Michael Hoeye, world wide famous creator of Hermux Tantamoq, has kindly agreed to give us this interview where, talking about writers and mice, we realize how it's not to difficult to write a best seller... if you have a brilliant idea and a not less brilliant style!

Michael Hoeye, about writers (and mice)

Dear Michael, first of all, thank you very much for accepting to release this interview. And I am speaking both as chief editor of Progetto Babele and as an Hermux fan! But, let's keep our favorite clockmaker aside for a while and let's talk about... the Man behind the mouse. What would you say if you had to introduce yourself to our readers (in ten lines)?

I feel like I am dreaming. I am sitting in my new studio. A little cabin on a hill Surrounded by the city. My books are out of their boxes and on the shelves at last. Books about clocks , about mice, rats, squirrels, and bugs. Books about plants and stars and history. Strange cities. Travelers. Fairy tales. Mysteries. Adventures. And adventurers. Books of maps. It's like an observatory. A laboratory for stories. A big table for sitting around. A small table for writing. An easy chair for reading. A workroom for making things. Lots of paper. A paper cutter. A binder for making books. Rulers. Glue. Hammers. Pliers. Not exactly organized. But perhaps soon. Because the sooner I get thing organized the sooner I can mess them up again.
It's a miracle. I've got my own place to work. And I've got my own work to do. Books to write. Things to make. I guess this means that I've finally grown up. Maybe not. Either way I am a lucky guy.

We know that "Time stops for No Mouse" was your first novel, but, did you have any previous writing experience?

I started writing regularly when I was twenty-two years old. For the first ten years I did the classic things. I kept a journal. I wrote letters to friends. An hour or two everyday. Both were very useful exercises. Then when I was in my thirties I began to keep a dream journal. I did this daily for eight years. This was hard work but interesting. I learned a lot about describing characters and events that are difficult to describe. I liked it so much that I decided to become a psychoanalyst. I quit my job and went back to school. I learned to write a well-argued essay. I also learned that I didn't want to be a psychoanalyst. I get bored listening to people's problems. So I turned to advertising. I learned to write complete nonsense. That was really an education. After that, writing about mice made perfect sense.

Writing a novel is something way more complex than people normally suppose. What were the main difficulties you met?

The first and worst is doubt. Starting a novel is very much like a classic fairy tale. You set out on a quest. But you have no idea where you're going. Or what you're looking for exactly. There's no map. And your only compass seems to be an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach that you're probably heading in the wrong direction. Somehow you have to ignore all that and just keep going. You have to follow the story wherever it leads. And when you hits a dead end, you have to stay still, keep breathing and believe that some little clue will turn up and the story will take off again.

Once you get past that, and you're inside the story and beginning to know your way around then your job turns from that of explorer to that of juggler. You've got all the elements of storytelling to keep in motion, in the air and in balance. You've got character, plot development, description, pacing, dialogue, and style. You've got to do it all with vigor and conviction. You're supposed to do it while you walk a tightrope called the deadline. And you're supposed to make it look easy. All I can say is, "Don't look down!"

Do you have the habit of studying the situations you describe making some kinda of "research" or do you base you writing mainly on memory and imagination?

For me I would have to say that imagination comes first, memory second, and research third. I need all three. But I think I found my way to writing fantasy because I enjoy using my imagination most. It not because imagining comes easily to me. It doesn't. It is because I have learned to enjoy the discipline of imagination.

Who are your favorite writers and how did their works influence the genesis of "Time stops for No Mouse" (if they did)?

I wrote Time Stops after several years of reading and re-reading Mark Twain, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Italo Calvino, E.B. White and Roald Dahl. I was also strongly influenced by the thinking of D.W. Winnicott (the British psychoanalyst), the films of Federico Fellini, the cartoons of Charles Schulz, Chuck Jones, and Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Again, writing a book is quite a complicated matter... but publishing it can be even worse, as many of our readers know too well. How was your contact with publishers? Did you met any problem? How did your first book arrive to the bookshops?

My first contacts with publishers were not good. Three publishers turned down Time Stops for No Mouse. It's not a nice experience. Of course there are all the legends of people whose books were rejected by fifty publishers and then published to great acclaim by the fifty-first. But I'm not that optimistic. So I published my first and second books myself. It was altogether terrifying and wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed publishing. I knew how much work it took to write a book. Publishing gave me a genuine appreciation of how much work is required to edit, design, print, market and distribute a book. And it gave me a feeling of near religious respect for booksellers who put their lives and livelihoods on the line everyday by selling books.

At the end... a difficult question. What's the feeling of a writer... No, better, what does Michael Hoeye feel when, in a bookshop, he sees the copies of his books exposed on a shelf?

I feel amazed and grateful. And I have the nagging feeling that I may be imagining the whole thing.

