I’m always in awe of those who manage to get that debut novel written as I know first hand what a challenge it can be. Some authors, however, seem to go just that little bit further and when J L Fellenor got in touch I had to invite him on to the blog to stay in with me as he fascinated me!

Staying in with J L Fellenor

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag John.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I have brought See what You Think About This (SWYTAT). This is my first novel, and took me around twelve years to write. I have self-published on Amazon/Kindle and, despite advice to the contrary, carried out all the formatting and chose the artwork myself. SWYTAT has been heavily influenced by my interest in psychology, particularly psychoanalysis, and philosophy.

(Then See what You Think About This must have been a real labour of love. Congratulations on your debut novel.)

What can we expect from an evening in with See what You Think About This?

With SWYTAT, I attempted to defy standard literary conventions, while still trying to tell a story. However, unlike stories which generally have some kind of linear narrative, SWYTAT was designed explicitly to be picked up and read from any page to any page; beginning at the start and working to the end is only one way of doing it. That hopefully gives something away about the story, at the heart of which is [maybe] an ‘unreliable’ narrator and a journey they take. The reader, will hopefully, find themselves working to piece together the events, picking up a little philosophy on the way, and, most importantly, reflecting on what the story might mean for their own lives; in terms of what and how they remember, and the significance of things. There may have been a murder. Or there may not.

(Oh my goodness. This sounds fascinating. I bet it was a nightmare to plot! I studied philosophy as part of my degree so I think I’d find See what You Think About This an interesting read.)

What else have you brought along and why? 

Along with SWYTAT, I brought along an eclectic range of music, for you to choose from as a background. SWYTAT was written, on the whole, while I listened to different musical pieces, to either evoke a feeling, or in many cases knowing that the rhythm of the music would somehow determine the rhythm of what I wrote. Feel free to select anything from the melancholy yet haunting sound of the Rhodes Electric Piano, through some gritty Blues, and on to the Indie scene of recent years. It’s all there, in SWYTAT!

I think we should sample if all John. Thank you so much for staying in with me to chat about See what You Think About This. I’ve found the concept of the book really intriguing. I’m off to find out a bit more!

See what You Think About This

“Down the road some more a man looks across to the rails, and watches the train coming down out of the pass. Driver on the train talking to his mate; points across to the edge of the small town they start through. Joanie turns her head and watches the train through the window. Rodman sits back against the wall and the keys to a blue chopper drop from his hand on to the floor. Rodman dies. A nice guy”.

This is about a journey that may or may not have been taken. It’s about the things you already know; the history behind you, and how it sets out your future; the alternative choices that could have been made.

See what You Think About This is a complex psychological thriller; a puzzle to be solved by the reader. Set in a world where everything is at first glance familiar, you are invited to dig a little deeper; to reconsider your taken for granted assumptions about the world, and the part you play in it. Infused with an intense mix of influences, ranging from the philosophy of pessimism, to the pop-culture imagery of the coffee-table magazine, See What You Think About This is not designed to leave you feeling secure and safe in what you know of yourself and the world; a world where nothing is, in fact, certain. You can start at the beginning. You can choose to start in the middle. How you get to the answer, is up to you.

See what You Think About This is available for purchase here.

About John Fellenor

John Fellenor lives in rural southern England. Amongst other things, he has most recently worked as an academic, and has published several papers and a book chapter, although he is now looking to move into something that will allow his brain to cool down. John’s ideology, reflected in both his fiction and academic writing, has been heavily influenced by the work of Nietzsche, the philosophy of pessimism, and the psychoanalytic approaches of Jacques Lacan and Ignacio Matte Blanco.

You can follow John on Twitter @JohnFellenor.