Who doesn’t love a magical story? As a child, I had a “Treasury “book of magical stories – stories that were better read curled up in a wingback chair in front of a roaring log fire, allowing the magical stories to take my imagination on a journey filled with awe and wonderment. Unbelievable tales of dragons, animals who talked, mystical lands, witches and princesses …. Oh, my imagination did run riot! Being an adult, you don’t often get a chance to read magical stories, so it was an absolute joy to read “Uncle Digit and the Truth About Magic” by Jeremy Hullah. Published in April 2024, this is an updated magical story in the same vain as stories of yesteryear – ideal for reading to younger children, a book for older readers …. And adults too!

BOOK SUMMARY

Confined to a wheelchair, 11-year-old Finn looks forward to the visits of his Uncle Henry and the unbelievable stories of his adventures. When Henry goes to the Arctic to look for his father’s lost ship, the stories become increasingly fantastical, straining even Finn’s desire to believe everything his uncle tells him, until he joins in the adventure himself!

Expect aliens, a wise-cracking fox, singing bears, the most powerful device in the universe and some very peculiar snow.

THE INTERVIEW

Hello Jeremy & welcome to the blog. Please introduce yourself 😀

Hello, I’m Jeremy. I’m a retired IT consultant who used to work in the City. I wrote my first two books on the train to and from East Sussex to London Bridge. I’d like to say that I’ve been able to concentrate more on writing since I retired in April, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, although I am hoping that I will settle into more of a routine as time goes on.

Who or what inspired you to write “Uncle Digit And The Truth About Magic”?

Having twin boys to keep entertained is good inspiration for stories, but when I started writing Uncle Digit And The Truth About Magic, I didn’t have much of a plot – just a few ideas inspired by Letters From A Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake. 

Later, after hearing and reading about some of Ranulph Fiennes expeditions, I imagined some conversations between him and his younger cousins, the actors Joseph and Ralph Fiennes. They started along the lines of “Wow! How many fingers have you lost this time Ranulph?”, “Just the one this time, boys.” – eventually ending up with “You’ll never guess what happened on this expedition?” And Ranulph takes his head off and puts it on the table. 

It was such a stupid idea, but I started to wonder how I could make something so impossible sound feasible within the context of a fantasy / adventure tale.

The “Truth About Magic” part of the title was added after I wrote the fairytale chapter of the same name. This gave me an underlying focus for the book and sparked a lot of underlying elements, especially Finn’s memory of being taking to the healing waters. 

“Uncle Digit And The Truth About Magic ” is a YA book whose magic still enthralled myself and a few other adults I know who read the book.  I loved the fact that Finn wanted to believe the adventurous escapades of his uncle, and even if he felt that his uncle’s stories were far fetched, they offered him escapism from his day to day life and his reliance on his wheelchair.  And yet, the magic in the tales lures you in…Did you base the characters on you and people you’ve met in life? Which character was the hardest to portray?

No character is based on me or anyone I know, unless you count Uncle Digit as being a wish-fulfilment version of myself (I have always wanted to be a photojournalist)!

Finn was by far the hardest character to portray, as I am not disabled myself and didn’t want to come across as patronising, or using a disabled character lightly as nothing more than a vehicle for the plot (which he is), so I tried to make Finn as real as possible and hopefully have not offended anyone.

It’s important for Finn (and the reader) to wonder whether Uncle Henry is telling tall stories or not – right up to the moment he puts his head on the table. That’s when all doubt is removed and the magic begins. It’s meant to be like the moment in Wizard of Oz when everything turns Technicolor.

What do you enjoy most about writing for the YA/children’s genre? 

I like the escapism and the creation of other realities. Making the impossible seem real, if only for a moment, is (for me) highly challenging and creative.

As you have said, though, the appeal of Uncle Digit is not restricted to YA. I would like to think that people of all ages can read and enjoy the book, and I would direct anyone to Katherine Rundell’s lovely little volume “Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Very Old And Wise.”

I have always enjoyed fantasy adventure stories, starting with Alan Garner’s Weirdstone of Brisingamen, on to The Lord of the Rings, via an awful lot of Michael Moorcock, Jack Vance and the like. Even though I broadened my reading as I got older, I never lost the love for fantasy and all my ideas so far (except one) are fantasy related.

If you could visit any country/place in the world, to base a future story in, where would you go and why? 

The second Uncle Digit book, which I am writing at the moment, is set in Alexandria. Although the city has been high on my list of places to go since reading the Alexandria Quartet in my twenties, I have never been there, and so the story relies on the rather romanticised version of Alexandria in the Lawrence Durrell books and recollections of other North African cities that I have actually visited.

If I write a third Uncle Digit book, I think it will be set in Venezuela and South America. I have always wanted to visit the Tepuis and might have the big baddie meeting his end by falling off the Angel Falls – homage to Sherlock Holmes’ Moriarty, as Conan Doyle used to live in a house a hundred yards from where I live now.

Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book? 

I used to be a bookworm but stopped reading a lot of books sometime in my thirties. When I did read, I tended to like modern classics, and apart from children’s books, I would probably read those over anything else.’

For the last few years though, I have mostly been reading children’s literature and have really enjoyed discovering all the amazing new talents that have emerged in the last ten years, such as Jessica Townsend, Struan Murray, Catherine Doyle and of course Katherine Rundell.

I like reading from a kindle at night, as it is more comfortable and the lighting is so good, but I do prefer to read physical books at other times.

Is “Uncle Digit And The Truth About Magic” available to purchase worldwide?

The eBook is available worldwide, but the print version is only available via Amazon UK.

Growing up had you always wanted to be a writer or did you have other career aspirations?

I had dreams of being a writer when I was young, but never wrote anything worthwhile and gave up when it was time to get a proper job. 

It wasn’t until I had children and a long train journey that ideas started to come again, and I had the time to concentrate on developing them over a long period of time.

Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?

I’m mostly happy with jeans and rugby top. I like nice jumpers though and have recently branched out into patterned shirts.

I have a few Crockett and Jones shoes still going strong, from the time when I was a single IT contractor, but now I only wander in their shops from time to time, wondering when I will be able to spend £500 on a pair of shoes.

At the moment I mostly wear an old pair of sturdy half boots or a pair of Vans.

Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?

I used to buy my jumpers and tops from Banana Republic, before they disappeared. Most of my clothes now come from All Saints, White Stuff or Seasalt.

What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?

Nothing on clothes or shoes for the moment, expect maybe another pairs of Vans.

Boots or Shoes?

Shoes and half boots.

Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc

I’m a luddite when it comes to Social Media and Online Trends, so I’ll have to pass on this one. 😀 My website is : www.digitpublications.com

Great to chat with you Jeremy! Thanks to Jeremy Hullah (& Ben Cameron of Cameron Publicity & Marketing) for a review copy of “Uncle Digit & The Truth About Magic”.

Linda x

Photographs have been published with the kind permission of Jeremy Hullah & by Linda Hobden, where marked.