In a Q&A with Marie Claire Malaysia, Paul Cooper talks about what he hopes you’ll feel when you read his debut, River of Ink, published by Bloomsbury in January 2016.

“MC: What was your inspiration for the book?
P: I was inspired by the English poet Thomas
Wyatt, who translated poems for King Henry
VIII, but I’ve also loved the stories of Indian
mythology since I was a child. I’ve always been
fascinated with Sri Lanka from afar, with
its unique mix of cultures and rich, tumultuous
history – so at the time, all these interests came
together and the book really flowered from
there. So the story of River of Ink follows
Asanka, a court poet to a fallen Sri Lankan king,
who has to translate an ancient poem for his
new master and ends up making his own
additions.
When I went to Sri Lanka to work as an
English teacher, I was able to explore the ruins
of Polonnaruwa and learn the language too.
This gave me a great perspective on life in Sri
Lanka today, and also how it must have been at
the time the book is set, in 1215. I think there
are always parts of a writer’s personal life that
make a particular idea resonate with them too,
and for me that was the experience of losing
someone I cared about.
MC: How do you want your readers to feel?
P: I think the most important thing is that they
want to know what happens next— that the
story is exciting and they feel for the
characters so much they want to follow them
on their journey. I want people to feel as
though the book transports them to a
completely different part of the world and a
different time in history, but that it at the same
time feels like home. Of course I want them to
feel scared and sad at times, but I hope the
beauty and colour of the story stops it from
being too heavy also.

If I do half of that then I’ll be happy!
MC: What are you working on next?
P: My next project is a novel, but it is a little
secretive for now. People who enjoyed River of
Ink should get a lot out of it though! I will just
say that I have been learning Arabic, and let
that be the only clue for now…”
Follow Paul on Twitter@PaulMMCooper for
some literary wit!

Buy the novel here