Christopher Kloeble, three books old but barely 30, says he wrote his first ‘unofficial' book when he was 15, but that's not something he wants to talk about. “I keep it hidden away somewhere. I don't want anyone to read it; it's terrible! The fifth book I wrote was the first one I published” he reveals, while in the city for the Hyderabad Literary Festival 2012.
Getting published
Christopher Kloeble is a novelist, playwright and screen writer, he has staged plays in major theatres in Vienna, and Munich. He won the Juergen Ponto-Stiftung prize for his first novel, Amongst Loners . Christopher says that it's not easy getting published but as a writer you must keep on writing each day and eventually you will come across people who agree with your style and stories. “A lot of people tell me that it is difficult for them to write each day, but the right way is to write a little everyday and then keep it aside and come back to it. You'll get a fresh perspective,” he says. Christopher adds that if more than two days go by without him having written anything, he begins to feel uncontained, dissatisfied and out of balance. Amongst Loners he says is a family novel but everything in it is not about them. It's about how different family members react to a mother's death. Striking a balance between inspiration and imagination, Christopher says that all that he sees, hears and experiences is fodder for his writing, but he clarifies that he doesn't make it a point to filter the information. India has been a wonderful experience for him, he says. He is positive that one of his characters in his next book will travel to India. “I have noticed that some writers make brief visits to India and write a book on poverty. One needs to go beyond that, writers can't bury themselves in the obvious,” he adds.
Talking about literary festivals, Christopher says that the idea is to meet readers but you find yourself surrounded by other writers and that leads to comparison. “It's useful when you get to meet people and find out as to whether your work is liked,” he says. Big commercial successes like Harry Potter he feels have brought back people to reading, “While people buy the Potter books, there is a good chance they are picking up other books as well.”
Christopher's third novel, Almost everything very fast , will be out on the shelves in March 2012.
