Bestselling author Kit James was born in the UK. He has worked in music and music production, advertising, and writing comedy for TV. Kit now lives in one of Australia’s wine-growing regions with his wife, ’Kat’, and his dog Kaboodle.
From the Author
GET TO KNOW KIT JAMES
Tell us about yourself.
I was born in England and came to Australia with my parents in the Seventies. Shortly afterwards I was adopted by a stray dog, and that was that. Dogs have played a big part in my life ever since. I love them for their honesty, their faithfulness, and, yes, for their sense of humour too.
What has been the inspiration for the books in the Elliott series?
An element of every dog who has shared his life with me has been an inspiration for the characters in my Mutt to Megastar series. And I say “who” because I think of dogs as being an animal person, just as we humans are.
What was the greatest challenge in writing the Mutt to Megastar series?
What I cared about most was making Elliott’s character believable. It’s important for readers to care about him, and to relate to his fear of being sent back to the Dog Pound believable. My wife and I have adopted quite a few rescue dogs, and they never forget the hard times they went through. It’s always there, just under the surface, no matter how much you love them and help them to feel secure. At the same time I wanted this to be a humorous story, and believable as told from the dog’s perspective. We humans are a funny, and sometimes, a weird lot, especially when we’re scheming, like adman Jamie.
An Amazon reviewer beautifully summed up Elliott's story as "a dog's version of life, death and stardom."
Describe the other dog characters in the Mutt to Megastar series.
* Elliott: Our Aussie Rescue Dog hero. An ordinary mutt formerly known as Barney
* Charlie: An old Blue Heeler cattle dog and Elliott's mentor in the Dog Pound
* Belmondo: A nervous, wussy Doberman
* Hedy: A beautiful, foul-mouthed Afghan
* Alison: A sexy Airedale. Elliott's doggie love
* Jason: Boxer-bitzer. Elliott’s dozy fan
* Mitzi: A snooty, pedigree Standard Poodle
* Spike: A Tibetan Mastiff. Next door’s dog
* Pete the Peke: a Pekinese with dementia
* Brian Boru: A gigantic Irish Wolfhound
* Savage Gordon: A mini psycho Jack Russell Terrier
* Toto: A brindle Fox Terrier with attitude.
* Max: A brown Kelpie who lives next door to Alison
Elliott has to do some crazy stunts in each book. How did you decide he could do them?
Well, in doing some research I found out that a great many of the best dogs in movies that we all love and remember have been rescue dogs. For some reason their journey has imbued in them a particular strength of character, a will to please and a keenness to excel. They have been the most trainable for the stunts they are asked to perform.
Of all your characters in Reality Barks: Mutt to Mega-Star, which one do you have a real attachment to?
I think it would have to be Charlie, who was in the pen next to Elliott's at the Dog Pound. Although he's unseen in a lot of the story, Charlie has a continuous influence on Elliott and his doggie conscience.
What are your favourite books about dogs?
I always chuckle at Chet, Spencer Quinn's really cool dog character. I love the Chet & Bernie series.
What is your favourite target across all your books, including those you write as Jinx James?
Corporate greed. Perfect for satire.
What authors have influenced you?
Because everything I write has humour, satire and a bit of the dark side to it, that's where I normally go. Carl Hiaasen is a firm favourite. I have a soft spot for P.G. Wodehouse, and sometimes Chuck Pahlaniuk is exactly who I need to read. Over the years authors such as Gore Vidal, Martin Amis, Christopher Hitchens, Anthony Burgess, Don de Lillo and the masterful Vladimir Nabokov have kept me entertained.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No. Any place any time is fine for me. Gimme a snoring dog and a blank wall, and I'm happy.
If you'd like to connect with Kit, he'd be delighted to hear from you. kit@kitjamesauthor.com
website: https://www.kitjamesauthor.com
