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On The Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, author Michael Whitworth talks about the experiences that inspired him to write his book, The Camel And The Butterfly.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed author Michael Whitworth about his life, his career, and what inspired him to write his new novel, The Camel And The Butterfly
I’m a former private banker who stopped working several years ago to spend more time with my family. Originally from Lancashire, I went to university in Leeds where I studied Mandarin Chinese. After graduating, I taught English in Japan, before returning to Leeds to complete a postgrad in International Studies.
Most of my working career was spent in London, where I worked in corporate banking initially, before moving to private banking.
I’m married with a teenage son, and we live in Northamptonshire. In my spare time I try to exercise whenever possible, swimming and running mainly, though I have spent several uncomfortable days cycling around the UK and climbing mountains in Scotland. A couple of years ago, I decided to write a novel.
I first decided to write a book when I was in my twenties. I had just left my first job and thought I would take some time off to write a novel. I wouldn’t say that I WANTED to write at the time, rather it felt like a good thing to do. For various reasons, mainly lack of money and motivation, it didn’t work out, so I went back to work. It wasn’t until I had turned fifty that I really WANTED to write a book, and so, two years ago, I began to write The Camel and the Butterfly.
As I mentioned above, I ‘dabbled’ with writing a in my twenties, but I started writing seriously about two years ago.
From initial idea to finishing the first draft was probably six months. I then spent a further two months tweaking it, and from submission to signing a contract was another month. The book is due out in November, so in total the process has taken a little over a year.
I nearly ran over an old man in my car one day. He stepped into the road, and I had to break sharply. As he sauntered off as though nothing had happened, I was quite annoyed, but then I thought to myself that I was wrong to be angry. I was judging him on how he was at that moment, when he may well have done more in his lifetime than I could imagine. I’d been planning to start writing a book, and the idea that we judge people so quickly, without knowing anything about them served as my inspiration.
There were many challenges: lockdown, family commitments, poor willpower. But the most challenging part for me was forcing myself not to overedit what I wrote. Initially, I found myself writing and rewriting everything, changing punctuation and generally doing things which should be done after the first draft. It was taking so long to write anything. In the end, I had to just get something down and move on.
I have always been inspired by ex-servicemen and women, especially the older generation. We often see people as they are now and forget what they must have been through in their lives. They are so proud and rarely complain, and that is truly inspirational.
The main antagonist is an amalgamation of the worst of my former bosses – quick to blame other people and willing to do whatever it takes to get a result.
My main character, a ninety-year-old ex-soldier, catches some shoplifters; they decide to get back at him by spreading a rumour that he was never in the army.
The main conflict is based around how quickly people believe the rumours about my main character, without knowing any of the facts. And how quick we can be to judge people.
There was an element of plotting, but it was very broad to say the least. I prefer to have an idea of where I want the narrative to go, then see what I come up with as I write. For me, this is the best way, because new ideas often come up which would not have been there had I strictly plotted the story in advance.
I was very thorough with checking and rewriting my book, but after submission, my publisher, Cahill Davis Publishing, helped a great deal with their editing process. I don’t think there was a huge amount to change, but we completed two edits which helped improve the flow of the narrative.
Just start it and see where it takes you. I think starting is the hardest part, as we often think we need to have everything planned from the beginning. The story often changes as it develops anyway.
I have no immediate plans, though I am sure that I will write another novel. It proved to be quite a time-consuming and, at times, exhausting process, so I will need the right subject matter and motivation before starting again.
I am immensely proud of my book, and it was very much worth the effort. There is something wonderful about creating something which was not there before you started. Bringing an idea all the way to publication is hugely rewarding.
Book: The Camel and the Butterfly https://books2read.com/tcatb
Publisher: Cahill Davis Publishing
Release date: 8 November 2021
Twitter: www.twitter.com/whitworth66m
Website: https://www.cahilldavispublishing.co.uk/authors/michael-whitworth
Publisher’s Twitter: www.twitter.com/publishingdavis
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