Following the publication of his novel, Chance to Break, set during the first four days of the Championships at Wimbledon, Owen Prell separates the truth from fiction – for the most part!
Owen Prell
I was a better squash player than tennis player. My book was inspired by a now-famous men’s singles match at Wimbledon, the John Isner-Nicolas Mahut marathon of 2010, which serves as the backdrop for the novel. I do play tennis competitively, but nothing like the story’s protagonist, Trevor. Much as I love the game of squash, I don’t think it would have been as appealing a setting.
I went to high school in Cornwall, not Oxford. I mostly grew up in Southern California, apart from regular childhood trips to London and, later, attending high school in Truro. It wasn’t the most exciting place for an American teenager to find himself back then, but on the positive side I learned to sail. And there was this very pretty Sixth Form girl at our school from Canada…
I tried writing a novel in my twenties but shelved it. I began writing in earnest after starting work at a large international law firm based in San Francisco. Dramatic writing came more naturally to me, both plays and screenplays (I’m told I have an ear for dialogue), but I didn’t believe you could call yourself a serious writer unless you wrote a novel. I guess I finally found a subject worthy of trying again.
When I knew it was worth it. Creating this book took years of painstaking research, writing and editing. I knew for sure it was worth it when my wife and I spotted a copy on the “P” fiction shelves of Foyles in Charing Cross a few days before the official publication date. Foyles – where I used to shop for Enid Blyton’s Famous Five novels as a child – what a thrill!
In another life I’d be a winemaker in Provence. Part of what I love about travel is observing and imagining all the other ways to exist in this world. I suppose it’s not very original, but growing grapes and making rosé in the south of France appeals to me tremendously. Who knows, maybe it’s not too late.
It’s about love. The best advice my father ever gave me was to prize human relationships above all else.
I both welcome and detest that my son now wallops me in tennis. It didn’t happen until he turned sixteen, but I’m squarely in his rear-view mirror now. Coincidentally, that’s when I first beat my father in squash, who then quit the sport. I have no such intention with tennis; I just hope Collin will still deign to hit with me in my declining years!
My wife is the brains and talent in the family. My lovely wife, Jo, will sweetly say that I know so much stuff, but I’d be foolish if I didn’t acknowledge who the smart one is. She’s too busy as a federal judge to write a novel, but I’m sure it would be a bestseller.
One big regret is not playing the piano. I mean really playing it well, to be able to sit down and pound out a Beethoven sonata or a jazz standard. I took lessons in my youth and really tried hard, but sadly the talent just wasn’t there.
The best time of day is early morning, drinking a strong caffè latte. That’s when everything seems possible.
Chance to Break is the story of one man’s courage in the face of past failure and present adversity, of trying not to succumb to defeat, even when victory seems lost. It’s available to buy from Amazon, The Book Guild and all good bookshops.