Jonathan Oliver is an award-winning editor and the man in charge of not one, but three publishing imprints - Solaris, Abaddon Books, and Ravenstone. However, for SHARKPUNK he has brought his skills as an author to bear.Sharkpunk: What, do you think, is the reason for people's enduring fascination with sharks?
Jonathan Oliver: They feel very alien, despite the fact that they are earth-based creatures and I suppose, in many ways, they represents the mysteries of the sea, the draw of the depths.
SP: What was the inspiration behind your story Peter and the Invisible Shark?
JO: Short answer is: I have no idea. I just started writing and made it up as I went along. I knew that I didn’t want to have the story set in the sea, bizarre as that may sound, and I struck on the idea of it being a story about haunting early on. But mostly, I just made it up as I went along.
SP: What challenges, or surprises, did you encounter in writing your story?
JO: I suppose the main challenge was making the symbolic, real. To make the threat feel genuine and disturbing, when so much is about an individual who is disturbed. I think there’s enough ambiguity in the story that it allows for different readings.
SP: If you had to pick a favourite shark, which would it be?
JO: Jaws. Though I realise that’s terribly boring. The original and the best.
SP: Do you have a favourite fictional shark (in books, comics, films, or video games)?
JO: See above.
SP: Apart from your story in Sharkpunk, what's coming next from Jon Oliver?
JO: I have a short story appearing in a Jurassic London publication at some point in the future, and I’ll be collaborating on a novel later in the year.
Thanks, Jon!
You can find him online at www.jonoliverwriter.blogspot.co.uk
and on Twitter as @JonOlivereditor.
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