Welcome to the relaunch of The Spark. I published a dozen weekly editions last autumn which you can find online. This new incarnation will be monthly, with four sections: an author interview, book recommendations for ravenous readers, resources for wonderful writers, and updates on my meanderings.
Author interview with Iqbal Hussain
Iqbal’s debut novel, Northern Boy, about being a “butterfly among the bricks”, was published in June with Unbound Firsts. He is currently working on edits for his debut middle grade children’s novel, The Time Travelling Misadventures of the 7th Son. His work appears in various anthologies, including Mainstream by Inkandescent, and Lancashire Stories by UCLan Publishing. Iqbal’s short stories have won multiple awards, including the Creative Future Writers’ Awards, Writing Magazine’s Grand Flash and the Evening Standard Short Story Competition. You can read Iqbal’s nature writing on sites including The Hopper and Caught by the River.
What inspires you?
I’m often inspired by things that happened in my childhood. My first novel, Northern Boy, is semi-autobiographical, and draws on a lot of things that happened while growing up in a Northern former mill town. I just think that if I don’t document what happened back then, those stories, characters, and streets will be lost for ever. The neighbourhood I grew up in was razed to the ground after a compulsory purchase order, so my past has literally been wiped out — so it’s so important to preserve it in any way I can.
Do you have a writing routine?
I have a regular job for four days of the week, working in the word-processing department of a City [of London] law firm, so I write on the other three days. I tend to start around 9 in the morning, and then keep going until 5, with breaks to take our labradoodle Milo out for his walks. I’d love to have a day off, when I can just spend time with my partner, but it’s tricky to build in, especially when there are always deadlines to be met. I tend to say yes to most writing opportunities that come my way, as I can’t bear to miss out! I write directly on the computer — my handwriting is too terrible to sustain an analogue process. I use Word, which I’m able to manipulate to be the best writing software for my needs. I’ve tried Scrivener, but have found the learning curve too steep, plus the one time I exported back to Word I ended up with section breaks everywhere, which really weren’t helpful.
Writing’s biggest secret is…
…it’s not that lonely! I have a good group of writing friends, from various parts of my writing past. It keeps me sane, and you know that they will completely understand what you’re saying when you go into raptures about a scene you’ve written, or when you’re banging your head against a wall when the words won’t flow. I also love a book launch, where I’m often found to be gossiping around the drinks table with a samosa in one hand and a glass of bubbly in the other, putting the world to rights. I can’t stress the importance of finding your writing community, to exchange views, news, tips, challenges. To share in each other’s successes — and failures and rejections, as there are plenty of those outside of the curated posts we put on social media.
My worst writing moment
When Northern Boy failed to be picked up on submission. It was incredibly dispiriting. All those years of working on it, only to be told no-one wanted it. Nothing prepares you for it, as you always assume once you’ve got your agent the rest is plain sailing. Sadly, it isn’t, and there are many more hoops to pass under and gates to walk through.
My best writing moment
When Northern Boy got picked by Unbound Firsts as one of their two novels by debut writers of colour for publication in 2024. I sent the manuscript to them on an off-chance, not for one second thinking it would be picked — and then it was! I can’t describe how loudly I screamed. I’m delighted by how gorgeous a job the whole Unbound team have made in bringing my characters to life. I can’t think of a better home for my debut.
What are you reading right now?
I’m a magpie, and read widely and, often, simultaneously. Currently, I’m reading Timeline by Michael Crichton, a highly entertaining blend of sci-fi, time travel and historical fiction. Also on the go is The Explorer by Katherine Rundel, a rip-roaring read about four children whose plane crashes in a South American rainforest.
Book recommendation
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. This New York-set children’s book from the ‘60s made me laugh and cry when I was a child, and it still does (I’ve read it many times over the years). It tells the story of Harriet, who keeps a notebook in which she makes observations about her friends and neighbours. These aren’t always nice observations, but they’re always honest. When her friends find her notebook, they’re understandably annoyed and upset, and Harriet finds herself ostracised. What’s extraordinary is that, even when the odds are stacked against her, Harriet remains true to herself — a message that really struck me as a child, and which appears throughout Northern Boy. With the help of her former nanny, Harriet realises you sometimes have to tell a lie to keep the peace, but to always be true to yourself. I spent many hours as a child spying on neighbours, making a spy route like Harriet did, and she inspired me to become a journalist and a writer. Thank you, Harriet!
Book recommendations for ravenous readers
Spotify’s decision to include audiobooks for Premium users has been a game-changer for me. I always listen to podcasts on dog walks and often while driving. I think it was on the now-ended podcast Literary Friction where I heard about finding your way into audiobooks with nonfiction.
My first listen was The Salt Path, written and narrated by Raynor Winn. It was disturbing how a middle-class couple could become homeless so quickly due to one bad investment and a lost court case. After the bailiffs claimed their house, they gathered a few things into backpacks and set off on England’s 630-mile South West Coast Path. Winn originally wrote the account for the eyes of only one person, her walking companion: her husband. Her writing, particularly about the natural world, is lyrical and evocative.
A more recent listen was Echo Boy by Matt Haig. It’s a young adult thriller romance set in 2115. Because I’m toying with a near-future thriller concept for my second book, I appreciated the characters, pace, and world of Echo Boy. Also, I haven’t read much YA (young adult) since I was a YA myself, and I do enjoy the definition of one’s identity and coming to know the world that are typical of that age category.
Resources for wonderful writers
The Write Now with Scrivener podcast features interviews with authors in all genres. It was a fun surprise to hear Natasha Bell, a thriller author who taught a one-day course I took at City Lit on writing autofiction. (My affiliate link for the Scrivener writing software is here.)
Lisa Cron’s Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel focuses on characters’ backstories and psychology: their “live wire” that is the root of their expectations and desires. The plot is there to serve that third (electrified) rail. Using her scene card format has strengthened my writing.
I’m on Chill Subs most writing days, to look for magazines and contests, and to track my submissions. The team there also runs the weekly Sub Club newsletter with listings of agents, small presses, contests, and magazines open to submissions and pitches.
Updates on my moseying
Since the last edition of The Spark, I’ve been rewriting my 93k-work creative nonfiction manuscript as standalone short stories. The collection links memoir with my family's intergenerational tale: the tragedies and triumphs of Chinese and Eastern European Jewish immigrants who converged in California.
It’s quite handy having a bunch of short stories to submit to contests and magazines. In the spring, two of my stories, “His Bones” and “Things My Dad Told Me,” were longlisted in Flash 500 Short Stories 2024. In April, “Data Double” was produced and critiqued on The Failing Writers’ podcast. (“…we take a look at another listener's bit o' writing they've kindly sent in to share with the class. This week we try and make Madelyn Postman cry...”)
And in June, I almost gave my family a heart attack with my screaming when I found out that “Things My Dad Told Me” was shortlisted for The Hope Prize and will be published in an anthology by Simon & Schuster Australia this December. All royalties will go to mental health charity Beyond Blue.
Submissions stats — tracked on Chill Subs
4 accepted
15 pending
4 withdrawn (accepted elsewhere)
31 rejected
Podcast episode 01: Relaunch of The Spark