Take a leaf out of Hook’s book
The former Wales star, now a coach at Ospreys, tells NEIL SQUIRES about his experiences as a children’s author and his first book, Chasing A Rugby Dream
Q HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE AN AUTHOR?
A Exciting. When I was playing, I didn’t think for one second I would end up writing children’s books but it was great fun. I enjoyed writing stories in school and letting my imagination run wild and the book is told through the eyes of a 10- year- old boy called Jimmy. It was supposed to be out in June but with the lockdown it wasn’t able to get published, so it’s good to get it out. The idea came when I was playing for Gloucester. I picked up my eldest boy, Harrison, from school and he said he wanted a rugby book from the book fair. There were a lot of football stories for children but the only rugby books were historical ones which didn’t interest an eight- year- old. I couldn’t find anything online either. That’s when I thought that there must be an opportunity.
Q JIMMY IS A WORKING- CLASS WELSH KID WITH ALL THE SKILLS BUT OBSTACLES STREWN IN FRONT OF HIM.... THEY ALWAYS SAY ‘ WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW’ SO IS THIS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL?
A It’s fictional but a lot of it is based on my life growing up and my rugby career. I’m asthmatic, I was short- sighted – I wore glasses from the age of nine – and Jimmy’s relationship with his grandparents in the book was similar to mine. I think it’s a book people can relate to. It’s not all Jimmy scoring the winning try and being the best – there are a lot of ups and downs and bumps in the road and that is mirrored in life.
Q IS THE WRITING ALL YOUR OWN WORK?
A It’s written with Dave Brayley, a children’s author. We met up two or three days a week for a few hours at a time for the best part of five or six months. I got a two- book deal with the publishers Polaris so there’s another one in the pipeline which we are pretty much there with. Jimmy grows with the book and we have aspirations to write a few more but it all depends how the first two go.
Q JIMMY IS A WORKING- CLASS WELSH BOY. WE COULD BE IN HARRY POTTER TERRITORY EVENTUALLY THEN?
A You never know. Reach for the stars, eh?
Q HOW HAS THE EARLY FEEDBACK BEEN?
A We know we’ve got a good book and we feel really confident but when it’s out there, like anything, it’s open to opinion.
Q WHAT’S YOUR ONE WISH FOR A YOUNG READER TO GET OUT OF JAMES HOOK THE AUTHOR?
A I hope a 12 or 13- year- old can read the book, look back in five or 10 years’ time and say he picked up some advice or some tips or can relate to something positive in it.
If one person does that it will have worked out all right.