Chris Wade is an English writer, musician, and filmmaker. He runs the acclaimed music project Dodson and Fogg, his comedic fiction has been narrated in audio form by the likes of Nigel Planer and Rik Mayall, and his documentaries on film history are often on UK TV and various streaming services. He also writes books on music, art, and cinema history.
His recent works include The Films of James Woods, for which he interviewed Woods himself at length, and The Films of Oliver Stone, a film-by-film retrospective study approved by Stone and featuring interviews with the likes of Donald Sutherland, Stone himself, and a foreword by James Woods. He runs Scenes, a cult film publication, writes volumes of poetry, and makes surreal art films.
For his various projects he has interviewed such people as Sharon Stone, Paul Suster, Catherine Deneuve, and Jeff Bridges. His first thriller, Three Days in the Rain, has just been released. Chris releases his work through his own outlet, Wisdom Twins Books.
Why do you write in the genre(s) that you do?
Well, I write all different kinds of things to be honest. With non-fiction, I write books on film history, individual filmographies, and career overviews of certain actors and directors. I also write about music, focusing on classic albums and discographies.
With fiction, I have mostly dedicated my time to an absurd, surreal, comedic style. I do these stories because they are so enjoyable, and they are also a good vehicle for me to get all my ideas, thoughts, and jokes out into one place.
Structuring them into a story is the satisfying part. They always seem to be about outsiders, people who can’t slot into society. They come from the heart, let’s put it that way.
My new book though, Three Days in the Rain, is a thriller. I really enjoyed writing in a straight form without drifting off into comic monologues or surreal silliness. It’s just a straightforward thriller and that was exciting to put together.
But I write in all these forms because I simply cannot imagine a life without writing. I am also a massive movie fan, so writing about film and interviewing my favourite actors and directors is so much fun.
Do you keep a notebook of ideas?
I have a stack of notebooks. One of them is for fiction ideas, another is for the poems and song lyrics I write, and there are several others for film books and interviews which I have lined up. Also sketchbooks too.
Are you a fan of the Oxford comma?
Yes, I am. I wanted to use it in this answer to be honest, but I didn’t get the opportunity.
Fill in the blank: People will like your book if they like stories about…”
My new book will definitely appeal to fans of mysteries, thrillers, and detective stories. It isn’t just a straightforward detective story though, to be honest. It touches on obsession, perception, delusion, and lots of other themes.
What are your thoughts on typewriters?
When I was a teenager I wrote a book on a typewriter. I loved the experience. The book itself probably wasn’t so great, but I remember being really excited typing away, watching the pages rise higher and higher and then flop off the edge. It was a weird little story inspired by Anthony Burgess and Hunter S Thompson. I wish I still had a copy so I could take a look at it. And vomit on it.
Would you rather own a bookstore or run a library?
A book shop definitely. I am obsessed with book shops. I seek them out wherever I am. I’d love to run one myself, but I’d end up going out of business. I’d get attached to the books and wouldn’t want to sell anything. A customer would walk out with a book, and I’d be reaching out, screaming, “Noooooo!”
How do you name your characters? Or, if you write non-fiction and had to change names, how did you change the names?
The names just come into my head. With my comedy stories, most of which are available as audiobooks, the weird names have usually been swimming around in my head for a while, so they come out of me in the stories. Comedy fiction is more a cathartic thing for me, because it’s a way of emptying all the surreal thoughts I keep in there from daily life and daydreaming.
What is your favorite social media platform?
I really don’t like social media, but if I had to choose it would be Twitter. I promote my music, documentaries, and books on there, and I think some people have discovered my work through it. I don’t have a Facebook account, just a page for my work, and I can’t stand the other platforms. What are they called? Tic Tac? Instantgram? Seriously, I think TikTok is making people into robots who can’t keep focused on anything for more than 10 seconds.
If Hollywood bought the rights to your book, would you want it to be turned into a movie or series?
This new thriller would make a good film, I think. My problem is that my ideal lead actor would either be retired now or too old for the part.
James Woods is my favourite actor, and I think he’d be great as this detective guy. I actually did a book with James Woods recently. I interviewed him for months and we went over his whole career. He’s a great guy.
But Stacy Keach would have been good in the film too, though it would probably be too close to Mike Hammer territory for him. I can dream. Where’s that time machine of mine?
Who is your dream audiobook narrator?
The funny thing is, I kind of had my dream audiobook narrator already. In 2008 I wrote a comedic book called Cutey and the Sofguard. As I was putting it down on paper (I actually wrote it all in a book first, then typed it up later), I imagined the main narrator having the voice of Rik Mayall. He was a famous comedian here in the UK, but he sadly died in 2014.
In 2010, though, I sent it to his agent, and Rik loved it. We recorded it as an audiobook that year and released it as a download. So that was literally a dream narrator that somehow came true. It still sells to this day and has a weird little cult following.
How many words or pages do you typically write in one writing session?
It depends on what I’m writing. I was writing a book about an album I like the other day for my Classic Album Series of books, and by dinner time I had written 7,000 words.
It will obviously need editing, but I usually write a few thousand words a day, whether it’s for a short story, a novella, a book about film, or an essay on something. I do this as my job and I love it, so I do as many hours as I can while my little girl Lily is at school.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Morning coffee, sometimes a biscuit. Then another coffee while I check emails and other bits and bobs. Then I get on with it. If I am writing fiction, I put CDs on in the background. If I am writing about films or editing a film book, I have to have a film on the TV. It always feels right.
What do you like to read? How often do you read?
I read all sorts of stuff, and I like to read everyday. There isn’t a day when I don’t at least read for an hour or two.
