Today I have another fabulous guest: Columbkill Noonan, whose debut novel Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab is released today by Crooked Cat Books.
Welcome, Columbkill. You have a
fascinating name. Please can you tell me
a bit more about it?
Sure, I’d be happy to! My dad is a dentist, and when I was growing up
he had a lot of nuns as patients (comes from growing up Irish Catholic, I
think!). Anyway, my favorite was a nun named Sister Columbkill; she used to
crochet the cutest little dollies for me and my sister. So when it came time to
pick a pen name, I just knew that I had to be ‘Columbkill’. As for Noonan,
that’s just a family name (Irish, again!). It was between that and my maiden
name, which is Hickey. Noonan won out.
What
prompted you to first start writing? What was the first thing you wrote?
I’ve
always wanted to write, but was always caught up with work and life and just
plain busy-ness. But one day a short story just jumped into my head and
wouldn’t go away. It was about the ghost of a little boy who gets stuck at a
boarding school and has to haunt the place in the most ridiculous of ways. It
was published by the first place I submitted it to (Strangely Funny II) which
really gave me confidence to keep on writing things.
Can you
summarise your book in just a few words?
Ohhhh, that’s a tough one! I’d say cozy, fun, and a little bit weird.
“Barnabas” is a hero like no other, really. He’s anxious, excitable, and
probably overly constrained by social niceties, but he takes his
responsibilities very seriously and tries so very hard to not let all
those other things get in his way.
What was
the inspiration for this book?
The Barnabas character has been banging around in my head for awhile
now. It was clear that he was there to stay, and that he needed something much
more than a short story. He pretty much demanded to be written, the pesky
little bugger! I am fascinated by history and mythology (and mythological
history!) so there was never any doubt that I’d put Barnabas in a mythological
setting.
Did you do
any research for the book?
I did, and I had the best time doing it! I used the university library,
online sources, and bookstores to read any-and-everything I could find about
Egyptian mythology. It’s very fascinating! And I learned a lot of things I
didn’t know before. For example, I had no idea that there was a feminist
Egyptian goddess. So of course she had
to play a part in the book!
What does
a typical writing day involve for you?
I wake up, have some tea, and sit down to write for a couple of hours
before I go to work (teaching Anatomy and Physiology at a university). Every
single day my cat Orangina sits on my lap while I write (in fact, she’s here
right now, as we speak!). I have to have a blanket draped there for her just so
or else she’ll meow piteously at me until I comply. It’s a bit distracting,
come to think of it!
How do you
decide on the names for your characters?
For historical names, I usually look up a list of baby names from that
place and era. Then I scroll through until I find one I like the sound of, or
that has a meaning that resonates with the character I’m writing. For example,
in the book I’m writing now there is a horse by the name of Hynder… which means
(drum roll, please!) ‘horse’ in Old Norse.
Do you
plot your novels in advance, or allow them to develop as you write?
A little of both. I outline the chapters, and give the characters a
particular job that they absolutely must do (or a place to which they
absolutely must go). Then I let them take care of that on their own.
Now the book
is published and ‘out there’ how do you feel?
It feels a bit surreal, to be honest. And a bit scary, too! When you
put your all into something and then put it out there for everyone to see (and
judge!), well, you just want people to love it the same way you do. It’s like
that feeling when you try a daring new haircut, only amplified.
Is there a
message in your book?
That the little guy can be a hero, once in a while. That even when
you’re nervous and scared and have no idea what you’re doing, sometimes things
can still turn out all right anyway. Or at least almost all right.
Barnabas is, ahem, a bit excitable, shall we say, and has a lot of
self-doubt, but still he tries and that’s what’s important.
Do you
have any advice for new writers?
Keep at it, and if you get a harsh rejection, pull a face, stick your
tongue out at that email and submit someplace else. I once had a short story
rejected by an editor who was so harsh in his criticisms that he even said he
didn’t like my name, and offered an in-depth description of what, exactly, was
wrong with it. My name! I get that ‘Columbkill’ is a bit unusual, but that’s
why I like it. I’m certainly not going to change my name to ‘Bob’ just because
someone doesn’t get it. By the way, a week later I received the most glowing
acceptance email ever for that same story. So there.
What can
we expect from you in the future?
Well, right now I can’t even imagine a day spent without Barnabas, so
I’m currently working on the sequel to Barnabas Tew and the Case of the
Missing Scarab. Really, I’m planning a whole series. In each book he’ll go to
a different afterlife, so I’ll have loads of fun researching all the different
mythologies and religions. This next book is already shaping up to be quite
action-packed, because, well… Vikings! (Oops, did I let that slip? Barnabas
will be terribly put out if I give away his surprises!)
Barnabas
Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab is now available on Amazon.
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Barnabas-Tew-Case-Missing-Scarab-ebook/dp/B072JMJV1F
US: https://www.amazon.com/Barnabas-Tew-Case-Missing-Scarab/dp/1546786074
Connect
with Columbkill:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/ColumbkillNoonan
Twitter:
@ColumbkillNoon1
