Below are some edited highlights of a ‘Questions & Answers’ page I put together for my web site. You can read the full version here.
Q: What was your inspiration for ‘A Foreign Education’?
A: I’m an English guy who spent a year studying in America, so it didn’t take me too long to come up with the idea. I’ve actually wanted to write this novel ever since I returned to England in 1996, but it just took me a while to get around to it.
Q: So is the book based on your time in America?
A: Not really. The main character and I both studied at the University of Colorado and we both had a college radio show, but apart from that we are completely different people. Of course, I also studied physics, a bit like Ross. And I used to go running in my spare time too, also a bit like Ross. But we are chalk and cheese, really. Perhaps Ross is the kind of guy that I wish I could have been at that age – able to carry off a lack of social confidence with an endearing charm and a string of witty comebacks.
Q: How about the other characters – are they based on people you met over there?
A: All characters are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. If you know me and think that you can see an element of yourself in one of the characters, then you are quite clearly mistaken.
Q: I was once a Japanese exchange student with a tenuous grasp of English and a rather large penis. Are you sure that one of your characters isn’t based on me?
A: Definitely not. I never even saw your penis so how could I possibly come up with that ridiculous idea?
Q: Are any of the situations Ross gets himself into based on your own experiences?
A: Although I haven’t yet spent any time in jail, I have been country dancing in the past. I know, I know; I would have preferred jail time, trust me. There might be other subtle influences in the story here and there, but my time studying abroad wasn’t quite as eventful as Ross Cooper’s.
Q: Do the locations used in the book actually exist?
A: Most of the locations are real, such as the University of Colorado, Cheyenne Arapaho Hall, Chautauqua Park, The Hill, FlatIron Crossing, and Larimer Square. I must, however, stress that ‘Sam’s Adult Emporium’ is one location that is entirely the work of my imagination. If the description seems accurate then it is merely testament to my creative writing skills and not proof that I have undertaken extensive background research.
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