My favourite fiction writer is Paul Auster. His stories just really get to me and I feel like I am inside the book when I’m reading his work. I also love Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Joseph Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle, Anthony Burgess, Will Self, HG Wells, Stephen King, Woody Allen’s prose, George’s Melly’s books, Yukio Mishima, Charles Bukowski, Roger McGough’s poetry, Kahlil Gibran, and lots more. I also read a lot of film related books, often as research for my books on the cinema, and biographies of all kinds of people.
Have you made any public appearances to promote your book?
No, I am a bit of a recluse to be honest. I did premier my documentary on George Melly at the Chelsea Arts Club in London… which was nice.
Who would you most want to read your book?
I write for myself firstly and then am honoured if anyone parts with their hard-earned money to buy a book, totally thrilled if they take me seriously, and pleased if they tell me they liked it.
Who is an author who you love to follow on social media or read about in interviews?
I read every Paul Auster interview I can. I also watch all his book talks on YouTube. He doesn’t have social media, but then again, the interviews are worth more than if he took a picture of his sandwich and uploaded it to Twitter or whatever.
My favourite living English writer is Will Self. I avidly follow him online, read his interviews, watch his talks, and read his new articles and updates. I just find them both so fascinating.
Self is more jagged and angular; Auster is warmer and more comforting to me. I did some work with Paul last year actually. I wrote a book on two films he made in the 90s with director Wayne Wang, Smoke and Blue in the Face, and we did a big interview for it. He was lovely. He even rang me again with some editing ideas and notes, and then sent me through some papers with yet more notes, corrections, and ideas.
Such a giving bloke, and a fabulous writer too. To be that good and acclaimed, and remain so kind and approachable, should be an example to all writers.
Is there a book that somebody gave to you that helped you pave the way to becoming a writer, or is there a book on writing that you recommend all writers read?
For me, I always just got a thrill out of writing. I have story books I did when I was seven years old, so I must have always been in love with putting words on to paper.
I am not going to say I am a “great” writer or anything, but I am passionate about it, and I love every bit of the process. If I have improved as a writer over the years, it isn’t from one particular book, but just from reading great writers. The more you read people’s work who are just perfect in their prose, like Oscar Wilde and George Orwell for instance, you will get better.
One person who really did influence me was the jazz singer, surrealist, and writer George Melly. When I really got into his books about art and pop culture, and his memoirs too, I fell in love with his prose style. I learned a lot from it, how to put personality into each sentence, and make them flow nicely.
Is there a piece of writing advice that you learned in school or in a class that stuck?
My English teacher at high school read us Of Mice and Men for our GCSEs, and he acted out all the roles as we went through the book. Even the kids who weren’t interested in reading and writing got into it. He was inspiring. He did give me some advice once too.
I was near the end of my school days and someone said they had seen The Matrix, which had just come out. I said it was “shit,” which was not the best piece of criticism. My teacher heard me and said, “You can do better than that, Chris.”
I replied, “I’m not Barry Norman, sir.” (Barry Norman was an English film critic, now deceased, which dates my anecdote and makes me feel crusty and fusty.)
“Then try to be,” he said.
I still think about that now when I am writing about classic films. He influenced me more than he will ever know. Another thing he told us to do was avoid the word “nice” in writing, which he thought to be lazy. He also told us to try not to start every sentence with “He then did this…” or “She went over to the cupboard…” Ironic really, given I just started my last sentence with “He also…” Sorry, sir.
Is there an idea that a non-writer pitched to you that you have considered writing?
My wife Linzi comes up with ideas a lot. She helped with my recent thriller. I also have jokes with my dad during our long phone calls that turn up in my comedy stories.
Do you like to physically write on paper?
I do with poetry and song lyrics, but for everything else these days I type it all straight up on the PC. I’ve had this big buzzing machine for years now, and I love it.
What is your ideal writing space?
My writing desk and the area around it. I sit in a comfortable leather chair with thick cushions, I have the keyboard before me, the screen in front of me, all my stationery and paper on the desk, my silly toys and models standing up, a shelf to my side with a lamp on which also holds my Hi-fi, and some mood stones in a little dish. There is also a bookshelf with all my past work on it, including my books, articles for magazines, CDs of my music, my documentaries and art films on DVD, plus my cuttings archive. That’s it.
Have you ever gone away to work on a piece of writing? If not, where would you go if you could?
Whenever I go on a break with my family, I take note books and might write a poem, a song lyric, a bit of a story, or some book ideas. I can’t imagine writing a full book anywhere else though, because I love my office space, and I’d have to drag my big PC around like a total odd ball.
What is an annoying thing that a non-writer has assumed about writers or the act of writing?
The thing that annoys me most is if you meet someone, they tell you about their life for ages, you nod, smile, and listen patiently, and then they ask you what you do… eventually. When you say, “I’m a writer”, there are different reactions.
One is total disinterest, which is OK I suppose, but the really annoying one is the smirk which comes with, “Oh right…”, suggesting they either don’t believe you or for some reason think it’s funny.
Someone else once said, “Writing is easy. You just get to stay at home all day sitting at a desk”. The other one, which bugs me a lot, is, “I could write a book. I just don’t have the time.” Some people seem to forget it’s my 9 to 5 job. I love it, but to say I don’t work at it would be a lie.
How do you measure the success of your book?
The success is in doing the actual work for me. I love it. It keeps me going. I run my own little outlet, Wisdom Twins Books, so it’s a thrill for me to be in charge of everything.
Ordering my test copy and getting it through the post is my favourite part. When I flick through it and realise I really am happy with it, that’s the biggest rush of all. The added bonus is when people start to buy it and hopefully enjoy it. Seeing nice comments on Amazon reviews, or getting an email from someone, makes it even more fulfilling.
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