An Interview With Upcoming Author Jonty Stern
Toys, Big Brother, and Totteridge; Life According to Jonty
Jun 5, 2009
Jonty Stern has been writing fiction from his days at Moss Hill Primary School. His active imagination has created a world where his stuffed toys Jonty’s Toys come to life. Fans of the Big Brother, UK series (Jonty was a contestant in series 8) might remember Munkitty Tunkitty, one of the many characters featured in his fun tales.
Although his alternative tales for adults, Jonty’s Toys, is still unpublished, Jonty is making waves on the website Protagonize with fellow writer Tasha Noble and their interactive story 2008: A Whig Odyssey.
‘When I write for Protagonize, the pleasure is in taking up a thread written by someone else and the challenge of keeping the same tone and language.’ He is also soon to be published in the anthology for teen fiction, Dragontales.
From Doctor Who to Wild Wales; Jonty's Inspirations
‘Nowadays I'm afraid I mostly read factual books – particularly history books. I do sometimes read fiction, however, and am an avid fan both of Harry Potter books and of the Doctor Who series.
‘To give you an idea as to my strange mixture of tastes, some of my favourite books are: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, George Borrow's Wild Wales, American Jewry and the Civil War, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, and Ridley Walker.’
Jonty became a familiar face after he starred in the reality television series Big Brother. He’s not the only author to have come out of the show, but thinks it’s not necessarily the best launch tool for a writer to use.
‘It [using BB as a launch tool] depends on the personality of the writer. Many writers are people who come alive on the page but are slightly shy in public and prefer not to be noticed…’
How Jonty Balances Writing With the Rest of his Life
Although he’s always got ideas on hand, finding the time to write is difficult for Jonty as he manages to live life to the full. ‘I'm standing in the Totteridge by-election as a Liberal Democrat (you can see my pitch on YouTube).
‘I'm also appearing on "The Weakest Link" and I've exams coming followed by the end of my courses. I'm thinking about setting up my own business doing guided historical tours. If that doesn't work out I'll have to get a regular job!’
Jonty can be found on the protagonize website, facebook, myspace, and twitter. He is always up for meeting new people and talking about his experiences as a writer, the Big Brother show, his new adventures in politics and of course, history.
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