Martin Chatterton

6-11-2005

Martin Chatterton schrijft en tekent. Dit jaar zijn er drie boeken van hem uitgekomen bij uitgeverij Kluitman. Het humorgehalte in zijn boeken is erg hoog. Voor ons wilde hij wel even wat tijd vrijmaken om wat antwoorden te geven op onze vragen.

Three of your ‘bad dog’ books has been translated into Dutch. How does this make you feel?
I always love having any book translated into another language! And as Holland is one of my favourite places this makes it extra special. The publishers have done a really good job with the books too; very good printing, nice hardback...I love them! The Bad Dog books have been published in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Finland, China, Brazil...and of course Holland!

What ‘bad dog’ book is your own favorite one?
If I had to pick a favourite Bad Dog book it would probably be the first one: 'Bad Dog and All That Hollywood Hoo-Hah' just because it was the first and I knew it was going to work as soon as I'd written the first draft. I also love anything to do with the movies so it was a chance for me to use a lot of 'Hollywood' references and ideas.

If you had to pick one book of you that you’d like to see translated into Dutch, which one would it be? Ofcourse, the ‘bad dog’ serie doesn’t count, cause they are already translated, or being translated.
I would love to see my book 'Michigan Moorcroft RIP' get translated. It's a novel for Young Adults about the afterlife. It's a black comedy where the lead character dies on the opening page.

How did you come up with the humor in your books?
The honest answer is that I don't know. I never feel like I'm a 'funny' guy. I think I just invent characters and they are funny by themselves (or at least that's what it feels like sometimes). I find humour difficult to pin down....something either makes you laugh or it doesn't.

You write books, and illustrate them. Is this a dream come true?
Yes, kind of. My real dream would be to play football for England and score the winning goal (against Holland) in the World Cup final. But that's probably not going to happen so writing and illustrating will have to fill the black hole.

If you wouldn’t write and illustrate books, what would you do to make money?
I would probably be a movie-maker or a graphic designer (which I am already so that probably doesn't count). I'd also love to have been an astronaut, or a hard-bitten New York journalist, or maybe a chef.

What writers and illustrators are a big example for you?
I love American crime writers like Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiassen although they're not really a big influence on my writing. My all ltime hero is Dr Seuss. Closely followed by PG Wodehouse (who has been a big influence). I don't really look at other illustrators much now although I love comic artists like Robert Crumb, Daniel Clowes and Ever Meulen.

On your website, you say that you work together with your wife, when your writing a book. How do you come up with something that you both agree with?
I do the writing, Annie does the colour work on the drawings. She also makes suggestions...but it's all my own work, mine I tell you! Mine!

What can we expect from you in the future?
I'm doing a series of books for Little Tiger Books in the UK called 'Stupid Boys'. The second book will be called 'Silly Girls'. They are about kids who live in a really dull town and try to liven things up by breaking ridiculous world records (like Speed Penguin Greasing or Synchronised Shark Dancing). Watch this space.

Kijk ook eens op zijn website: World of Chatterton

Door: S. Peters


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