Interviewer: Hello Andrew Foley Jones. Thank you for speaking with me.
AFJ: My pleasure.
Interviewer: After reading the novel {which I really enjoyed}.
AFJ: You don’t have to say that {smiling}.
Interviewer: I really did.
AFJ: why thank you.
Interviewer: The novel includes three main protagonists.
AFJ: What are they? {laughing}.
Interviewer: Ok; three main characters.
AFJ: That’s better. Don’t assume because I’m a writer; that I understand long words.
Interviewer: I only learnt it before: thought it was a good word.
AFJ: I agree: I think it’s a great word. I shall try and use it myself wherever possible.
{Interlude for mutual laughing}.
Interviewer: ok; I don’t have much tape left.
AFJ: You still use tape?
Interviewer: Yes I do.
AFJ: You better ask some questions then.
Interviewer: the central character (Thomas Paul) is based on a thirty something lawyer. Is it autobiographical?
AFJ: I suppose elements of all the characters must be part of somewhere in my psyche. However; certain traits; tendencies and activities that emerge during the novel have; to date never materialised in my life to date.
Interviewer: you say to date: does that mean you possibly could develop the characteristics of Thomas Paul?
AFJ; I would say not; but then again; nobody quite can envisage what may happen and what acts or omissions we may or may not in fact; stumble across.
Interviewer: Edward Mansfield; the novel’s anti hero; for want of a better word – does he reflect a particular character you have experienced in you life?
AFJ: In part perhaps. Being a lawyer, you meet a lot of very strong characters some of which are strong yet fair; other who perhaps are slightly less fixated with doing what is right.
Interviewer: I read somewhere that the novel is an attack on the moral decline of society: is this right?
AFJ: Not so much an attack but more of a commentary of what I perceive to be the prevalent values that many people hold and ultimately live by.
Interviewer: Your relationship with the other central character (Chloe Rogers) has caused some outrage: was this included purely as a shock tactic?
AFJ: Not at all: I could not contrive my writing in this way – it sounds I suppose like a cliché but I really don’t set out to introduce or include a character; a narrative or a dialogue just for the sake of causing shock or outrage.
Interviewer: I read one description of the novel as “...wild poetry.” Do you see the novel in such a way?
AFJ: That was; I recall, someone who reviewed a very early draft of the manuscript; some of which was still handwritten in very messy sheets of different sized paper. I think that made the writing seems more poetic but yes; I don’t dislike the description: I think the lack of punctuation in many of the passages does make it more poetic.
Interviewer: The geography of the novel is quite obviously anonymous. Is this deliberate?
AFJ: Quite simply: yes.
AFJ: Would you like a coffee?
Interviewer: Yes please.
AFJ: Two espressos please.
Interviewer: Thomas Paul seems to spend a lot of time in coffee shops; observing.
AFJ: So you have read it {laughing}. Yes; much of the observing – the commentating: the monologue derives from Thomas Paul watching society around him – the people... the streets... the buses... the stores... the offices... the billboards... the objects... television – this is how he formulates his vision; his thoughts.
Interviewer: Seductive Amoebae: a strange title. What does it mean?
AFJ: It began as a painting. A friend of mine and I were messing around and some ash fell from a cigarette or something onto a canvas. I rubbed it in to make a sort of nucleus and then we added swirls of colours and patterns – for some reason I just thought it had to be called Seductive Amoebae.
Interviewer: When did the transition from painting to writing take place.
AFJ: Not for a couple of years I recall: I think it began whilst I was studying in Liverpool.
Interviewer: I understand it began as a short story.
AFJ: Yes; it started off as a short story as part of a collection. I then left it for a while and eventually went back to it. And eventually it developed into what it is now.
Interviewer: Are short stories a genre that interests you.
AFJ: Very much. I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing. There’s a real skill in writing something that could be a few paragraphs in length. I just find the pace and erraticness {if that’s a word} quite endearing and I suppose fascinating.
Interviewer: Will we be seeing a collection of short stories by Andrew Foley Jones in the near future.
AFJ: I would say; definitely yes.
Interviewer: My tape is about to run out. Thank you very much for your time.
AFJ: Protagonist: thank you for teaching me that word.
