Interview: Nick Stella Tells Press Gang About His Debut Novel, A Giant’s Trek
By Emily & Ale
From a very young age, I really liked being a reader. And so from that very young age, I was reading so many books. Even through my teenage years, I was reading lots of books. And even now I still read a lot as well.
And so I thought that maybe I could give writing a bit of a go, because if I enjoy reading so much, then writing might be something that I could try as well.
What was your favourite book growing up?
Well, because I like reading and writing fantasy-type books. I’d probably say, The Lord of the Rings, is probably my favourite book. I’ve read it quite a few times.
Why do you like fantasy?
I like reading fantasy books because it’s basically just someone’s imagination, being written out onto the page. You have all sorts of things that aren’t necessarily found in the world we live in. So I like reading about things that exist just in people’s minds. Stories that take us away from this world and put us into another magical sort of world.
How did you get into writing?
Many, many years ago when my kids were young, I used to tell them stories before bedtime, and there was one story in particular about a giant that I kept telling them and they really liked this story, and so I kept making the story longer and funnier and sillier with more action because kids like that sort of stuff.
So I had to keep making it bigger and bigger and better and better. And one day I thought, I can’t really remember this anymore. I need to start writing it down. So then I started writing down this book about giants and eventually, it turned into what it is today – A Giants Trick.
Where do you get your ideas from?
I get them everywhere, from the music I listen to, to things I watch in the television. Even going for walks or even doing the shopping at the shopping center, you see what people are doing. People watching is a great way of getting ideas for stories because you see people doing funny things sometimes or doing strange things, and you can file that away in the back of your head and you can use that in your story so you can get inspiration from everywhere.
What was the first book you wrote?
It’s actually on this one, A Giants Trek. It was the first time I ever really tried to write a book. I finished it probably about 10 years ago, so it’s taken me a very long time to get it out of my head here and down onto the pages of the book. So it’s taken a very long time.
During Covid, there was a lot of time where not much was happening, so I decided I might as well get busy and write as many books as I can. And because I enjoyed doing it and I treated it as a hobby, I managed to write a lot of books that I’m quite happy with. So we’ll see what happens with those in the future.
How do you feel when you see one of your books in a bookshop?
I feel very lucky and very privileged to see my book in a bookstore surrounded by so many tremendous books that were written by so many talented authors. Very lucky and very happy. that my books are in there or my book is in there and I don’t think that feeling will ever go away.
How did you come up with all the names in a Giants trek?
Well, I’ll tell you a bit of a secret. A lot of the names in A Giants Trek are the names of my kids and nephews and nieces. My mum and my dad. Not their exact names, but I changed them around a little bit just to make them sound more interesting.
What was the inspiration behind the Giants trek?
When you think about Giants in a lot of the books that they’re in, they’re generally seen as fearsome creatures. Things you want to stay away from, things that eat you, things that you want to run a long way away from. But I decided, I’d like to try and change that a little bit.
How long did it take to write it?
The writing of it probably took about three years, I think. But I was never just sitting down at the computer and writing eight hours a day. What I’d do is my sons were quite young at the time. I would take a notebook and when they were doing swimming lessons, I would just sit next to the pool and I’d write in the notebook while they were doing their swimming lessons or if they were doing guitar lessons. So basically I’d follow the boys around wherever they went and I’d be scribbling away in my notebook. That’s probably why it took such a long time for me to write it.
What advice do you have for any kids who want to improve their writing?
Read a lot. Write a lot because the more you write, the better you get.
But I think the most important thing is that you enjoy what you do because if you enjoy what you’re doing it, if you’re enjoying doing your writing, then you’re going to write it more. And if you’re enjoying what you’re doing, then that’s going to come out in a story and you’re going to have fun characters and nice storylines. So I think probably the most important thing is enjoy what you’re doing
