Saturday, December 05, 2009

Interview with Michael Panckridge

Michael Panckridge the author of books on sports and fiction kindly replied back with many queries that I sent him. Infact, he had written the replies as an comment itself. Thank you Michael.

1. How did you hit upon the idea of cricket and science fiction/fantasy together? or for that matter sports and fiction/fantasy.

Michael: Well - I think the easy answer is they are both passions of mine. I am always saying to young writers that it's a great idea (esp. if stuck for writing ideas!) to write about things you're passionate about - for me that is sport (cricket) and time travel. And cricket has such wonderful history - it demands some time travel for my characters (and me!!) to go back and visit great matches from the past...

2. In you website, you had mentioned that you like talking to boys about reading. Although, I would not like to generalize or make sweeping statements, I notice that less number of boys pick up a book compared to girls. What are your thoughts on this.

Michael: My thoughts on boys' reading habits compared to girls - it's a really REALLY interesting topic - as a boy I used to love reading sports related stuff - info, facts, scores, numbers, results, records - reading for information. Of course not ALL boys are like this; not at all. But that was the way for me - it wasn't until I got to about year 7 that i started to enjoy reading novels. I think it took me a little longer to make that emotional connection with books - once a reader does that - they are off and away with the wonder of books...

3. Do you think days of Test matches are over?
Michael:Test matches over? Gosh,I hope not. As long as there are Ashes Test matches....

4. A tough one :) - name your favourite cricketer?
Michael: My favourite cricketer at the moment Michael Hussey!

5. The concept of Master Blaster, a virtual reality machine in your book, to play cricket with is an interesting concept. If it really existed, whom would you love to play against in this virtual reality machine?
Michael:I loved coming up with the idea of the Master Blaster - the virtual cricket machine - I think I would like to face Shane Warne... NOT the fast bowlers!!

6. It is interesting to note that Toby Jones team contains both girls and boys in the same school cricket team. Is this normal in Australian schools?
Michael: Yes - girls do play in boys' teams; it is not THAT common, but it certainly happens - esp. with younger aged teams.

5 comments:

Choxbox said...

Thanks for posting these Sathish. Hadn't read the comment.

By the way, wonder if Panckridge has watched the movie Lagaan, and if yes what he thinks of it!

Going to pick the book ASAP!

Tharini said...

Engrossing! Thanks to Michale for sharing his time with us.

SoulSpace said...

Great!

Meera Sriram said...

Enjoyed the conversation! Thanks Sathish!

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