Mark Bibby Jackson is a 47-year-old Welsh travel writer and author of Always, a novella about love and death (360Degree Media, Cambodia, 2012). He is also the director of AsiaLIFE Media, the publisher of the lifestyle magazine AsiaLIFE Cambodia. In this interview he talks about literature, his book and plans for the future.
Voicu Mihnea Simandan: Your first published work of fiction is a novella. When did you write it? How long did it take to write?
Mark Bibby Jackson: I wrote it a few years ago now while staying in a friend’s house in London. I guess it only took a few weeks to actually write Always, although it took many years, ever since my student days to develop the ideas. You could say I’ve been writing Always all my life.
VMS: To what extent has your background in literature influenced you in crafting the story?
MBJ: Very much so. I believe very much in structure and that goes back to the Three Unities that Greek playwrights adhered too. The concept of seven chapters for seven days follows on from that. The setting in one room and with a single plot also is very classical. Some readers have commented that it is more a play than a novella – I certainly think it could be acted on a stage. Also, there are clear references to Shakespeare and Dostoevsky, and the plot at least initially is derived from Camus’ A Happy Death. All three writers are truly great.
VMS: Love and death, the two main themes you wrote about in Always, have a different meaning and significance from person to person. What does love mean to you?
MBJ: Pain, hard work, life. I strongly reject the Mills and Boon version of love that seems so endemic in the youth of Asia – and I guess throughout the world. Love has to be worked upon. The original version of romantic love was of a knight taking on a challenge to earn the love of the fair maiden. It’s a term we use far too loosely now.
VMS: And death? Do you think about it?
MBJ: I used to a lot when a child. Maybe that is why my writing tends towards darkness. But now I prefer to focus more on life than death.
VMS: You’re also an accomplished travel writer. Has your experience as a globetrotting journalist helped you in writing fiction?
MBJ: I don’t think so. Journalism is far removed from creative writing. One thing it does teach though is that less is more. As a journalist you should refrain from over-writing. This is something I feel applies equally to writing fiction. Camus mastered economy of words.
VMS: Always was published in Cambodia. How has it been received locally and regionally?
MBJ: Initially Always received a lot of praise from friends, colleagues etc. The launch event at the Latin Quarter in Phnom Penh was a great success. Since then I haven’t really been actively marketing it. In many ways I see it as part of a process rather than a finished product.
VMS: Always is also available as an ebook on Amazon.com. In your opinion, how has the publishing world evolved in the past few years with the boom in e-publishing?
MBJ: It’s quite amazing really. It costs nothing to e-publish. You simply send a word document of your manuscript and a jpeg for the cover and Amazon does the rest. Each time somebody purchases a copy the author receives some money. In that respects it’s great, though of course it does mean that some books that should never see the light of day end up being e-published.
VMS: What can you tell me about the Cambodian literary scene (is there one)?
MBJ: It’s not big because sadly Cambodians are not a particularly literate people. This is largely a consequence of the Khmer Rouge regime that killed anyone with an education. Having said that there are a few authors including some expats who have written about Cambodia. Johan Smits wrote a thriller set there and Tom Vater has a published noir crime story. It’s nothing compared to Bangkok though.
VMS: What work of fiction are your writing at the moment?
MBJ: I started one work which I was not particularly happy with based in Battambang in Cambodia. I also have the idea for a crime fiction. I plan to complete one or the other this summer when I should have a bit more time for writing than I currently do.
VMS: Thank you for your time.
MBJ: Was my pleasure.
Photography by AsiaLIFE Media
March 18, 2013
Voicu Mihnea Simandan
Bangkok, Thailand
