{"id":85,"date":"2012-03-18T23:00:42","date_gmt":"2012-03-18T23:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/?p=85"},"modified":"2012-03-18T23:03:21","modified_gmt":"2012-03-18T23:03:21","slug":"interview-with-the-werewolf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/?p=85","title":{"rendered":"Interview with the Werewolf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview with John Preston<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

13th<\/sup> September 2035. By Sangita Ifors<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Thank you for agreeing to the interview.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Hey, I love what you do. I think I’ve read all your books, and I subscribe to your blog. That piece you did about Springsteen’s legacy was amazing. How did you get access to his diaries? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Oh, the family were very \u2026 hey, who’s doing this interview?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 laughs<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Before we start, is anything off limits?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Seventh album, track 8. We don’t talk about it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 I’m sorry?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 It was a mistake. We should never have tried disco. It didn’t suit us.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Umm, Do you mean ‘Staked By Mistake?’ That’s not disco.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 You see, that’s exactly what I mean. We can’t do disco. We shouldn’t have tried. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 OK.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 But we can talk about anything else?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Anything honey. Oh, Mary sends her regards. What’s going on there? She sounded a bit sarcastic, that’s not like her. Is there something up between you? I hope not, because Mary is one of my favourite daughters-in-law, and you’re a sweet girl too.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 I think she got the wrong end of the stick, about an interview I wanted to do with your son Bill. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 ‘slaps forehead’. Oh, now I remember. Yeah. Of course. Hmm, you were never going to get anywhere with Bill. Not without marrying him, anyway. He’s that type. Now, me \u2026 if I was younger, and wasn’t married to two scary, scary women \u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 I’m flattered. Now, the interview?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Yes? Where were we?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Can we start with your childhood?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Sure.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 You were raised by your mum?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 My mother, and my auntie Fran \u2026 Mark’s Mum.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 They were sisters?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 No, they were married to twins. There was a bit of a kerfuffle back when I was little, and my father and his brother had to disappear. My mum and Auntie Fran went into some kind of half assed hiding \u2026 they moved to Ulverston and cut off contact with their families. It was really traumatic for them, but they were great, they managed to keep me and Mark safe. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Safe?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 From the White Pack \u2026 old news, all in the past \u2026 a group of werewolves who wanted to find and kill any shapeshifters who weren’t drinking their kool aid. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 I guess that’s all been well documented \u2026 how did it feel to grow up with no family but your mum, aunt and cousin?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 I didn’t know any different. We were all very, very close, which made things easier when my mother died. I was only fifteen. Most lads, that would have thrown them way off track, but I had Fran and Mark, and there was no question about me moving in with them. I already spent half my time there anyway, and the rest of the time Mark was at my house.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 So, you’re more brothers than cousins?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Half brothers anyway, genetically. Our dads were identical twins. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 How did your mum’s death affect you?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 It kinda \u2026 this makes me sound like a bit of a shit, but the main thing was that it cramped my style a bit. Mum was cool about guitars and amps, and girls and beer. Auntie Fran wasn’t. Mark and I had to find somewhere else to practice loudly. Funny thing, Fran was fine about acoustic stuff, if we stayed up late, playing, she’d leave her bedroom door open and listen to us. She was a second mum to me, right from the start. I think that helped a lot, when my mother passed away. Not that I didn’t miss my mum, I loved her to bits, I still do, she was a huge influence on me. It’s just that she and Fran both knew that my mum was dying, and they arranged things between them. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 How did your mum influence you?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Mum was a party girl, she loved men, she liked to dance, she loved music, she liked to get buzzed now and again, drink, dope, mostly, now and again a trank or some speed \u2026 she was also kind, generous, lots of fun, and very, very beautiful. I kinda worshipped her. She taught me to love women, but more importantly, to like women. Girls dig that. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 When did you find out what happened to your dad?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP – When my uncle Anthony made contact for the first time, back when the White Pack attacked Whitby. That’s when I found out that my father was dead. That hurt more than I expected it to. Mark was in bits too. Diana held us together that day. That woman \u2026 she scares the shit out of me, but I don’t know where I’d be without her.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Your relationship with Diana was public at the start, then she faded into the background for a long time \u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Her choice, not mine. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 And Donna? Your wife? You said, after the honeymoon, that you met her through Diana \u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Well, yes, that’s true, but not strictly speaking how we spun it at the time. Me and Donna, it was love at first sight. Same as me and Di, really, but Diana didn’t know about it for a year or two.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Diana was in love with you but didn’t know?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 No, I’m not that much of a twat. She didn’t know that I was in love with her. Things were complicated. Lies, secrets, more lies. Anyway, that was long ago and far away. Well, Manchester. Not that far away. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 OK. How did the shapeshifter thing affect your music?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 How does the being female thing affect your writing? It’s a daft question, I’ve never known anything else, not really. Ummm, I guess I have more time than most musicians, to practise, to write \u2026 we don’t need much sleep, and we’re rarely ill. Then again \u2026 have you heard of Eric Ransome, my son-in-law? He did a list of shifter traits, years ago. He mentioned that we’re obsessive, but that we avoid addictive stuff. I think it’s an advantage, we never did drugs, other than booze. Not even tobacco. I tried it, but got bored pretty quickly, Mark always hated it. Anyway, maybe that affects us, as musicians, being straight, I mean. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Straight?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Drug wise. Oh? You’re fishing? No, my train doesn’t stop at that station, never really even slowed down for it. Got no big objection, morally, or anything \u2026 my two best mates shagged each other, which was a bit of a surprise at first, but you know, it’s not that big a deal. And my kids \u2026 they change sex, shape shifting, some of ’em. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Have you ever considered \u2026?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 No. I’m male, I like being male. Besides, they’re a lot more talented than me, when it comes to changing how they look. I can be me, or a wolf. That’s it. I’m crap at it, to be honest. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 What’s it like, being a wolf?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 The biggest rush in the world. Really, I have to ration myself. If I do it for too long, I get drawn in. The world is so different, so exciting, so much simpler and then so much more complicated. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 Oh, our time is nearly up. Umm. If you could change anything about your life, what would it be?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 I’d go and find Diana and Donna a lot earlier. I begrudge every day I didn’t know them.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SI \u2013 And, what’s your advice for aspiring rock musicians?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

JP \u2013 Never try disco, ever. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview with John Preston 13th September 2035. By Sangita Ifors SI \u2013 Thank you for agreeing to the interview. JP \u2013 Hey, I love what you do. I think I’ve read all your books, and I subscribe to your blog. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[107,4,40],"class_list":["post-85","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-fiction","tag-love","tag-werewolf"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92,"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions\/92"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloginbasket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}