Paul Childs

This week's interview is with a writer I discovered recently on the site formally known as Twitter - making me think that I should stay on the platform a little bit longer, and not yet make it my (e)x. Putting social media and bad puns to one side, let's turn our attention to books. What did this week's guest keep in his school bag and what has he written that we can add to our bookshelves? First of all, here's a quick introduction:

Paul Childs divides his time between Manchester, where he lives and works as an IT Support Technician, and the fictional town inside his head. As well as writing, he also enjoys sketching, playing 80s rock hits on his guitars, tasting single malt Scotch whisky, and collecting retro action figures. His favourite film constantly changes between The Terminator, Fright Night (the original from 1985 of course), Star Wars, Ghostbusters and Aliens depending on how he is feeling. 

 

 

His first book, Tales from Badgers Crossing (Greenteeth Press), a collection of horror, fantasy and science fiction stories was published in 2022. He has written articles on film, music, TV, toys, nostalgia, folklore, sharks and single malt whisky for Den of Geek, Haunted Generation, Horrified, Ginger Nuts of Horror, Folklore Thursday, Film Stories Magazine and his own pop-culture site World Geekly News. His latest supernatural adventure, Bait: A Badgers Crossing Novella (Broccton Press) was published in May 2023. A follow-up – The Convergence – is due very soon with more (including a whodunit, a witch trial drama and an action thriller) to come in 2024 and beyond.

 

And now for the questions. As usual, I start with a question about daydreams:

 

What do you think your daydreams say about you?

 

In 2022, aged 47, I was diagnosed with inattentive-type ADHD. I first broached the subject with my doctor in 2021, but I’d known that there was something different about me for decades.
 
Teachers said I was an excellent student but I needed to get my head out of the clouds. However, I think I succeeded because I daydreamed. It was where I did all of my problem-solving, story writing and essay planning. I still do it today.
 
My daydreams are mostly about everyday stuff – songs on the radio, work issues, what I’m currently writing, etc. - so what they’d say about me is that while I may sometimes seem distant, I’m actually fairly thoughtful and considerate. 

If you happened to be called upon to be a supply teacher for a short period (à la jury service), what would you teach (other than creative writing or English)?

Maybe Music. Although I wouldn’t ever claim to be a great musician, and I’m pretty slow at reading sheet music, I do love playing with a band. I love that feeling of several people working together to create something amazing.
 
I think I’d like to do what Jack Black did in School of Rock and oversee a school orchestra or rock band. Obviously without all the deception and fraud.

Could any of your characters be teachers? If so, what would they teach?

I’m currently writing a novella with a teacher. Denise Grant is a high school English teacher who also runs a Storytelling & Folklore class for Further Education students. She has a passion for how oral tradition helps local stories both survive and evolve.
 
My last two books featured an old retired gamekeeper called Bert who lives on the edge of a forest. While he’s not a teacher by trade, he does take a young girl, Debbie Carter, under his wing and teaches her how to care for the land and the animals – as well as the occasional more mystical lesson.

If you could go back to school, what would you like to study that you didn’t originally?

Do kids still choose their GCSE options, where 14-year-old kids have to choose the subjects they want to study for their exams, and that could pretty much shape the course of their adult life? One of my greatest regrets is dropping Music when I chose mine. If I could go back, I’d choose that instead of Physics, which it turns out I wasn’t very good at.  

Thinking back to your time at school, might there have been a book in your satchel that wasn't on a reading list?

In 1991, my Geography teacher Mr Bond recommended The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy to me. I got a copy out from the local library and it had a profound effect on me. It helped shape my views on science fiction, comedy, religion, writing and much more. Along with Lord Of The Rings, it’s one of the novels I regularly return to (in fact, I’m due another read now).
 
The local library was also a magical place for me as a younger kid. On Saturdays, I’d ride down there on my BMX and borrow as many books as I could find about the paranormal and ghosts.

 

What else would have been in your satchel, and what are you carrying around at the moment?

 

I didn’t actually have a satchel. In the 1980s, it was all about sports holdalls. If you didn’t have a Puma or Adidas bag, then you were nobody. If you had a Head bag, then you were a god. If you had a Hi-Tek or Dunlop, then you were a target of ridicule. Yes, it’s classist and consumerist, but that’s how it was, and kids can be horrible.
 
As well as all my school gear, I’d probably have a Walkman and some cassettes in my bag – most likely Pet Shop Boys, INXS, Bryan Adams and the latest NOW That’s What I Call Music.
 
Although I now use a messenger bag and a smartphone, the contents are pretty much the same, albeit digital.

 

School’s out! If you had 24 hours to do anything you wanted (with unlimited funds and none of your usual responsibilities), what would you do? 

 

As I work in IT Support and only write as a side hustle, I’d love to have a whole day where I can sit, distraction-free and just get all my latest ideas down on paper. Maybe somewhere with amazing scenery, like the Scottish Highlands or the Cornish coast.
 
Also, I think I’d quite like to spend an entire day in the cinema, watching all my favourite films on the big screen in surround sound. That’d be nice.

 

What was the latest daydream of yours that made the leap into the real world? Here you can promote your work!

 

In 2007, I was driving home from visiting my parents in Northamptonshire (I lived near Liverpool at the time) and I drove past a sign I’ve seen hundreds of times: BADGERS CROSSING.
 
However, this time, it sparked something in me and by the time my three-hour drive was completed, I’d created a town full of interesting characters, history and folklore. My first book, Tales From Badgers Crossing, was published in 2022 by Greenteeth Press. It’s a collection of short stories set in the town which all work as standalone tales, but are also linked, forming a larger narrative. My second book, Bait, is a novella set in the same world, and I have several more planned for the next few years. 

 

It's probably time for a lesson. What single piece of advice would you like to share?

 

While it’s a good idea to understand your target audience, it’s important to write primarily for yourself. When I started, I wanted to write serious ghost stories in the style of M.R. James, but I was never fully happy with anything I produced. Then I wrote a story called The Conductor which was inspired by the Public Information Films of the 70s and 80s – a subject I enjoy, and have written a series of non-fiction articles on for Den Of Geek. That was the first story I was truly happy with as I knew ghost-mad 9-year-old me would have loved it. It was my first fictional work to be published.

 

Now for the Random Question. Is there a mode of transport you would never use?

 

I don’t think I’d like to ride a tandem. It’s not the mode of transport itself per se, but the fact that I’d either be worrying that the other rider thought I wasn’t pulling my weight, or I’d be secretly getting more and more annoyed if I felt that they weren’t pulling theirs.
 
It would be a recipe for disaster and I think we’d both be happier with our own bicycles so we could ride at our own pace. 

 

A big thanks to Paul for taking the time to answer my questions. If you'd like to keep up to date, you can find Paul on X, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky @paulychilds.

You can find out more about Paul's books by clicking on the links below:

Amazon author profile: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Paul-Childs/author/B09KSY9H27
 
Goodreads author profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3936504.Paul_Childs
 
Tales From Badgers Crossing can be bought from Greenteeth Press: https://www.greenteethpress.com/books-1/tales-from-badgers-crossing
 
Bait is available as a paperback from most online booksellers, and is also available as an eBook on Amazon and as part of Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bait-Badgers-Crossing-Paul-Childs-ebook/dp/B0C5ZDPYFJ
 
Signed copies can be purchased from Paul’s own website: https://www.paulchilds.co.uk