Interview: Iain Reading

Last Updated: 25 July 2024

This morning I'm welcoming children's author Iain Reading to The Writing Greyhound for a chat about his writing and his latest book Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold.

Firstly, could you introduce yourself?

Hello! For a long time I wanted to be a musician (still do, actually) but I suppose it just wasn't in the cards for me. Now I've channelled my creativity into writing instead. Oh, and I work at the UN as my day job.

How did you first become interested in writing?

I first became interested in writing something when I was lying in bed one day and thought to myself "wouldn't it be cool if there was a book about a female teenage pilot named Kitty Hawk". Yes, that would be cool, I told myself. But someone already thought of it, I am sure. So I went to sleep. I woke up the next day and it was still in my mind, so I Googled it. Turns out that no one thought of it before. So I knew I had to write it.

 Tell me about Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold.

Kitty Hawk is a pilot and she has a lot of freedom because of that. She can fly wherever she wants to. So she has decided to see the world. Her first adventures take her to Alaska and the Yukon to study humpback whales for the summer. And that is when the adventures begin. She figures something out... a mystery, if you will, and because she is also quite nosy, she finds herself pulled into a grand journey across the northern parts of our continent.

What’s the best thing about writing fiction?

The best thing about writing fiction is the ability to create new worlds. And you can create whatever worlds you can think of. There are no limits. That feeling is amazing, even though my personal preference is to create worlds hidden within our own world (as opposed to completely fantastical alien worlds).

How do you get inspiration?

Inspiration is all around. The trick is recognising it. As I said, my worlds are always hidden within our own worlds. Which means that there are clues to those hidden worlds all around us. What are they, then? That's the secret and the inspiration.

What are your aims for the book?

One major aim of all my books is the have the reader experience different places. We live on a huge and amazing planet and there are so many things that we can never see them all.

 What’s your writing process?

My process is to figure things out first and write second. I never sit down to write unless I have the next few chapters of a book already figured out (plus, of course, the overall entire story figured out – that goes without saying). And then I sit down and just let the story write itself.

What do you love most about writing?

Being able to transport myself to these worlds I've created. For a few hours each day when I am writing a book I find myself immersed in those worlds and I love that.

Which authors inspire you?

Believe it or not.... Stephen King. Not because I like horror books. But because I think he is a masterful story-teller. Yes, sometimes the story being told is weird to the point of ridiculous (a car that eats people?) but the way he tells those stories is often amazing.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

My standard advice is always this: Write the book you are capable of writing. Don't try and write a book that you're not capable of.

What are your ambitions for your writing career?

I have a strange ambition.... I would like to advance enough in my career that I could do a panel at a comic-con somewhere sometime. I do promote my books at cons many times a year and I love panels whenever I go see them.

What are you currently working on?

I am halfway through the sixth book of my Kitty Hawk series. I am halfway through the second book of my dragon of the month club series. I just finished the third draft of an unpublished urban magic historical fiction thing. And I just started writing a young adult romance novel.

What are you reading at the moment?

I am re-reading Stephen King's It. The new movie just came out and I figured it would be nice to read that one again since it's an amazing piece of work (except for the whole horror/supernatural thing, particularly at the end.... sorry Stephen....).

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is available to buy now (paid link; commission earned). 

What do you think? Share your thoughts and comments below!