Ask the Author: James Essinger

“Hi everyone, I'm very happy to answer questions about 'The Mating Game': the new novel which I am co-authoring with Jovanka Houska, the international chess master and woman grandmaster.” James Essinger

Answered Questions (12)

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In "Jacquard's Web" each chapter starts with the picture of a different punchcard. If these were set up on a loom, what pattern would they create?

James Essinger Thanks for your question Marg. In fact this was something done by the designer and I am sure was just done to make an interesting illustration and without any other purpose. In any event, I don't have a detailed technical knowledge of the actual configuration of a punched-card Jacquard loom so can't answer your question anyway. But many thanks for it. Best wishes, James

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Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?

James Essinger Being unpublished

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If you could travel to any fictional book world, where would you go and what would you do there?

James Essinger To Cantia, the world of my new book 'Josh Moonford and the Lost City of Cantia'.

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What books are on your summer reading list this year?

James Essinger Michael Ridpath's 'Amnesia'.

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What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

James Essinger The mystery of how an idea for a book comes to me.

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Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

James Essinger Lizzie Hexam and Eugene Wrayburn in 'Our Mutual Friend' by Charles Dickens.

The romance of their courtship is marvellous and overwhelming!

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

James Essinger There's a mini-essay at the end of my novel 'The Mating Game' about how I got the idea for it.

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How do you get inspired to write?

James Essinger I don't really know. It was always something I wanted to do. My mother, Mary, whose memoir 'Mary, Quite Contrary' is brilliant and on amazon, encouraged me I think.

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What are you currently working on?

James Essinger A biography of Charles Babbage entitled 'Machines of the Mind'.

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

James Essinger If you want to write fiction, take steps to learn how to do it. Focus on the job of producing a super book rather than being too focused on finding an agents and publication.

The 'Writing Fiction' link on this page of my website will provide you with a 23,000+ word document which gives lots of advice about writing fiction.

http://www.jamesessinger.com/useful_l...

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