In "Time stops for no mouse" we met the city of Pinchester and its interesting inhabitants. A world of rodents, with enough "mystery, vanity and selfishness to be interesting for readers of any age and enough bravery and goodness to keep it not too scary". Reading (and enjoying) your book I got the impression that the book was not thought as a "children story", but simply as a "story" for readers of any age. Or, if you prefer, as that kinda of book that parents love to read to their sons, and that they keep on reading even when the children are already asleep. But what was your
original intention, for which type of reader did you meant your story?

I wrote Time Stops for No Mouse specifically for my wife who was traveling at the time. It was my way of staying in touch with her, maintaining our ongoing dialogue of play. She is a woman who likes children's literature and who likes mysteries. I tried to create something that bridged the two.

In the books of Mr.Tantamoq, we find a curious mixture of influences, there is the classic detective story, the adventure and a bit of cinema (I thought to recognize a bit of "Indiana Jones" too, mainly in The sands of time, am I wrong?). As well, being Hermux a mouse living in a world of anthropomorphic animals, it's easy to think to another universally famous mouse: Mickey Mouse. And I am thinking about the sophisticated one of Ub Iwkers in the early '50s. What are the common points between the two mice? And the differences? And, what is, in general, your attitude in the regards of comics?

I have to say right up front that I was never a fan of Mickey Mouse. For mice I preferred Jerry of Tom and Jerry. For fantasy animals in general my favorite was, and remains, Bugs Bunny.
I was a big reader of comics as a child. Batman and the Flash were my favorites. And I was a big fan of Little Lulu which had an odd, slightly surreal quality to its fantasy. I love the format of comics, the combination of word and image. Consequently I was a big fan of Pop Art, particularly Andy Warhol, although it took me a long time to really appreciate his work and his vision.

It is said that the second work of an artist is always the hardest to make. But reading "The Sands of Time" I definitely see the track of an evolution. The world of Hermux gets more complex, discovers its roots and the story gets more thrilling and fascinating. Did you go purposely in this direction or it is just the natural style evolution of a writer that feels, now, more sure of his capacity and imagination?

I felt a moral obligation to deepen the story and the characters and to test the boundaries of what I was doing. At the same time I certainly had more sense of control over what I was doing, and I had had time to familiarize myself with the world of Pinchester and to understand more clearly the social mores and the laws that govern it as an imaginary universe.

Ahem, but where did you find the inspiration for a character like "Tucka Mertslin"?

Among the numerous and peculiar careers I have had, I spent about eight years immersed in the world of high (and low) fashion. This began with two years working backstage at Studio 54. This was at the peak of Andy Warhol's influence and was a moment when fashion, art, and celebrity fused into a new element like Pop Cultural Plutonium. There was an abundance of fashion divas (of all genders) to observe and I got an eyeful. When I began writing Time Stops for No Mouse, Tucka's assistant called me and demanded that I put Tucka on the V.I.P. list. I couldn't say no. Celebrities like Tucka usually get what they want.

Anyway, your books are deep, in their own way, and despite the apparent simplicity. There is the perception of a complex world just behind the surface, like doors open on innumerable rooms full of toys and surprises. I suppose this is the key to fascinate readers of any age! A similar thingshappens (but on a lower level) with the first books of Harry Potter. Changing the topic (a bit), a curiosity, in how many languages have been translated your books till now?

I think we are up to 24 languages at this point. That includes two forms of Chinese.

Projects for the future (apart being the new Teulabonasi King)?
Will there be a third adventure of Hermux or are you thinking to experiment with new themes and characters?

Hermux's third adventure is finished. It is titled in English "No Time Like Show Time." I haven't seen the Italian translation yet. But I believe it will be released by Salani this autumn.

An advice for young (and unknown) writers...

I have two kinds of advice for young writers - psychological and practical.
On the psychological level, it is no so important that you "believe" in your writing as it is that you enjoy it. Try to savor the actual process of writing. Try to appreciate the enormous freedom of having and pursuing your own thoughts, exploring your own imagination, choosing words out of thin air strictly because they speak to you. Don't lose the sense of wonder at seeing your own voice appear as black ink on white paper. Don't take the treasure of language for granted. Old words polished by generations of use. New words coined on the street. They are miraculous. And they are free for the using. Use as many as you want. As often as you want. They won't cost you a cent. (At least not yet.) Take the pleasure of the actual writing seriously. Because that is the deepest pleasure to be had. It is wonderful to see a book with your name on it. But the pleasure is thin and fleeting compared to the pleasure of struggling over a sentence, or a paragraph, or a character and finally getting it work the way you want.

On the practical level, write as much as you can. Write anything. It takes muscle to write and you only get it through practice. If your school has a school paper, work on it. If you have friends write them letters. Not e-mails. I hate e-mails. They're a waste of time. Put your thoughts on paper. Tell your friends what you think about life, about the world, about love and death. Tell them about what you see, what you hear, what you read, what you feel. That should give you a good writing workout. And it will get you read. Which is something you need and is harder to get than you might think.

Thanks a lot for your patience and, again, best wishes for the prosecution of your brilliant career!

An interview by Marco R. Capelli
marco_roberto_capelli@progettobabele.it
Per gentile concessione di Michael Hoeye.

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