1. How would you like someone who has read your book to sum it up in one sentence?
I didn’t realise just how important Jason Statham is to British cinema, fandom, masculinity, stardom and gender studies.
Alternatively: This book rocks!
2. What book in your field has inspired you the most?
The Halliwell Film Guide.
3. Did your research take you to any unexpected places?
Yes – I got to discuss the book with brilliant academics, Jason Statham’s agent, and a Hollywood film director.
4. Which writing process do you use (computer, longhand, dictate, other)?
Computer.
5. Why did you choose to publish with MUP?
They saw the book’s potential and were enthusiastic about its approach.
6. What are you working on now?
From Blofeld to Moneypenny: Gender in James Bond (Emerald Publishing due out March 2020)
7. If you could go back and give yourself once piece of advice when starting out on project, what would it be?
Don’t listen to people who think Jason Statham is rubbish. He isn’t. He’s brilliant.
8. If you could have been the author of any book, what would it be and why?
The Halliwell Film Guide.
9. What other genres do you enjoy reading?
Science fiction, horror
10. Which authors (academic and not) would you invite to a dinner party?
Leslie Halliwell (just to argue with him about some of his ‘star ratings’), HG Wells (so I could tell him just how ahead of his time and brilliant he was), HP Lovecraft (to show him just how his work has impacted on an entire genre), Charles Dickens (so that I could tell him to finish The Mystery of Edwin Drood), and Robert Holmes (to tell him that his work on Doctor Who was really the best in the entire history of the programme).