A World Where Amanda Holden Judges Talent - James Higgerson & The Almost Lizard

James Higgerson's debut novel The Almost Lizard (reviewed here), describes itself as 'the longest suicide note in history', and tells the story of a young man whose family is pulled apart because of his soap opera addiction. Here, he talks Big Brother, Princess Di and God.

1) There are hints of Tristram Shandy and Walter Mitty in The Almost Lizard - what were your main influences?

I have to be honest and say I've never read the Tristram Shandy books, nor Walter Mitty.  It would be interesting to know whether I've been influenced by people who have been influenced by those works.  I find it hard to talk about influences rather than authors and books I just like, but I was in a big John Irving phase when the idea of The Almost Lizard came about.  I liked that he told complete life stories that spanned generations, where every character mattered and could potentially reappear at any moment.  As I was about 25 when I started writing the book, I knew I didn't have the experience to write anything but the full life story of a life cut short.  The Dice Man was, I think, influential on me as well, in that Luke Rhinehart used his world as his playground.  

Other than that, it's people and the things I see that are the main influences.  Each of my books is usually built on something that I feel strongly about.     

2) Did soap operas play a large part in your own upbringing? And do you think they have a special resonance in the north?

I used to be really into soap operas when I was younger.  I started watching Neighbours fairly early on and I'm ashamed (actually, I'm not) to say that I still do.  When I was younger I'd happily sit through what was there, adding Emmerdale and Brookside when big events like plane crashes and bodies under the patio lured me in.  There was certainly a point in my teens when I was watching a lot of soaps, but that tailed off (along with my interest in football) during uni.  The fact that they're on all year round makes them a part of people's lives in a way that other shows don't.      

I'm not sure they do have a special resonance in the north, but then I've never lived in the south.  Big soap events were big news in the 90's, much more so than they are now.  I grew up in a time when people campaigned to have Deirdre Barlow released from prison, even though her release had already been filmed.  It was a time when soaps would put on 5-night extravaganzas, rather than 5 or 6 instalments a week as standard.  They were pushing boundaries that seem ridiculous now - first gay characters, teenage pregnancies, heroin addiction, rape.  It was Eastenders who did the mass education for the UK on HIV/AIDs.  These days I don't think they have that role.  My main exposure to soap is at Christmas, which seem to be written to blueprints - affair comes out, someone dies, there's a fight and devastation, all centred around one particular Christmas dinner being ruined, potentially a birth if they want to do something heart-warming.  They do remain a staple part of the Christmas schedules, which suggests that folk do enjoy their festive misery, or is just that we consume what we're given?         

3) What do you think the impact of reality tv has been on British culture?

I think reality TV took over from soap as that nation's favourite obsession.  Instead of debating fictional lives, these were real people to invest in.  It's not brought good things to British culture, that's for sure.  It's lowered people's expectations of what they need to achieve, making fame this seemingly attainable goal.  An eighteen year old contestant on the X Factor won't remember a time when music careers took years of cultivation and luck, that people weren't selected based on how many heart-strings their life story twanged. Likewise Big Brother brought in the idea of being famous just for being yourself, and producers soon learned that reasonable people weren't massively engaging, and instead focused on fame-hungry, vacuous individuals who looked like likely suspects to have sex on national television.  

These things seem real because they're talked about in the papers (to the point where the papers dictate who wins by the slant they put on their reportage - this has been the case ever since Craig won the first Big Brother), but it's just manipulation of an audience who are easily played by the edited stories that are told. The number of times I've seen posts on Twitter and Facebook about how infuriated people are by how cynical these shows are, how they are fixed, but that doesn't stop people watching, because they feel compelled to continue for some reason.  Much of the time they are preying on the young and naive, who then get dragged across the papers for the duration of whichever competition they're in, and then forgotten about.

I don't have an agent, but the best one I dealt with gave me detailed advice and informed me at one point that publishers weren't willing to take a risk on someone at that stage unless they'd scored a winning goal for England or won Big Brother.  I think that's changed a bit now, but it shows where things were at.  You don't have to do very much to warrant an autobiography these days.

Of course when it was X Factor and Big Brother, that was one thing, but now we've progressed onto staged reality, which I still don't understand properly.  I saw an episode of something called 'Summer Daze with Blackberry' last year, where a bunch of teenagers went to various festivals and had romantic crises there, with each scene culminating in someone using a feature specific to Blackberry phones.  So it's people acting 'as themselves' playing out pre-determined situations.  Anyone who goes to a festival to have romantic issues is a fucking idiot, in my view.  Likewise, TOWIE and Made In Chelsea are just about people's boring, pretend love lives.  With each new iteration of reality  TV we're lowering the bar, and it terrifies me that these people are seen as aspirational to some. 

We live in a world where Amanda Holden is allowed to judge talent.  That's my short answer.   

4) The death of Princess Di and the september 11 attacks play and important role in your main character's development - do you think writers are just starting to work out how to deal with these events?

It's hard to write about these times without including those events.  Writers have been responding to them for a long time, particularly September 11th.  Most American literature I've read set after then has just had to include it, either as something in the background (such as Jonathan Franzen's Freedom) or as the central plot (like Don DeLillo - Falling Man).  September 11th was more culturally significant because it changed the way American society viewed themselves.  With Diana, that was an event that didn't have the same long-lasting repercussions, but represented an extraordinary week in modern British history. These are our common memories now, just like the deaths of John Lennon and JFK were the 'moments' before that. Long-term, I think it'll be those books written in the direct aftermath that will reflect what it was really like. Both events were a good while ago now, with the outcomes quite well understood, so writing of those times could end up being more self-aware now.  So to answer your question, I think they've been dealt with for quite some time now.

5) When did you begin working on The Almost Lizard?

My first attempt was in 2007, but the one I stuck with was early in 2008.  That's a fairly traditional process with me, starting and re-starting until I think I'm telling the story right.  I carried on writing it for about eighteen months, then went through several edits, including a cull of 75,000 words so as not to deter potential agents and publishers with sheer volume.

6) The cover design is very striking - can you tell us a bit about the artwork?

I'm so happy with the cover of The Almost Lizard.  It was done by Lupen Crook, who is an artist based in London.  He's been one of my favourite musicians since 2006 and I broached the idea of him doing it for me with Legend Press, who were really receptive to the idea.  So I contacted him and we met up and was really pleased that he was so up for it.  It's made the whole thing that little bit more personal to me.  The idea is all his own work - I was horribly vague when trying to describe what I wanted.  The style is similar to some of his other work (www.brokenarts.co.uk), and there are elements from all over the book included in the design.  The final cover was agreed by me, Lupen and Legend Press and I believe we're all delighted with the outcome.  I couldn't have hoped for more, except that he does the cover for the next one as well!    

7) You're releasing your debut novel and completing your PhD in the same year - what are you planning next? Are you working on any new ideas?

I'm planning on passing my PhD (we'll see!) and I'm still sussing out what I want to do next for a day job.  I'm 2/3 of the way through my next novel, which I'm really excited about.  I intend to have it written by the end of the year because I want it published as soon as possible.  It's quite political, probably controversial and is very relevant to our times, so I'd like to see it out there sooner rather than later.  Now the PhD has been submitted, my out of office time is all about writing, so I'm enjoying having that focus back this year.

8) Do you believe in god?

Very short answer - no! 

The Almost Lizard was released on March 1. James will be officially launching the novel at Blackwell's in Manchester on March 15, with support from Rodge Glass, Sam Mills and Chris Killen