also recently finished a one-woman monologue, where she plays five different characters, which was performed recently. The title was Pickles and I let the director and actress workshop and develop the piece through rehearsals. Three of my plays - Reality Matters, Pickles and SMS Mess will be performed in a regional Western Australian town, called Kalgoorlie at the end of May 2010."
MSM: Where can readers find your works?
CT: "For Journo's Diary, head on over to http://www.journosdiary.biz or go to http://www.amazon.com/Journos-Diary-Chris-Thomas/dp/0957952880/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229327239&sr=1-1
"To read excerpts of my plays, go to http://www.tazentertainment.com.au/Playwrights_byauthor.html
"To find my Doctor Who short story, One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, go to http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Short-Trips-Defining/dp/1844352684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272369221&sr=1-1
"It would also be remiss of me not to encourage your readers to join the Journo's Diary group on Facebook. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/journos_diary
MSM: What is your favorite part of being an author?
CT: "When someone tells me they enjoyed my book - or play - especially when they highlight a specific part they thought was amusing. Then I know the comedy there worked. Good reviews are just the icing on the cake - it's far more personable when you hear the words 'I really liked your book' and they buy another copy to give to someone.
"I also enjoy the writing process and conjuring up characters and situations and bringing them to life, whether it's in book form or on stage."
MSM: What would you like to tell your readers?
CT: "If you have aspirations to be a writer, get it down on paper. Don't ponder every single word or you'll never get anything done. You can always go back and fix it later and iron out anything you don't like. Don't let your projects gather dust, either. Get them out, swallow your pride and do something with them! Be bold and show them to someone, re-work if necessary. Why do all that work for nought? No writing project is abandoned for me - it's sitting there waiting for me to go back and finish one day."
MSM: Tell us what Journo's Diary is all about
CT: A one-night stand...A new career as a journalist...
Constant paranoia....Endless lustful thoughts...A perverted flatmate... Baked beans...
As cadet journalist Rick Hughes stumbles through his new job, he has a few problems. Well, more than a few. A seemingly forgettable New Year's fling preys on his mind as he soon discovers the woman he slept with is a wanted criminal.
This is matched with his less than brilliant start with the Weekend Star and his constant inability to actually ask any women out on a date, George, his flatmate, is a royal pain in the behind.
Journo's Diary is the day-to-day chronicle of Rick's life as he tries to cope with it all, a job made increasingly difficult when the criminal woman he slept with becomes a major news feature. Things get much, much worse before they get even remotely better...
visit-http://www.journosdiary.biz
MSM: Last comments?
CT: "From the answers involving me writing plays, your readers may not also be aware I'm something of a performer and actor, too, and regularly get up on stage in various productions. To me, writing is just another form of entertaining."
Journo's Diary is the day-to-day chronicle of Rick's life as he tries to cope with it all, a job made increasingly difficult when the criminal woman he slept with becomes a major news feature. Things get much, much worse before they get even remotely better...
visit-http://www.journosdiary.biz
MSM: Last comments?
CT: "From the answers involving me writing plays, your readers may not also be aware I'm something of a performer and actor, too, and regularly get up on stage in various productions. To me, writing is just another form of entertaining."