The Wordicle’s Author’s Leak presents
James Huck and his book “The Sick Teacher’s Cook Book.”
The perfect book for modern teachers with some fun twists! See what the author has to say about it.
From the author, James Huck:
“The Sick Teacher’s Cook Book has been stewing in my head for a number of years. I kept reading books that uncovered the secret worlds that many of us inhabit in our personal and professional lives. I love books that study character and spotlight quirks and oddities. But no book seemed to be directed at the bubble universe of modern teachers. So I set out to write about it, with some wicked twists, of course.
I wanted to write a book that was open to interpretation, with hugely flawed characters that aren’t superheroes or supervillains. They have reasons and motivations for their actions or inactions and the reader can choose whether they are behaving morally or justifiably. They make mistakes and things are always setting them back and going wrong for them, just the way things happen to all of us.
We are all living in a world that is repeating the mistakes of the past, as Marie-Antionette celebrity and political cultures inform us that if we are hungry for a spiritual or human experience we should go and eat their digital confectionary—so to speak.
More and more people seem to be finding their own way to quietly rebel and I wanted the reader to ask themselves a few questions about what has happened during their lifespan. We have all seen changes to urban and natural landscapes, as well as the rapidly evolving social and human landscape of deteriorating relationships and increasing challenges to mental wellbeing.
So I began writing short pieces but they were fragments of stories and parts of characters. It wasn’t until I reached a crisis in my own teaching career and life that the writing process crystallised and ideas became paragraphs and chapters.
To help I took long walks with my Working Cocker Spaniel, Jet. Together, she and I walked for miles every day. I allowed my feet to just follow a country path, my mind emptying of worry, travelling along on autopilot as she sniffed and chased pigeons and squirrels.
I suppose I entered a meditative state. The characters began to exist without my conscious direction and the plot revealed itself before me as I walked. Characters began to explain how they felt and why they were behaving as they were. At one point, I imagined them arguing about a particular plot device as Aileen argued a Head Teacher would never behave in such a manner in public. Needless to say, she made her point well and the plot was altered accordingly.
Once I returned home with a tired, and often muddy and soggy dog, I would set myself up at the kitchen table, dog lying across my feet, my laptop open and try to capture the action that had occurred that morning. Sometimes I could instantly recall everything; sometimes my memory was not quite up to the task. However, I always got there in the end.
Some days I hit a block, not sure how to get from the point of the story that I was at, to where I wanted it to be next. I found that the only way through this was to walk and then write—no matter what. Even if it was a day where fifty or a hundred words were hard fought for. The only way to get to where you want to be is to write through it. I had to just keep writing, deleting, writing, deleting, writing and so on, until it just felt right.
Writing has become a part of my life now. I couldn’t give it up. My career needs to fit around my writing as I have become a writer who is also a teacher, rather than the other way round.
I have begun to write my second novel, the characters have begun to take shape and they have begun acting through the plot. I am excited to find out what happens.”
James, thank you so much for that exceptional and candid author’s leak and illuminating us with the story behind the The Sick Teacher’s Cook Book. Please support James by reading his thrilling book!
Available on Paperback and Kindle, see preview below.
“It wasn’t until I reached a crisis in my own teaching career and life that the writing process crystallised and ideas became paragraphs and chapters.”
James Huck
This book is perfect for modern teachers. However, everyone looking for an impressive and fantastic read should give it a read!
Amazon Link for UK: https://amzn.to/3jsuYxK
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