Richard Blanchard
Snow Blind, on the surface is about Dan on his stag ski weekend, but its theme is really responsibility. Dan is a lovely but hapless man, who has been bullied into getting married and the pressure on him mounts over the weekend. In contrast the book is part narrated by Juliet, his love-of-a-lifetime ex-girlfriend who is on a mission as the honorary "Stagette".
This book draws on your own experiences – can you expand on this a little for us?
Key ones are my feeling of a lack of male guidance as a boy and becoming a dad late in life. I felt as a teenager that I needed more of an idea from my dad about what life was about to throw at me; was that just his generation? Then becoming a dad myself at the age of 41 it struck me how self-centred my life had been to that point and how that had to change when I committed to marriage and children. I am also an avid skier and allowed my ego to push me into challenges I probably shouldn't have. Also events like losing a great friend early in his life and being at the Hillsborough disaster, make you realise how tragically short life can be. Dan's tale has elements of all these.
What drew you to explore male relationships in this book?
I have always thought male relationships can be shallow in contrast to female ones. Send two male friends on a ski weekend and they will be able to tell you the black run they skied but know nothing about each other's state of mind. Send two female friends and they will know the reason they must leave their respective partners. Ultimately all of the stags could do better for Dan. When we do get it right it is something special.
You encourage people to think about the relationship they have with their kids – tell us more.
As a dad I started to think what advice and legacy I had to leave my sons, having been passed very little of either when my dad died. I was inspired by a letter of life advice written by a British officer departing for the First World War in case he not return. In other cultures the rite of passage from boyhood to manhood seems so much more structured. Dan faces a series of challenges and has to decide what he has to say to his son.
A lot of people say becoming a father makes a man grow up – do you agree?
It most definitely should and obviously does, but not as a matter of course. I am not sure the enormity of responsibility for growing their children is something all men want to face or embrace.
What made you decide to set your book during a stag weekend?
It is quite an intense backdrop at an intense time of life. I was lucky enough to have two stag weekends to draw from for my one wedding; a "Boys" stag weekend in Barcelona but also a "Work" stag weekend in Manchester with three men but also three great female friends on it, which is probably where I got the idea that Juliet as a stag may be an interesting viewpoint.
How long did it take you to develop your own unique voice in your writing?
I think it’s for others to judge any level of uniqueness, but I am enjoying the journey towards more challenging terrain. The critical point for me is to find something I have a strong point of view about which means I feel compelled to get the story out of me.
What is next for you?
To keep writing engaging novels with a strong point of view. I am enjoying the positive feedback I am getting to Snow Blind but am committed to being a director of my own online retail consultancy. I aim to be able to write full time at some stage.