Saturday, July 09, 2011
SJ WATSON, has always written, but he was good at science as well. So he decided that science would be his career, and writing his hobby.
"But the further I got into my National Health Service Career, working with children with hearing problems, the more I realised that writing was what I wanted to do."
So in his 30s he went part-time and took a six month writing course with Faber. Whilst there he worked on his debut and secured an agent. The novel has sold to 37 countries, and a film of the book is in production with Ridley Scott.
Who is SJ Watson?
Date/Place of birth: 1971, Stourbridge, near Birmingham.
Education: School in the Midlands, then Birmingham University for a degree in Physics followed by an MSc in Audiology, the science of hearing and balance, at Southampton University.
Home: London.
Family: In a civil partnership; ceremony a few weeks ago.
The Day Job: On a two-year career-break from his part-time job in the National Health Service
Hobbies: None. No time!
Favourite Writers: Margaret Atwood, "Her writing is so wonderful. I really enjoy JM Coetzee and Paul Auster too."
Second Novel: "It’s the same kind of genre, but it will have a different feel to it and will be in a different world. I like to push myself into new territory."
Top Writing Tip: "Going to classes and reading tips from other writers is useful. But the only way to learn to write better is to write."
Web: www.sjwatson-books.com
Twitter: @sj_watson
The Debut:
Before I Go To Sleep
Doubleday: €12.99. Kindle: €8.24
A woman wakes one day, a strange man beside her, and doesn’t know where she is. Looking in the mirror she sees a middle-aged woman. Christine suffered brain damage decades ago, in her twenties, and can’t retain new memories. She forgets her identity, her past, and the people she loves overnight. Has she a future?
The Verdict: This astonishing thriller will be a literary phenomenon. Read it and be amazed.
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