John Millard
John Millard spent twenty-five years as a journalist – as a reporter on local newspapers, then as a reporter and feature writer on national papers and magazines. He studied English literature at Oxford University as a mature student. He now works in local government as a magazine editor and PR/marketing officer. He lives in a village near the South Downs, where he can indulge his passions for cycling, walking and bug-hunting. He has previously had two short stories published – one in a magazine for older women and one in a New Zealand arts journal.
Q: If you could travel back in time, which of the great writers would you like to meet and why?
A: Elmore Leonard, the late, great American ‘crime writer’ and unique prose stylist. I’d like to buy him a drink and just listen. My guess is that he would tell a story face-to-face just as well as he tells one on the page.
Q: Is there a book that you keep going back to, and if so, how many times have you read it?
A: I very rarely reread a book. Life’s too short and there are too many I haven’t read.
Q: Do you have a favourite quote? (From a book, film, song, speech…)
A: In Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, he says: ‘Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.’
Q: If you could teleport yourself anywhere, real or fictional, where would it be and why?
A: To New Zealand before human colonisation, to see a gloriously isolated and unique environment, rich in life found nowhere else.
